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     Garrick Theatre - Information & History
The Garrick Theatre is situated on the end of Charring Cross Road just up from Trafalgar Square and opposite Leicester Square. The Garrick first opened its doors on the 24th of April in 1889 with a play called the 'The Profligate' by A.W. Pinero. The Garrick Theatre was named in honour of the English actor, producer, dramatist, and poet, David Garrick. The Garrick Theatre backs on to the Duke of York's Theatre.
The Garrick was designed by Walter Emden & C.J. Phipps and the builders were Messrs Peto. The theatre required very deep excavations to enable the back of the dress circle to be level with the street. During the deep excavations it was discovered the site was straddling an old Roman river running right through the location. This held up construction for some time and it was thought the site may have to be abandoned, but Victorian engineering persistence finally paid off and, despite these unforeseen technical problems, the Garrick was finally constructed.
Shortly after the grand opening the Theatrical News 'The Stage' wrote the following about the new theatre on Charing Cross Road: 'Classic style Garrick Theatre by Mr Hare has been executed in Portland & Bath Stone and has a sweeping frontage of 140 feet. The theatre is entered on the dress circle level, which is reached after passing through the outer vestibule by a large inner vestibule. A striking object in this is a handsome oil painting copy of the celebrated portrait of Garrick. From this, by a staircase on either side, the stalls are entered; and from it, by a staircase, the foyer level, with its refreshment saloon and smoke room. The saloon on the foyer opens on to a broad balcony facing on to Charing Cross Road, the balcony being covered with an arcade. The floor of the vestibule is laid with mosaic and that of the entrance hall and saloons in marquetry, and they are surrounded by dados of polished walnut in panels, the upper part of the walls being divided by marble pilasters, the panels thus formed being filled with mirrors and decorations in relief. The ceilings are of a highly ornamental character, the whole of these decorations being in the Italian Renaissance style. To every part of the house there are two separate means of exit, ten in all.
The Garrick Theatre's Auditorium was decorated in Italian Classic Renaissance style with a high degree of ornamental works. The Proscenium Arch was formed by a series of columns on either side supporting a central dome. There are shields carrying the name of a celebrated author adorned with laurels held by cupids decorating the dress circle tier.
The Garrick Theatre was constructed to accommodate an auditorium on 4 levels: Stalls & Pit, Dress Circle, Upper Circle and Gallery. The original seating capacity was said to be around 1500, which was large for the time, but by 1912 the Garrick had its Circle Boxes removed and its seating capacity was said to be 1250. The Gallery has not been used for decades due to uncertainty about its structure and suitable access and so the current capacity is greatly reduced to only 656.
The Garrick Theatre was almost completely destroyed in 1934 when plans were drawn up to redevelop the site in to a Super Cinema. Thankfully, even though plans were drawn and architects commissioned, the work never took place and the Garrick Theatre remains virtually intact as it was in its original state.
During the Second World War the Garrick Theatre was tried out as a forces theatre to entertain the troops on leave but this failed to succeed and the Garrick closed several months after the outbreak of the war in 1940. The Garrick Theatre only remained closed for a about a year and finally reopened in September 1941 with a play called 'Room V', following which the Garrick saw numerous successful runs.
Traditionally the Garrick Theatre has been associated with Comedy Dramas and Comedy Farce productions, the most famous of which was probably 'No Sex Please, We're British' which ran from February 1982 to September 1986. Another long running production was 'An Inspector Calls' which ran from October 1995 to April 2001. The Garrick has seen many productions lasting only several months to several years but mainly consisting of short runs.
In 1986 the Garrick Theatre underwent a facelift and the Gold leaf auditorium was restored by the stage designer Carl Toms in 1989. In 1997 the façade was given a well deserved facelift to restore the original colour of the Portland and Bath stone.
The Garrick theatre is currently owned by Max Weitzenhoffer and Nica Burns, as of October 2006.
Garrick Theatre | Performances | Information | Directions | History
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