Noël Coward Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre
on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster
. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre
which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by architect W. G. R. Sprague
with an exterior in the classical
style and an interior in the Rococo
style.
In 1973 it was renamed the Albery Theatre in tribute to the late Sir Bronson Albery
who had presided as its manager for many years. Since September 2005, the theatre has been owned by Delfont-Mackintosh Ltd. It underwent major refurbishment in 2006, and was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre when it re-opened for the London premiere of Avenue Q
on 1 June 2006. Noël Coward
, one of Britain's greatest playwrights and actors, appeared in his own play, I'll Leave It To You, at the then New Theatre in 1920, the first West End production of one of his plays.
The theatre seats 872 patrons on four levels. The building is now a Grade II Listed structure.
, the Noël Coward Theatre has hosted a number of notable productions. I'll Leave it to You, in 1920, was Coward's first play. George Bernard Shaw
's St. Joan
with an acclaimed performance by actress Sybil Thorndike
ran in 1924.
The 1930s saw the greatest commercial success of John Gielgud
's career, Richard of Bordeaux (1933). Gielgud
followed up this triumph with a legendary production of Hamlet
in which he both played the title role and directed a company that included Jessica Tandy
, Jack Hawkins
and a young Alec Guinness
in one of his first professional roles as Osric. Gielgud
also appeared with Laurence Olivier
, Peggy Ashcroft
and Edith Evans
in Romeo and Juliet
. With the Blitz
came the destruction of the theatres that were home to the Old Vic
and Sadler's Wells Theatre Companies. Both companies made the New Theatre home until their respective theatres were rebuilt in the 1950s. One of the most successful shows to play the New Theatre opened 30 June 1960, it was Lionel Bart
's musical retelling of Charles Dickens
' Oliver Twist
, Oliver!
. It ran for 2,618 performances.
A 1974 Royal Shakespeare Company
production of Dion Boucicault
's London Assurance
, directed by Ronald Eyre
, with Donald Sinden
as Sir Harcourt Courtly, (for which he received the 1975 Drama Desk Special Award
) Roger Rees
as Charles, Judi Dench
as Grace and Dinsdale Landen
as Dazzle, transferred to the Albery Theatre in London for a year, prior to its tour to New York.
In 1981, Children of a Lesser God
won Olivier Awards for Best New Play and for actors Trevor Eve
and Elizabeth Quinn. Among some of the notable productions recently is the 1994 revival of Turgenev's A Month in the Country
starring Helen Mirren
and John Hurt
.
Recently, the theatre has played host to some notable Shakespeare productions including a production of Twelfth Night set in India with an entirely Asian cast. The production played to packed houses and only closed as the Royal Shakespeare Company
themselves had exclusive rights to perform their annual London season of Tragedies there. Between December 2004 and April 2005, they presented Hamlet
, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth
, King Lear
and a brand new production of Euripides' Hecuba
starring Vanessa Redgrave
.
On 8 June 2005, Dion Boucicault
's Victorian melodrama The Shaughraun
opened; however, its success at the Dublin Gate Theatre
was not repeated in London and it closed on 30 July. A dark period of around three months followed before the theatre was transferred to the ownership of Delfont Mackintosh Limited and reopened in October 2005 with The Right Size
's new production Ducktastic!. Once again this failed to live up to expectations and closed just three weeks after opening on 19 November 2005. A short Christmas season of Patrick Stewart
's one-man version of Charles Dickens
' A Christmas Carol
played from 6 December to 31 December 2005, before the theatre hosted the Edinburgh International Festival
hit drama Blackbird
starring Roger Allam
. The European premiere of the Broadway
hit, Avenue Q
, started previewing on 2 June 2006 and had its opening night on 28 June 2006, finally closing on 28 March 2009 prior to transferring to the Gielgud Theatre
.
Following a production of Deathtrap
, directed by Matthew Warchus
and starring Simon Russell Beale
and Jonathan Groff
, the theatre became the home of jukebox musical Million Dollar Quartet
in February 2011. The show recently had its booking period at the theatre extended until November 2012.
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by architect W. G. R. Sprague
W. G. R. Sprague
W. G. R. Sprague was a theatre architect in the grand age.Born in Australia, the son of actress Dolores Drummond who returned with acclaim to London in 1874. Sprague was articled to Frank Matcham for four years, then in 1880 to Walter Emden for three years; and then in partnershp with Bertie Crewe...
with an exterior in the classical
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
style and an interior in the Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style.
