1720: Little Theatre (nearby) 1767: Theatre Royal | |
 The theatre in 2008, showingEdward Bond'sThe Sea | |
 Interactive map of Haymarket Theatre | |
| Address | Suffolk Street,Haymarket London,SW1 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°30′31″N0°07′53″W / 51.5086°N 0.1314°W /51.5086; -0.1314 |
| Public transit |  Piccadilly Circus |
| Owner | Access Entertainment |
| Operator | Access Entertainment[1] |
| Type | West End theatre |
| Capacity | 888 on 4 levels |
| Production | The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 4 July 1821; 204 years ago (1821-07-04) (current structure) |
| Rebuilt | 1879: proscenium and removal of pit 1904: auditorium 1994: major refurbishment |
| Years active | 1720–present |
| Architect | John Nash |
| Website | |
| www.trh.co.uk | |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | The Haymarket Theatre (Theatre Royal) |
| Designated | 14 January 1970 |
| Reference no. | 1066641 |
TheTheatre Royal Haymarket (also known asHaymarket Theatre or theLittle Theatre) is aWest End theatre inHaymarket in theCity of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use.Samuel Foote acquired the lease in 1747, and in 1766 he gained aroyal patent to play legitimate drama (meaning spoken drama, as opposed to opera, concerts or plays with music) in the summer months. The original building was a little further north in the same street. It has been at its current location since 1821, when it was redesigned byJohn Nash. It is aGrade I listed building, with aseating capacity of 888.[2] The freehold of the theatre is owned by theCrown Estate.[3]
The Haymarket has been the site of a significant innovation in theatre. In 1873, it was the venue for the first scheduled matinée performance, establishing a custom soon followed in theatres everywhere. Its managers have includedBenjamin Nottingham Webster,John Baldwin Buckstone,Squire Bancroft,Cyril Maude,Herbert Beerbohm Tree, andJohn Sleeper Clarke, brother-in-law ofJohn Wilkes Booth, who quit America after the assassination ofAbraham Lincoln. Famous actors who débuted at the theatre includedRobert William Elliston (1774–1831) andJohn Liston (1776–1846).
The first Hay Market theatre was built in 1720 by John Potter,[4] carpenter, on the site ofThe King's Head Inn in the Haymarket and a shop in Suffolk Street kept by Isaac Bliburgh, a gunsmith, and known by the sign of the Cannon and Musket. It was the third public theatre opened in the West End. The theatre cost £1000 to build, with a further £500 expended on decorations, scenery and costumes. It opened on 29 December 1720, with a French playLa Fille a la Morte, ou le Badeaut de Paris performed by a company later known as The French Comedians of His Grace the Duke of Montague.[5] Potter's speculation was known asThe New French Theatre.[6] Its name was changed toLittle Theatre in the Hay.[4]
The theatre's first major success was a 1729 production of a play bySamuel Johnson ofCheshire,Hurlothrumbo, or The Supernatural, which ran for 30 nights – not as long asJohn Gay'sThe Beggar's Opera (62 performances), but still a long run for the time.[7] In 1730, the theatre was taken over by an English company. Among the actors who appeared there before 1737 when the theatre was closed under theLicensing Act 1737 wereAaron Hill,Theophilus Cibber, andHenry Fielding.[5] In the eight to ten years before the Act was passed, the Haymarket was an alternative toJohn Rich'sTheatre Royal, Covent Garden and the opera-dominatedDrury Lane Theatre. Fielding himself was responsible for the instigation of the Act, having produced a play calledThe Historical Register that parodied prime ministerRobert Walpole, as the caricature, Quidam.[6]
In particular, it was an alternative to thepantomime and special-effects dominated stages, and it presented opposition (Tory party) satire.Henry Fielding staged his plays at the Haymarket, and so didHenry Carey.Hurlothrumbo was just one of his plays in that series of anti-Walpolean satires, followed byTom Thumb. Another, in 1734, was hismock-opera,The Dragon of Wantley, with music byJohn Frederick Lampe. This work punctured the vacuous operatic conventions and pointed a satirical barb at Walpole and his taxation policies. The piece was a huge success, with a record-setting run of 69 performances in its first season. The work debuted at the Haymarket Theatre, where its coded attack on Walpole would have been clear, but its long run occurred after it moved to Covent Garden, which had a much greater capacity for staging. Theburlesque itself is very brief on the page, as it relied extensively on absurd theatrics, dances, and other non-textual entertainments.The Musical Entertainer from 1739 contains engravings showing how the staging was performed.[8]
