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     London Theatre Tickets » List of London Theatres » Queen's Theatre » History
Queen's Theatre - Information & History
The Queen's Theatre is situated in Shaftesbury Avenue right next to the Geilgud Theatre, which was originally called the Hicks Theatre. Both theatres were co designed and built as twin theatres by W.G.R. Sprague in the Louis XVI style and constructed and opened in 1906 and 1907. There was once another Theatre called the Queen's Theatre in the 19th century on Long Acre, but this had closed in 1887 and was eventually demolished. It is customary to only call a theatre a unique name, so as not to cause confusion by having two theatres with the same name, but it is common for theatres to adopt an old theatre's name, as long as it is no longer in existence in London.
This new Queen's Theatre opened its doors on the 8th of October 1907 with a comedy called 'The Sugar Bowl' by Madeleine Lucette Ryley.
The Queen's Theatre and Geilgud Theatre, then called Hicks Theatre, were built by Walter Wallis of West London with ornamental facades of Portland Stone. The site included the demolition of 17 houses in Wardour Street, Rupert Street and Upper Street, now called Winnet Street. The original auditorium was built on the cantilever system and comprised of three levels, Stalls, Dress Circle, Upper Circle, and Gallery at the rear of the Upper, with a large capacity of 1,917, but today the capacity is a more modest 977.
Two days after the present Queen's Theatre opened, The Stage newspaper published a review of the building in their 10th of October 1907 edition which said:
'A two-tier house, the Queen's holds about 1200 persons, representing some £300 in money. The colour scheme of the walls and roof is white and gold, while green is the hue of the carpets, hangings and upholstery, and of the very charming velvet tableau curtain. From a spacious and lofty entrance-hall, with passages leading down into the stalls, one ascends by a handsome marble staircase to the dress circle, which runs out over the pit; and there is a fine and roomy saloon at the top. Mr Vedrenne makes a point that 7/6 will be charged for seats in the first three rows only of the dress circle, while but 5/- will be the price of the remaining eight rows, also unreserved, in which evening dress will be optional. On the second tier of the Queen's, which is in the Old Italian Renaissance style and in the building of which the cantilever principle has been adopted, are the upper circle and the shilling gallery. The auditorium is lighted up agreeably with electric lamps and an electrolier, and ample refreshment room and other accommodation will be found to have been provided.'
The twin theatres had the same designs but unfortunately the Queen's Theatre suffered a direct hit during the London Bombing blitz in 1940 and the entire façade was destroyed, including the upper gallery. The Queen's Theatre remained closed for nearly 20 years before being rebuilt in the late 1950's by Westwood, Sons and Partner. The Queen's Theatre finally reopened on July the 8th 1959 with a more modern architectural style shell and an Edwardian interior.
The Queen's Theatre has staged numerous talented actors and actresses including Edith Evans, George Bernard Shaw, Noel Coward, Alec Guinness, Maggie Smith, Fiona Shaw, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Hawthorne, John Geilgud and Kenneth Branagh, to name but a few.
Since 2004 the Queen's Theatre has played host to the long running and highly popular tale of the French Revolution 'Les Miserables', which transferred to the Queen's Theatre after an 18 year run at the Palace Theatre, a mere 100 meters up the road in Shaftesbury Avenue. The musical celebrated its 20th year anniversary at the Queen's Theatre on the 8th of October 2005 and will overtake 'Cats' as the longest running musical of all time, and it is planned to continue packing in audiences.
Cameron Mackintosh, the owners of the both the Queen's and Geilgud Theatres, are about to embark on a master-plan of reconstruction and rejuvenation of the sister theatres. Part of this work will see the amalgamation of the foyers of the two theatres and the Queen's auditorium is planned to increase the current seating capacity from 977 to 1200 seats on two levels. It is also planned to create a brand new smaller theatre on the new roof of the buildings to become the new Sondheim Theatre, which will make a trio of theatres on one location. Works are scheduled to be completed in late 2007.
Queen's Theatre | Performances | Information | Directions | History
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