In 1973 it was renamed the Albery Theatre in tribute to the late Sir Bronson Albery
Bronson Albery
Sir Bronson James Albery was an English theatre director and impresario. He was knighted in 1949 for his services to the theatre. The Albery Theatre in London was named in his honour and his son, Sir Donald Albery, was also a theatrical impresario.-References:...
who had presided as its manager for many years. Since September 2005, the theatre has been owned by Delfont-Mackintosh Ltd. It underwent major refurbishment in 2006, and was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre when it re-opened for the London premiere of Avenue Q
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
on 1 June 2006. Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, one of Britain's greatest playwrights and actors, appeared in his own play, I'll Leave It To You, at the then New Theatre in 1920, the first West End production of one of his plays.
The theatre seats 872 patrons on four levels. The building is now a Grade II Listed structure.
Notable productions
After opening in 1903 with a production of Rosemary starring Charles Wyndham and his wife, Mary MooreMary Moore
Mary Moore may refer to:* Mary Carr Moore , American composer* Mary Elsie Moore , American heiress* Mary Tyler Moore , American actress* Mary Moore , American voice actor, first voice of talking clock...
, the Noël Coward Theatre has hosted a number of notable productions. I'll Leave it to You, in 1920, was Coward's first play. George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's St. Joan
Saint Joan (play)
Saint Joan is a play by George Bernard Shaw, based on the life and trial of Joan of Arc. Published not long after the canonization of Joan of Arc by the Roman Catholic Church, the play dramatises what is known of her life based on the substantial records of her trial. Shaw studied the transcripts...
with an acclaimed performance by actress Sybil Thorndike
Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
ran in 1924.
The 1930s saw the greatest commercial success of John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
's career, Richard of Bordeaux (1933). Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
followed up this triumph with a legendary production of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
in which he both played the title role and directed a company that included Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
, Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
and a young Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
in one of his first professional roles as Osric. Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
also appeared with Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, Peggy Ashcroft
Peggy Ashcroft
Dame Peggy Ashcroft, DBE was an English actress.-Early years:Born as Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft in Croydon, Ashcroft attended the Woodford School, Croydon and the Central School of Speech and Drama...
and Edith Evans
Edith Evans
Dame Edith Mary Evans, DBE was a British actress. She was known for her work on the British stage. She also appeared in a number of films, for which she received three Academy Award nominations, plus a BAFTA and a Golden Globe award.Evans was particularly effective at portraying haughty...
in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
. With the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
came the destruction of the theatres that were home to the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
and Sadler's Wells Theatre Companies. Both companies made the New Theatre home until their respective theatres were rebuilt in the 1950s. One of the most successful shows to play the New Theatre opened 30 June 1960, it was Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!-Early life:...
's musical retelling of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
, Oliver!
Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
. It ran for 2,618 performances.
A 1974 Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
production of Dion Boucicault
Dion Boucicault
Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot , commonly known as Dion Boucicault, was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the...
's London Assurance
London Assurance
London Assurance is a five-act comedy by Dion Boucicault. It was the second play that he wrote, but his first to be produced. Its first production, from March 4, 1841 at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden was Boucicault's first major success...
, directed by Ronald Eyre
Ronald Eyre
Ronald Eyre was an English theatre director, actor and writer.Eyre was born at Mapplewell, near Barnsley, Yorkshire and he taught at Giggleswick School. He became a leading director for the cinema, opera, television and the theatre...
, with Donald Sinden
Donald Sinden
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...
as Sir Harcourt Courtly, (for which he received the 1975 Drama Desk Special Award
Drama Desk Special Award
The Drama Desk Special Award is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee comprising New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors. It is a non-competitive award that honors an individual or an organization that has made a significant contribution to Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway,...
) Roger Rees
Roger Rees
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
as Charles, Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
as Grace and Dinsdale Landen
Dinsdale Landen
Dinsdale James Landen was a British actor known mainly for his television appearances.Landen was born at Margate. He made his television debut in 1959 as Pip in an adaptation of Great Expectations and made his film debut in 1960, with a walk-on part in The League of Gentlemen...
as Dazzle, transferred to the Albery Theatre in London for a year, prior to its tour to New York.
In 1981, Children of a Lesser God
Children of a Lesser God (play)
Children of a Lesser God is a play by Mark Medoff, published in 1980 focusing on the conflicted professional and romantic relationship between deaf former student, Sarah Norman, and her teacher, James Leeds. The play was specially written for the Deaf actress Phyllis Frelich, based to some extent...
won Olivier Awards for Best New Play and for actors Trevor Eve
Trevor Eve
Trevor John Eve is a British film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series Shoestring and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC television drama Waking the Dead.-Early life:Eve was born in Sutton Coldfield,...
and Elizabeth Quinn. Among some of the notable productions recently is the 1994 revival of Turgenev's A Month in the Country
A Month in the Country (play)
A Month in the Country is a comedy in five acts by Ivan Turgenev. It was written in France between 1848 and 1850 and was first published in 1855...
starring Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
and John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
.