Carey continued withPasquin and others. Additionally, refugees from Drury Lane's and Covent Garden's internal struggles would show up at the Haymarket, and thusCharlotte Charke would act there in a parody of her father,Colley Cibber, one of the owners and managers of Drury Lane. The Theatrical Licensing Act, however, put an end to the anti-ministry satires, and it all but entirely shut down the theatre. From 1741 to 1747,Charles Macklin, Cibber,Samuel Foote, and others sometimes produced plays there either by use of a temporary licence or by subterfuge; one advertisement runs, "At Cibber's Academy in the Haymarket, will be a Concert, after which, will be exhibited (gratis) a Rehearsal, in the form of a Play, calledRomeo and Juliet."[5]
In 1749 ahoaxer billed asThe Bottle Conjuror was advertised to appear at the theatre. The conjuror's publicity claimed that, while on stage, he would place his body inside an empty wine bottle, in full view of the audience. When the advertised act failed to appear on stage, the audience rioted and gutted the theatre. Although the identity of the hoax's perpetrator is unknown, several authors considerJohn Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu, to have been responsible.[9]
In 1754, John Potter, who had been rated (i.e. paidproperty tax) for the theatre since its opening, was succeeded by John Whitehead.[10] In 1758Theophilus Cibber obtained fromWilliam Howard, then the Lord Chamberlain, a general licence under which Foote tried to establish the Haymarket as a regular theatre. With the aid of theDuke of York he procured aroyal licence to exhibit plays during four months in each year from May to September during his lifetime. He also bought the lease of the theatre from Potter's executors and, having added to the site by purchasing adjoining property, he enlarged and improved the building which he opened on 14 May 1767, as the Theatre Royal, the thirdpatent theatre in London.[11] Several successful seasons followed, with Foote producing numerous plays at the theatre, but Foote finally got himself into difficulties by his custom of caricaturing well-known persons on the stage and this, combined with increasing ill-health, resulted in his selling both the theatre and patent toGeorge Colman Sr. on 16 January 1777.[11]
During the season of 1793–94 when Drury Lane Theatre was being rebuilt, the Haymarket was opened under the Drury Lane Patent. The season was notable for a 'Dreadful Accident' which occurred on 3 February 1794, 'when Twenty Persons unfortunately lost their lives, and a great Number were dreadfully bruised owing to a great Crowd pressing to see his Majesty, who was that Evening present at the Performance.'[11] Amongst the dead wereJohn Charles Brooke,Somerset Herald and Benjamin PingoYork Herald.[12] Colman died in 1794, and the theatre descended to his son.George Colman Jr., though successful both as playwright and manager, dissipated his gains by his extravagance. For a time he lived in a room at the back of the theatre and he was finally forced to sell shares in the latter to his brother-in-law, David Morris. Monetary difficulties increased and for a while Colman managed the theatre from the King's Bench Prison, where he was confined for debt.[11]
All the buildings on the east of the Haymarket from the theatre southward were rebuilt circa 1820 in connection withJohn Nash's schemes for the improvement of the neighbourhood. Nash persuaded the proprietors of the theatre to rebuild on a site a little south of the old one so that the portico should close the vista from Charles Street. The main front feature of Nash's elevation in the Haymarket was (and is) a pedimented portico of six Corinthian columns which extends in depth to the edge of the pavement and includes the whole frontage. It is sometimes stated that Nash rebuilt the theatre entirely, but there is evidence that he incorporated a house in Little Suffolk Street with the theatre, removed two shops which were in front, in the Haymarket, built a portico, increased the number of avenues and added a second gallery to the existing auditorium.[11]
