London theatres
London is famous for museums, historical buildings, and ultra-modern restaurants. But only the theatrical life that dominates the city distinguishes it from other cities. If the play was successful in London, it will repeat its success elsewhere. The only competitor to London may be New York with Broadway, but it also cannot boast of theater buildings that have a long and rich history. The central part of the city, the West End, the South Coast and Victoria districts amaze with a special concentration of theaters - from small studios for 100 spectators to large temples of Melpomene. We offer an overview of the ten largest theaters in London.
The Shaftesbury Theatre, located not far from Holborn Street, is listed in the lists of buildings in Britain that have architectural and historical value. Thanks to a small accident that occurred with the roof of the building in 1973, attention was drawn to it. Since 1968, the famous musical "Hair" has been shown on its stage 1998 times. Later, the show promoting the hippie movement was closed. When the musical was first shown from the stage of the theater in the West End, the theater censor Lord Cameron Fromantil "Kim", Baron Cobbold banned it. The producers appealed to Parliament for help, and he gave permission, issuing a bill that completely annulled the ban of the baron. This unprecedented event in the history of theatrical art put an end to theatrical censorship in Britain – not bad for a theater with a capacity of 1,400 spectators.
Theatre «Adelphi» recently celebrated its 200th anniversary. Despite the modest size of the building, the theater is able to accommodate 1,500 spectators. He is known for such productions as "Chicago" and "Joseph and his amazing, multicolored cloak of Dreams." The 1930 Art Deco building is adjacent to the Strand Palace Hotel. This is the fourth room in the entire history of the theater since 1809. A plaque on the wall of a nearby bar blames the theater for the death of an actor who was once supported by the great Terriss. But in fact, Prince Richard Archer, a failed actor who lost popularity and decency due to addiction to alcoholism, pleaded guilty to murdering mentor Terriss in a state of insanity and was sent for compulsory treatment to a psychiatric hospital, where he led the prison orchestra until his death. It is said that until now, the ghost of the unavenged Terriss wanders around the theater building at night, who is upset by the lenient sentence imposed on his protege and murderer.
Some shows have been running for decades on the stages of theaters located in the West End area of London, and Victoria Palace constantly offers a fresh repertoire, for example, the musical "Billy Elliott". Although he has been on stage since 2005, which is quite a lot, according to regular viewers. The theater has a long history, which began in 1832, when it was just a small concert hall. Today, the building, which was built in 1911, can accommodate 1,517 spectators. It is equipped with a sliding roof, which is opened during intermissions to ventilate the hall. There were many memorable shows on the stage of the theater, but the most memorable of them was the patriotic play "Young England" of 1934, which received many negative reviews. She survived only 278 performances.
The Prince Edward Theater is located in the heart of the Soho district, and can accommodate 1,618 people. It is named after the heir to the throne of the British crown, Edward VIII, the king who was on the throne for only a few months and abandoned him in the name of love. Traditionally, romantic shows and performances take place on the stage, for example, "Show Boat", "Mamma Mia", "West Side Story", "Miss Saigon". The theater has a long history that began in 1930, when it was just a cinema and a dance hall. It was only in 1978 that the theater opened, timed to coincide with its opening with the premiere of the musical "Evita" about a world-famous woman, the wife of the president of Argentina. The play survived 3,000 performances, and actress Elaine Page, who played Evita, got a brilliant start to her career on the stage of the theater and became a star.
Despite the reconstruction of Tottenham Court Road in London to organize a better road interchange, one thing remains unchanged – a giant statue of Freddie Mercury with his hand raised during the performance of the song "We Will Rock You" in front of the Dominion Theater. The show has been held on the stage of the theater since 2002 and, despite the unfriendly reviews from critics, was a success with the audience. The theater, built in 1929 on the site of the old London brewery, is able to accommodate 2,000 spectators. The building also houses the Sunday Australian Church, which uses the stage and theater lighting during masses.
The Lyceum Theatre is one of the grandest theatres in London. The columns that adorn the main entrance date back to 1834, and the building itself was reconstructed in 1904 in Rococo style. For the entire history of its existence, and it begins in 1765, it had everything except the theater, for example, for 50 years there were dinners of the Secret Society of beef steak. In 1939, they wanted to close the building, but due to the start of construction of the road, it was saved. For 14 years, the play "The Lion King" has been played on the stage of the theater, and the Disney dramatization seems to have settled here for a long time and brings good box office receipts.
The Royal Theater, which is able to accommodate 2,196 spectators in the hall, is considered the leading theater in London not for this reason. Since 1663, there have been several theaters on this site, and Drury Lane itself is considered theatrical. Like many other theaters, the Royal worked under the direction of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the author of the musicals "Evita" and "Cats". Other productions that were presented on stage include "Oliver", a musical film of the same name was made based on the musical, "The Producers", "Shrek" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", which is still going on. In addition to musicals and actors, the theater is known for its ghosts, for example, the ghost of a man dressed in a gray suit and a cocked hat. According to legend , he was killed in the theater building in the 18th and 19th centuries . Another ghost is named Joseph Grimaldi, a clown who is said to help nervous actors on stage.
The London Paladium Theater is known not only in London, but all over the world. It is a few steps from Oxford Street. He became popular thanks to the late-night show “Sunday Night at the London Palladium”, which ran from 1955 to 1967. Millions of viewers got acquainted with the spinning stage and stage actions of different plans. In 1966, the owners of the building tried to sell it for further reconstruction, but it was saved thanks to theatrical investors and the fact that in addition to the theater, in 1973 a concert hall was opened there for performances by the rock band “Slade”. The constant full houses and the active actions of the fans of the band almost caused the collapse of the balcony in the hall. In 2014, the talent show "X-factor: the Musical" was opened in the theater hall.
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre is one of the oldest theatres in England. The Globe is located on the south bank of the Thames. The fame of the theater, first of all, was brought by the first productions of Shakespeare's works on stage. The building was rebuilt for various reasons three times, which makes up the rich history of the Shakespeare Theater.
