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     London Theatre Tickets » List of London Theatres » Duchess Theatre » History
Duchess Theatre - Information & History
The Duchess Theatre is located on Catherine Street in Covent Garden and is one of the smallest theatres in the West End, with a tiny seating capacity of only 479 on 2 levels. The Duchess Theatre opened its doors in 1929 as one of the smallest theatres with a 'Proscenium Arched' style construction. This is a particular style of theatre construction where the primary internal feature is a large archway [proscenium arch] at or near the front of the stage. This acts as a window to frame the stage through which the audience view the performance, who sit directly in front elevating further away from the stage. For further information to learn more about the origins and history of the proscenium arch click here to open a new window.
The Duchess Theatre holds perhaps the worst record for the shortest runs of any theatrical production, namely 'The Intimate review' which lasted only 1 night. However, this did not set the trend for performances at the Duchess, as Noel Coward's 'Blithe Spirit' completed a fantastic long run of 1,997 performances when it transferred to the Duchess Theatre in 1942.
After the Second World War in 1952, the Duchess Theatre presented Terrance Rattigan's 'Deep Blue Sea' and in 1960 Harold Pinter opened with the 'Caretaker' The Duchess took a slightly 'blue' turn in the early 70's when it presented Tom Eyen's 'the Dirtiest Show in Town', followed by yet another controversial raunchy production of 'Oh Calcutta', which clocked up 6 years of performances from 1974 to 1980. The Players Theatre Company took the Duchess Theatre to perform their 'Late Joy's Victorian Music Hall' production for 3 years from 1987 to 1990. The Duchess Theatre ran a successful 'Don't Dress for Dinner' production from 1992 for almost 5 years after moving from the Apollo. Even the Royal Shakespeare Company presented a 6 month run of Peter Whelan's 'The Herbal Bed'.
The Duchess Theatre, very appropriately as a small theatre, brought to life the performance of 'Little Women' the classic book by Louisa May Alcott, which was a great success for the Duchess. A more sinister production of 'Behind the Iron Mask' ran thereafter about the false imprisonment of a secretly masked man by the King of France Louis X1V around 1669.
Showing: The Pitmen Painters
Wednesday 5th October 2011 to Open ended run Duchess Theatre | Performances | Information | Directions | History
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