A lease dated 10 June 1821, was granted to David Edward Morris. The theatre was opened on 4 July 1821, withThe Rivals.[11]Benjamin Nottingham Webster became the theatre's manager from 1837 to 1853. He and his successor,John Baldwin Buckstone, established the theatre as a great comedy house, and the theatre hosted most of the great actors of the period. The illusionistChing Lau Lauro performed here on 25 July 1827.[13]
In 1862, the theatre was host to a 400-night run ofOur American Cousin, withEdward Sothern asLord Dundreary. The play's success brought the word "dreary" into common use. Robertson'sDavid Garrick was a hit in 1864, also with Sothern in the title role. Sothern also starred inH. J. Byron'sAn English Gentleman at the theatre in 1871.[14]W. S. Gilbert premiered seven of his plays at the Haymarket. The first was his early burlesque,Robinson Crusoe; or, The Injun Bride and the Injured Wife (1867, written with Byron,Tom Hood, H. S. Leigh and Arthur Sketchley). Gilbert followed this with a number of his blank verse "fairy comedies", the first of which wasThe Palace of Truth (1870), produced by Buckstone. These starredWilliam Hunter Kendal and his wifeMadge Robertson Kendal and also includedPygmalion and Galatea (1871), andThe Wicked World (1873). Gilbert also produced here his dramas,Charity (1874),Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith (1876), and his most famous play outside of hisSavoy operas,Engaged, an 1877 farce.[15] Buckstone's ghost has reportedly often been seen at the theatre, particularly during comedies and "when he appreciates things" playing there.[16] In 2009,The Daily Telegraph reported that the actorPatrick Stewart saw the ghost standing in the wings during a performance ofWaiting for Godot at the Haymarket.[16] In May 1875,Arthur Sullivan'sThe Zoo transferred to the Haymarket.[17]
In 1879 the house was taken over by theBancrofts, who re-opened the theatre with a revival ofEdward Bulwer-Lytton'sMoney, followed byVictorien Sardou'sOdette (for which they engaged MadameHelena Modjeska) andFedora, andArthur Wing Pinero'sLords and Commons, with other revivals of previous successes. The auditorium had been reconstructed, and the stage enclosed in a completepicture frame proscenium, the first in London.[citation needed] The abolition of the pit by the introduction of stalls seating divided by plain iron arms caused the opening night play,Money, on 31 January 1880, to be delayed for half an hour while the audience in the galleries expressed their anger. Mr. Bancroft, in the character of Sir Frederick Blount, vainly endeavoured to pacify them, until he bluntly asked whether the play should proceed and thus obtained silence.[18] The Bancrofts gave up management of the theatre in 1885.[19]
The next season opened in September 1885.[20]Herbert Beerbohm Tree became manager of the theatre and, in 1887, transferredThe Red Lamp there from theComedy Theatre; by then he had installed electric light in the theatre.[21] Under Tree's management,Oscar Wilde premiered his comedyA Woman of No Importance in April 1893. In January 1895 Wilde'sAn Ideal Husband was first performed at the theatre. Tree's next notable hit wasGeorge du Maurier'sTrilby, later in 1895. This ran for over 260 performances and made such profits that Tree was able to buildHer Majesty's Theatre and establishRADA.
In 1896 Cyril Maude and Frederick Harrison became lessees, opening withUnder the Red Robe, an adaptation of Stanley Wyman's novel. In 1897The Little Minister byJ. M. Barrie ran for 320 performances.[22]
The Haymarket's managers Frederick Harrison (who was sole lessee) andCyril Maude remained through the first year of the 20th century.[23][page needed] In 1904, the auditorium was redesigned in Louis XVI style by C. Stanley Peach.[24] The following year, Maude acquired thePlayhouse Theatre by Charing Cross Station, leaving Harrison in sole control. In 1909, Herbert Trench producedMaurice Maeterlinck'sThe Blue Bird. Productions from then to the end ofWorld War I includedBunty Pulls the Strings (1911), a Scottish comedy byGraham Moffat, which ran for 617 performances withJimmy Finlayson in the lead;Ibsen'sGhosts (1914);Elegant Edward, withHenry Daniell as P. C. Hodson (1915);[25]The Widow's Might (1916), a comedy by Leonard Huskinson and Christopher Sandeman, withHenry Daniell.[25][26] andGeneral Post, a comedy byJ. E. Harold Terry, which opened on 14 March 1917 and ran for 532 performances, again with Daniell.[25]