Recently, the theatre has played host to some notable Shakespeare productions including a production of Twelfth Night set in India with an entirely Asian cast. The production played to packed houses and only closed as the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
themselves had exclusive rights to perform their annual London season of Tragedies there. Between December 2004 and April 2005, they presented Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
and a brand new production of Euripides' Hecuba
Hecuba
Hecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War, with whom she had 19 children. These children included several major characters of Homer's Iliad such as the warriors Hector and Paris, and the prophetess Cassandra...
starring Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
.
On 8 June 2005, Dion Boucicault
Dion Boucicault
Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot , commonly known as Dion Boucicault, was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the...
's Victorian melodrama The Shaughraun
The Shaughraun
The Shaughraun is a melodramatic play written by Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Wallack's Theatre, New York, on 14 November 1874. Boucicault played Con in the original production...
opened; however, its success at the Dublin Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...
was not repeated in London and it closed on 30 July. A dark period of around three months followed before the theatre was transferred to the ownership of Delfont Mackintosh Limited and reopened in October 2005 with The Right Size
The Right Size
The Right Size theatre company is a British comedy double act made up of Hamish McColl and Sean Foley. They first met at a clown school in Paris late in the 1980s, studying with Philippe Gaulier, and formed their own small-scale theatre company...
's new production Ducktastic!. Once again this failed to live up to expectations and closed just three weeks after opening on 19 November 2005. A short Christmas season of Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
's one-man version of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
played from 6 December to 31 December 2005, before the theatre hosted the Edinburgh International Festival
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts that takes place in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music , theatre, opera...
hit drama Blackbird
Blackbird (play)
Blackbird is a one-act, ninety-minute play written in 2005 by Scottish playwright David Harrower. It was inspired in part by the crimes of sex offender Toby Studebaker and depicts a young woman meeting a middle-aged man fifteen years after having a sexual relationship, when she was twelve.-...
starring Roger Allam
Roger Allam
Roger Allam is an English actor, known primarily for his stage career, although he has performed in film and television. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical Les Misérables....
. The European premiere of the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
hit, Avenue Q
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
, started previewing on 2 June 2006 and had its opening night on 28 June 2006, finally closing on 28 March 2009 prior to transferring to the Gielgud Theatre
Gielgud Theatre
The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, London, at the corner of Rupert Street. The house currently has 889 seats on three levels.-History:...
.
Following a production of Deathtrap
Deathtrap
Deathtrap may refer to:*Deathtrap , a 1978 play by Ira Levin which received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play*Deathtrap , a 1982 film based on the Levin play*Deathtrap , a plot device in fiction and drama...
, directed by Matthew Warchus
Matthew Warchus
-Life:Warchus studied music and drama at Bristol University. He has directed for the National Youth Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Donmar Warehouse, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre, Opera North, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera and in the West...
and starring Simon Russell Beale
Simon Russell Beale
Simon Russell Beale, CBE is an English actor. He has been described by The Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation."-Early years:...
and Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Drew Groff is an American singer-songwriter, stage, television and film actor. He originated the role of Melchior Gabor in the stage musical Spring Awakening and appeared as Jesse St...
, the theatre became the home of jukebox musical Million Dollar Quartet
Million Dollar Quartet
"Million Dollar Quartet" is the name given to recordings made on Tuesday December 4, 1956 in the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The recordings were of an impromptu jam session among Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. It was arguably the first...
in February 2011. The show recently had its booking period at the theatre extended until November 2012.
Recent and present productions
- Endgame (10 March – 1 May 2004) by Samuel BeckettSamuel BeckettSamuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
, starring Lee EvansLee Evans (comedian)Lee Evans is an English comedian, writer, actor and musician.-Personal life:Lee Evans was born in Avonmouth, Bristol, England to an Irish mother and a Welsh father, Dave Evans, a nightclub performer. He left Bristol at the age of 13 and then went to The Billericay School in Billericay, Essex...
and Michael GambonMichael GambonSir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as... - Suddenly Last Summer (14 May – 31 July 2004) by Tennessee WilliamsTennessee WilliamsThomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, starring Diana RiggDiana RiggDame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service.... - Twelfth Night (26 August – 30 October 2004) by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, starring Raza JaffreyRaza JaffreyRaza Jaffrey is a British actor, most notable for playing the character of Zafar Younis in the BBC1 television spy drama Spooks / MI-5.-Early life:...
