 Gielgud Theatre in 2011 | |
 Interactive map of Gielgud Theatre | |
| Address | Shaftesbury Avenue London,W1 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°30′42″N00°07′59″W / 51.51167°N 0.13306°W /51.51167; -0.13306 |
| Public transit |  Leicester Square;Piccadilly Circus |
| Owner | Delfont Mackintosh Theatres |
| Designation | Grade II[1] |
| Type | West End theatre |
| Capacity | 994 on three levels |
| Production | Oliver! |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 27 December 1906; 118 years ago (1906-12-27) |
| Architect | W. G. R. Sprague |
| Website | |
www | |
TheGielgud Theatre is aWest End theatre, located onShaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in theCity of Westminster, London. The house currently has 994 seats on three levels.
The theatre was designed byW. G. R. Sprague and opened on 27 December 1906 as theHicks Theatre, named afterSeymour Hicks, for whom it was built. The first play at the theatre was a hit musical calledThe Beauty of Bath co-written by Hicks. Another big success wasA Waltz Dream in 1908. In 1909, the American impresarioCharles Frohman became manager of the theatre and renamed the house theGlobe Theatre, a name that it retained for 85 years.Call It a Day opened in 1935 and ran for 509 performances, a long run for the slow inter-war years.There's a Girl in My Soup, opening in 1966, ran for almost three years, a record for the theatre that was not surpassed untilDaisy Pulls It Off opened in April 1983 to run for 1,180 performances.
Refurbished in 1987, the theatre has since presented severalAlan Ayckbourn premieres, includingMan of the Moment (1990), as well as a notable revival ofAn Ideal Husband in 1992. During reconstruction ofShakespeare's Globe theatre on theSouth Bank, in 1994 the theatre was renamed theGielgud Theatre in honour ofSir John Gielgud. Another refurbishment was completed in 2008.
The Globe's theatre cat,Beerbohm, became famous enough to receive a front-page obituary in the theatrical publicationThe Stage in 1995.
The theatre opened on 27 December 1906 as theHicks Theatre in honour of actor, manager and playwrightSeymour Hicks, for whom it was built. Designed byW.G.R. Sprague inLouis XVI style, the theatre originally had 970 seats, but over the years boxes and other seats have been removed. The theatre is a pair with theQueen's Theatre, which opened in 1907 on the adjacent street corner.
The first play at the theatre was a musical calledThe Beauty of Bath by Hicks andCosmo Hamilton.My Darling, another Hicks musical, followed in 1907, followed by the original London production ofBrewster's Millions, and the next year, the long-running London premiere production of theStraus operetta,A Waltz Dream . An astonishing event occurred midway through the run of the theatre's next major work, a musical titledThe Dashing Little Duke (1909), which was produced by Hicks. Hicks' wife,Ellaline Terriss, played the title role (a woman playing a man). When she missed several performances due to illness, Hicks stepped into the role – possibly the only case in the history of musical theatre where a husband succeeded to his wife's role.[2]
In 1909, the American impresarioCharles Frohman became sole manager of the theatre and renamed the houseGlobe Theatre (the "Globe Theatre" on Newcastle Street had been demolished in 1902, making the name available). The reopening production wasHis Borrowed Plumes, written byLady Randolph Churchill,Winston Churchill's mother. During the First World War, the musicalPeg O' My Heart was a success at the theatre.Noël Coward debuted hisFallen Angels here in 1925.Call It a Day byDodie Smith opened in 1935 and ran for 509 performances, an unusually long run for the slow inter-war years. Shakespeare and classic plays, as well as musicals, were seen at the theatre in the decades that followed. In 1939, actorJohn Gielgud directed and starred in a revival ofThe Importance of Being Earnest that was "regarded at the time as the definitive production of the 20th century."[3]
Gielgud took his production ofThe Lady's Not for Burning, byChristopher Fry, to the Globe Theatre in 1949 for a successful West End premiere.[4] Likewise, in 1960,A Man For All Seasons had its stage premiere here.Terence Frisby'sThere's a Girl in My Soup, opening in 1966, ran for 1,064 performances at the theatre, a record that was not surpassed untilAndrew Lloyd Webber's production of theOlivier Award-winning comedyDaisy Pulls It Off byDenise Deegan opened in April 1983 to run until February 1986[5] for 1,180 performances, the theatre's longest run. In 1987Peter Shaffer's playLettice and Lovage had a hit London premiere, starringMaggie Smith andMargaret Tyzack, and running for two years. One of several Coward revivals in recent decades,Design for Living, starringRachel Weisz, transferred to the theatre in 1995. When Lloyd Webber rewroteTell Me on a Sunday, he relaunched it at the theatre to good notices.[6]
The Globe was the home of a resident theatre cat namedBeerbohm, after actorHerbert Beerbohm Tree. The tabby's portrait still hangs in the corridor near the stalls. Beerbohm appeared on stage at least once in every production, forcing the actors to improvise. He always chose to occupy certain actors' dressing rooms while they were at the theatre, includingPeter Bowles,Michael Gambon andPenelope Keith. Beerbohm was mentioned several times onDesert Island Discs, and he was the only cat to have received a front-page obituary in the theatrical publication,The Stage.[7] He died in March 1995 at the age of 20.[8]
Refurbished in 1987, with extensive work on the gold leaf in the auditorium, the theatre is particularly notable for its beautiful circularRegency staircase, oval gallery and tower. The theatre has presented severalAlan Ayckbourn premieres, includingMan of the Moment (1990).Oscar Wilde's classic comedy,An Ideal Husband (1992) andOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (2004) saw notable revivals, and theRoyal Shakespeare Company and others have brought several Shakespeare and classic play revivals to the theatre in recent decades. The 2007 production ofEquus attracted considerable press for the nude appearance of 17-year-oldDaniel Radcliffe, who was still filming theHarry Potter films. The production was successful enough to transfer toBroadway and ran to 2009 there.[9] Musicals returned in 2009 with a transfer ofAvenue Q, and then a transfer from Broadway ofHair the next year, followed by the West End premiere of the stage version ofYes, Prime Minister before it went on tour.[10]
In 1994, in anticipation of the 1997 opening ofthe reconstruction ofShakespeare'sGlobe Theatre on theSouth Bank, to avoid public confusion, the theatre was renamed theGielgud Theatre in honour of John Gielgud. In 2003,Cameron Mackintosh announced plans to refurbish the Gielgud, including a joint entrance foyer with the adjacent Queen's Theatre, facing on to Shaftesbury Avenue. Mackintosh's Delfont Mackintosh Theatres took over operational control of the Gielgud fromAndrew Lloyd Webber'sReally Useful Theatres in 2006.
Work on the facade of the theatre started in March 2007 and the interior restoration, including reinstating the boxes at the back of the dress circle, was completed in January 2008. The theatre is one of the 40 theatres featured in the 2012 DVD documentary seriesGreat West End Theatres, presented byDonald Sinden.[11]