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In 1920,J. M. Barrie'sMary Rose had a run of 399 performances. Another long-running production wasYellow Sands, in whichRalph Richardson gave 610 performances in 1926–27. In 1926 Harrison died, and Horace Watson became the theatre's General Manager. His presentations included 632 performances ofThe First Mrs Fraser, bySt. John Ervine, starringMarie Tempest in 1929. In 1939, under Watson's management, work began on excavating a stalls bar, but it was not completed until 1941 owing to the outbreak ofWorld War II. Wartime presentations included the London premiere ofNoël Coward'sDesign for Living (1939) andJohn Gielgud's 1944–1945 repertory season ofThe Circle (Somerset Maugham),Love for Love (Congreve),Hamlet,A Midsummer Night's Dream andThe Duchess of Malfi.[27]
In 1940, Gielgud directedThe Beggar's Opera, withMichael Redgrave as Macheath.[28] In 1943, two Coward plays,Present Laughter andThis Happy Breed, alternated. They were followed in 1945 by Wilde'sLady Windermere's Fan and in 1948 byTennessee Williams'sThe Glass Menagerie directed by Gielgud, starringHelen Hayes;[29] andThe Heiress, an adaptation ofHenry James'sWashington Square, directed by Gielgud and starring Ralph Richardson andPeggy Ashcroft, who were succeeded byGodfrey Tearle andWendy Hiller (1949–50).[30]
In 1951–52Waters of the Moon by N. C. Hunter starredSybil Thorndike,Edith Evans and Wendy Hiller.[31] For the Coronation season in 1953, Coward gave a rare performance in a play not written by him,The Apple Cart byGeorge Bernard Shaw, withMargaret Leighton as his co-star. To Coward, the Haymarket was "the most perfect theatre in the world".[32] In 1956, Stuart Watson, who had taken over management of the theatre from his father Horace,[33] died and was succeeded by his son Anthony, and then his daughter-in-lawSylva Stuart Watson, who took over in 1963.[34] Productions under the new management includedFlowering Cherry byRobert Bolt (1957) starringRalph Richardson andCelia Johnson;Ross byTerence Rattigan (1960) starringAlec Guinness; and John Gielgud's production ofThe School for Scandal (1962), with Ralph Richardson andMargaret Rutherford.[35] In the 1960s, notable presentations includedThe Tulip Bee by N. C. Hunter starring Celia Johnson andJohn Clements andThornton Wilder'sIdes of March directed by Gielgud (both 1963).[36]
In 1971, Louis I. Michaels became the lessee of the theatre. Productions of the decade included a revival ofEnid Bagnold'sThe Chalk Garden, withGladys Cooper (1971, which had played at the Haymarket in 1956–57); the long-runningA Voyage Round My Father (John Mortimer) starring Alec Guinness, succeeded by Michael Redgrave (1971–72); and, in 1972,Crown Matrimonial byRoyce Ryton, starring Wendy Hiller asQueen Mary.[37] Later productions included a revival ofOn Approval (Frederick Lonsdale) withGeraldine McEwan andEdward Woodward (1975);The Circle, withGoogie Withers andJohn McCallum (1976);Rosmersholm (Ibsen) withClaire Bloom andDaniel Massey (1977);The Millionairess (Shaw), withPenelope Keith;[38]Waters of the Moon again, starring Hiller andIngrid Bergman in her last stage role (both 1978);[39] andKeith Michell andSusan Hampshire inThe Crucifer of Blood (1979).[40]
The theatre then presentedMake and Break (Michael Frayn), withLeonard Rossiter andPrunella Scales (1980).[39] The following year, Louis Michaels died, and the theatre passed to a company, Louis I Michaels Ltd, with President, Enid Chanelle and Chairman, Arnold M Crook, which continued to own the theatre for decades.[39] They presentedOverheard, byPeter Ustinov; andVirginia, withMaggie Smith (1981).[39] In 1982, the Haymarket staged a repertory season includingHobson's Choice, starring Penelope Keith;Captain Brassbound's Conversion (Shaw);Uncle Vanya (Chekhov);Rules of the Game (Luigi Pirandello); andMan and Superman (Shaw), starringPeter O'Toole.[39] In 1983, productions includedThe School for Scandal, starringDonald Sinden;Heartbreak House (Shaw), starringRex Harrison;Ben Kingsley in a one-man show aboutEdmund Kean;A Patriot for Me (John Osborne);The Cherry Orchard (Chekhov); andThe Sleeping Prince (Terence Rattigan).[40]