and Kulvinder GhirKulvinder GhirKulvinder Ghir, born in Nairobi, Kenya, is a British actor, comedian and writer of South Asian ancestry, best known for his roles in Rita, Sue & Bob Too, Blood & Peaches, Bend It Like Beckham and the sketch show Goodness Gracious Me... - The RSC's Hamlet (23 November – 11 December 2004) by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, starring Toby StephensToby StephensToby Stephens is an English stage, television and film actor who has appeared in films in both Hollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day , Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre and Philip... - Peter Pan — 100 Years of Peter Pan (19 December 2004) by JM Barrie
- The RSC's Romeo and Juliet (21 December 2004 – 8 January 2005) by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
- The RSC's King Lear (18 January – 5 February 2005) by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, starring Corin RedgraveCorin RedgraveCorin William Redgrave was an English actor and political activist.-Early life:Redgrave was born in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson... - The RSC's Macbeth (16 February – 5 March 2005) by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
- The RSC's Hecuba (7 April – 7 May 2005) by Tony HarrisonTony HarrisonTony Harrison is an English poet and playwright. He is noted for controversial works such as the poem V and Fram, as well as his versions of ancient Greek tragedies, including the Oresteia and Hecuba...
, adapted from Euripides, starring Vanessa RedgraveVanessa RedgraveVanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning... - The ShaughraunThe ShaughraunThe Shaughraun is a melodramatic play written by Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Wallack's Theatre, New York, on 14 November 1874. Boucicault played Con in the original production...
(8 June – 30 July 2005) by Dion Boucicault - Ducktastic! (19 October – 19 November 2005) by Sean FoleySean Foley (comedian)Sean Foley is a British comedian and actor. With Hamish McColl, he forms the double-act The Right Size.-Theatre:*Freud in Hysteria *Matti in Mr Puntila and His Man Matti...
and Hamish McCollHamish McCollHamish McColl is a British comedian, writer and actor. He trained at the Ecole Phillippe Gaulier, Paris and Cambridge University. With Sean Foley, he formed the double act The Right Size in 1988, creating comic theatre shows which toured all over the world. more recently he has worked as a... - Celebration — Harold Pinter (1–3 December 2005) by Harold PinterHarold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
- A Christmas Carol (7–31 December 2005) by Patrick StewartPatrick StewartSir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
. adapted from Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, starring Patrick StewartPatrick StewartSir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century... - Blackbird (13 February – 13 May 2006) by David Harrower, starring Roger AllamRoger AllamRoger Allam is an English actor, known primarily for his stage career, although he has performed in film and television. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical Les Misérables....
and Jodhi MayJodhi MayJodhi May is an English actress.-Early life:Born in Camden Town, London, May first acted at the age of 12 in 1988's A World Apart. The role earned her a Best Actress award at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, shared with her co-stars Barbara Hershey and Linda Mvusi... - Avenue QAvenue QAvenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
(28 June 2006 – 28 March 2009) - Calendar GirlsCalendar GirlsCalendar Girls is a 2003 comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Buena Vista International and Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi based on a true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia...
(4 April 2009 – 9 January 2010) - EnronENRON (play)ENRON is a 2009 play by the British playwright Lucy Prebble, based on the Enron scandal.-Productions:ENRON premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre , before London transfers to the Jerwood Downstairs at the Royal Court Theatre from 17 September to 7 November 2009 and then the Noel Coward...
(16 January 2010 - 8 May 2010) - DeathtrapDeathtrap (play)Deathtrap is a play by Ira Levin in 1978 which encompasses many plot twists and is essentially a play within a play. It is a play in two acts with one set and five characters. It holds the record for the longest running comedy-thriller on Broadway and was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best...
(21 August 2010 - December 2010) by Ira LevinIra LevinIra Levin was an American author, dramatist and songwriter.-Professional life:Levin attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa...
, starring Simon Russell BealeSimon Russell BealeSimon Russell Beale, CBE is an English actor. He has been described by The Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation."-Early years:...
. - Million Dollar QuartetMillion Dollar Quartet (musical)Million Dollar Quartet is a jukebox musical written by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott. It dramatizes the Million Dollar Quartet recording session of December 4, 1956, among early Rock and roll stars Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, and newcomer Jerry Lee Lewis...
(28 February 2011 - 14 January 2012) - Hay FeverHay FeverHay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
(23 February 2012 - 2 June 2012) starring Lindsay DuncanLindsay DuncanLindsay Vere Duncan, CBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actress. On stage she won two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her performance in Les Liaisons dangereuses and Private Lives , and she starred in several plays by Harold Pinter. Her most famous roles on television include:...
, Jeremy NorthamJeremy NorthamJeremy Philip Northam is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Ivor Novello in the 2001 film Gosford Park, as Dean Martin in the 2002 television movie Martin and Lewis, and as Thomas More on the Showtime series The Tudors...
, Kevin McNallyKevin McNallyKevin McNally is an English actor who has worked in theatre and radio extensively as well as in film and television.-Life and career:...
and Olivia ColmanOlivia ColmanOlivia Colman is an English actress, best known for her supporting roles in various comedy shows, such as Sophie Chapman in Peep Show and Harriet Schulenburg in Green Wing. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and has appeared in radio, television and theatre.-Personal life:Colman...