Productions in 1984 wereThe Aspern Papers by Henry James, starringChristopher Reeve,Vanessa Redgrave and Wendy Hiller;Aren't We All? (Frederick Lonsdale) starringRex Harrison andClaudette Colbert; andThe Way of the World (Congreve).[39] In 1985,Lauren Bacall starred inSweet Bird of Youth (Tennessee Williams), followed byHarold Pinter'sOld Times.[41] In 1986 the theatre presentedAntony and Cleopatra, starringTimothy Dalton andVanessa Redgrave;Breaking the Code (Hugh Whitemore), starringDerek Jacobi asAlan Turing;Long Day's Journey into Night, starringJack Lemmon; andThe Apple Cart, starring Peter O'Toole.[42] In 1988, another Tennessee Williams play,Orpheus Descending, starred Vanessa Redgrave. Later productions that year wereYou Never Can Tell (Shaw);The Deep Blue Sea (Rattigan); andThe Admirable Crichton (J. M. Barrie).[39] The 1980s ended at the Haymarket withVeterans' Day (Donald Freed) andA Life in the Theatre (David Mamet).[40] In 1990, the Haymarket revivedLondon Assurance (Dion Boucicault) and presentedAn Evening with Peter Ustinov. The next year's plays includedJean Anouilh'sBecket, starring Derek Jacobi andRobert Lindsay. Lindsay also starred in a revival ofCyrano de Bergerac in 1992.[39] This was succeeded by new productions ofHeartbreak House with Vanessa Redgrave andA Woman of No Importance.[40]
In 1994 the theatre closed for a £1.3 million refurbishment, re-opening later that year with a revival ofAn Evening with Peter Ustinov, followed byArcadia (Tom Stoppard).[43]Burning Blue (1995), a new play by the first time playwright David Greer, was followed by the veteran directorPeter Hall's revival of Ibsen'sThe Master Builder, starringAlan Bates.[44] Hall also directed the 1996An Ideal Husband (Oscar Wilde) 100 years after its première at the Haymarket; the new production featuredMartin Shaw as Lord Goring.[45] There is a memorial plaque to Wilde at the theatre.[46]
Another production of 1996 wasNeil Simon'sThe Odd Couple, starringTony Randall andJack Klugman.[47] Hall was in charge again for the 1997 production ofA Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams), starringJessica Lange;[48]Lady Windermere's Fan; andAn Ideal Husband (returning after touring).[49] The last production of that year wasA Delicate Balance (Edward Albee), starringEileen Atkins,Maggie Smith,John Standing andAnnette Crosbie.[50]
In 1998,Shakespeare's Villains a one-man play, created and performed bySteven Berkoff at the theatre was nominated for aLaurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment.[51] Later that year, Tom Stoppard'sThe Invention of Love, starringJohn Wood, transferred from theNational Theatre.[52] In 1999,Fascinating Aïda's comic revue was followed by Neil Simon'sThe Prisoner of Second Avenue, withRichard Dreyfuss andMarsha Mason;[53]Love Letters, byA. R. Gurney, withCharlton Heston[54] and a transfer of theChichester Festival Theatre'sThe Importance of Being Earnest, starringPatricia Routledge.[55]
Productions at the Haymarket in this century have includedThe Royal Family byEdna Ferber, starringJudi Dench (2001),Lady Windermere's Fan, directed by Peter Hall, starringVanessa Redgrave andJoely Richardson (2002),[56] and Dench appeared on stage together with Maggie Smith for the first time in over 40 years inThe Breath of Life byDavid Hare (2002).[57] Productions in 2003 included Ibsen'sBrand, directed byAdrian Noble, starringRalph Fiennes[58] andA Woman of No Importance, withRupert Graves,Samantha Bond andPrunella Scales, also directed by Noble.[59] In 2004, the theatre presented a stage adaptation of the film,When Harry Met Sally..., starringLuke Perry andAlyson Hannigan, during which the house closed for two nights after bits of the ceiling fell during a performance injuring fifteen people.[60]
2005 productions includedVictoria Wood'sAcorn Antiques: The Musical, starringJulie Walters,Celia Imrie andDuncan Preston, directed byTrevor Nunn[61] andA Few Good Men, starringRob Lowe,Suranne Jones andJack Ellis.[62] 2006 featured three revivals:A Man for All Seasons, starring Martin Shaw;[63] Coward'sHay Fever, with Judi Dench andPeter Bowles;[64] andSeven Brides for Seven Brothers, starringDave Willetts and Shona Lindsay.[65] The last production of that year wasSix Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, starring Claire Bloom andBilly Zane.[66] The first production of 2007 wasPinter's People, a compilation ofHarold Pinter sketches of the past 40 years;[67] later productions of that year wereThe Lady from Dubuque (Albee), starring Maggie Smith;[68]David Suchet inThe Last Confession;[69] andThe Country Wife, starringToby Stephens,Patricia Hodge andDavid Haig.[70]
In 2008, productions wereThe Sea (Bond), starringDavid Haig,Eileen Atkins andRussell Tovey;[71]Marguerite, a new musical starringRuthie Henshall andAlexander Hanson;[57] andKeith Allen in an adaptation ofTreasure Island.[72] The following year,Ian McKellen,Patrick Stewart,Simon Callow andRonald Pickup starred inWaiting for Godot,[73] followed byBreakfast at Tiffany's, starringAnna Friel,Joseph Cross,James Dreyfus andSuzanne Bertish.[57]Godot andTiffany's were featured, along with the staff and history of the Haymarket Theatre itself, in a 2009 eight-partSky Arts documentary,Theatreland.[74] In 2010Waiting for Godot was repeated with McKellen,Roger Rees,Matthew Kelly and Pickup, followed by a transfer ofSweet Charity from theMenier Chocolate Factory.[75] The next show wasThe Rivals starringPenelope Keith andPeter Bowles.[76]
Trevor Nunn became Artistic Director 2011, producing a revival ofFlare Path,[77] as part of the playwrightTerence Rattigan's centenary year celebrations, starringSienna Miller,James Purefoy andSheridan Smith; theChichester Festival Theatre's revival ofRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead byTom Stoppard;[78]Ralph Fiennes as Prospero inThe Tempest;[79] and, over the Christmas/New Year season,Robert Lindsay andJoanna Lumley inThe Lion in Winter.[57] For two years from March 2012, the Haymarket hosted theNational Theatre productionOne Man, Two Guvnors, which transferred from theAdelphi Theatre.[80] The theatre was one of the 40 theatres featured in the 2012 DVD documentary seriesGreat West End Theatres, presented byDonald Sinden.[81]
In 2014,a stage adaptation of the filmFatal Attraction, directed by Nunn, premiered at the theatre,[82] andMaureen Lipman andHarry Shearer starred inDaytona.[83] The following yearPenelope Wilton starred inTaken at Midnight.[84] This was followed byHarvey, starringJames Dreyfus andMaureen Lipman,[85] andThe Elephant Man, starringBradley Cooper.[86]McQueen, starringStephen Wight, then transferred from theSt. James Theatre,[87] and was followed byMr Foote's Other Leg, starringSimon Russell Beale as Samuel Foote.[88]
Productions in 2016 included a revival ofAlan Ayckbourn'sHow the Other Half Loves, starringNicholas Le Prevost,Jenny Seagrove,Tamzin Outhwaite andJason Merrells,[89] andPixie Lott made her debut at the Haymarket as Holly Golightly inBreakfast at Tiffany's.[90] In December theRoyal Shakespeare Company took up residence at the Haymarket with a double bill ofLove's Labour's Lost andMuch Ado About Nothing.[91] In 2017,Damian Lewis andSophie Okonedo starred inEdward Albee'sThe Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? from March to June.[92] The RSC then returned to the theatre withQueen Anne.[93]Natalie Dormer andDavid Oakes later starred inVenus in Fur.[94]
In 2018,Suranne Jones,Jason Watkins andNina Sosanya starred in a revival ofFrozen, a play byBryony Lavery,[95] followed byHeathers: The Musical starringCarrie Hope Fletcher.[96] In 2019 Louis I. Michaels Ltd. sold the theatre toAccess Entertainment for a reported £45 million.[97] In February 2019,Only Fools and Horses The Musical premiered at the theatre.[98] It closed at the end of April 2023 after over 1,000 performances, making it the longest-running show in the Haymarket's history,[99] and was followed by a limited run ofAccidental Death of an Anarchist starringDaniel Rigby.[100]Noises Off starringFelicity Kendal began a limited run in September 2023.[101]The Picture of Dorian Gray starringSarah Snook followed in February 2024.[102]A View from the Bridge starringDominic West began playing in May 2024.[103] It was followed byWaiting for Godot starringLucian Msamati andBen Whishaw from September to December 2024.[104]
In 2025 the theatre hostedBill Bailey - Thoughtifier.Brian Cox starred asJohann Sebastian Bach inThe Score, a new play by Oliver Cotton andTamsin Greig starred in a revival of Rattigan'sThe Deep Blue Sea.[105] These are expected to be followed by a new production ofOthello, starringDavid Harewood in the title role, withToby Jones as Iago andCaitlin FitzGerald as Desdemona.[106]
In 1998 the theatre founded Masterclass, a charity that offers creative opportunities and performing experiences to young people pursuing careers in the performing arts. Its activities include, in addition to masterclasses, apprenticeships in directing and theatre design, workshop productions, and theatre career fairs. The masterclasses cover a range of disciplines, from acting and directing to writing, producing and design, and give young people the chance to learn directly from leading practitioners working in theatre, film and television. As of 2012, more than 60,000 young people between the ages of 17 and 30 had participated in the masterclasses.[107]
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