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     Savoy Theatre - Information & History
The Savoy Theatre is situated on the Strand and next to the world famous Savoy Theatre, the luxury hotel which attracts celebrities from all over the world for their stay in the heart of London.
The Savoy Theatre first opened its doors on the 10th of October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace. It was opened as a venue to host performances of light opera works by Gilbert & Sullivan, which became known as the Savoy Operas, works such as 'HMS Pinafore', 'The Mikado', 'Trial By Jury' and 'The Pirates of Penzance', to name only a few.
The history of the site goes way back to the 13th Century. The Family House of Savoy, descended from Humbert I Count of Sabaudia which evolved into the word Savoy in France, was the ruling family. The direct family descendants, namely Count Peter of Savoy who was the maternal uncle of Eleanor of Provence, the Queen Consort of Henry III of England, came to London with the Queen. King Henry III bestowed the title Peter Earl of Richmond to him in 1246 and also gave him land between the Strand and the Thames where Peter built his first new Savoy Palace in 1263.
The Savoy palace later became the home of John Gaunt the 2nd Duke of Lancaster until the people 'peasant' revolts in 1381, when the Savoy Palace was burned to the ground in the ensuing riots led by Watt Tyler's followers. The Savoy Palace was a target for the rampaging peasants as John Gaunt, the uncle of the still child Richard II, was the power behind the throne.
The Savoy palace lay in ruins for a further 120 years when King Henry VII commissioned a hospital to be built in the palace ruins in 1505. The Hospital remained in use throughout Henry VIII's and Elizabethan times and remained in use for a further 300 hundred years until the 18th Century. It was then converted into a military prison until a huge fire destroyed the prison in 1864 and burnt everything to the ground except for the main outer stone walls. This empty shell remained until 1864 when Richard D'Oyly Carte purchased the site in 1880 and decided to build the first Savoy Theatre to host the Gilbert & Sullivan light operas.
The newly constructed Savoy Theatre took only 1year to complete, designed by C.I. Phipps and decorated by Collinson & Locke, was proclaimed as one of the most beautiful theatres in Europe and first opened its doors in October 1881. The opening show was Gilbert & Sullivan's comique opera 'Patience'. So much was D'Oyly Carte in love with Gilbert & Sullivan he wanted to make the theatre dedicated to stage further G&S light musical operas.
The Savoy Theatre became famous for being the very first theatre in the world that was exclusively lit by the electric incandescent light bulbs instead of Gas. However Gas Lighting was also installed just in case the electricity failed. The adjacent Savoy Hotel was built in 1889. The new Savoy Theatre was a very modern construction and hailed at the time as being 'a really outstanding example of modern decoration applied to a public place on a commercial basis.' The new auditorium was on three levels, Stalls, Dress, and Upper Circle with a capacity of 1,138 and the new stage was much smaller at 29' 4" wide by 29' 6" deep.
The Savoy Theatre continued throughout the first quarter of the 20th Century until the 3rd of June 1929 when it was decided by the owners to completely refurbish the auditorium. The original Victorian interior was destroyed and a brand new gleaming theatre was recreated in only 135 days. The modern looking interior was the brain child of Architect Frank Tugwell and decoration by Basil Ionides. The exterior was kept but the interior was totally rebuilt. Originally the main entrance to the theatre had been from the Embankment along Beaufort Street. This was reverted to the Savoy courtyard approached from The Strand, where it still is today. A very interesting fact is the entrance road to the Savoy theatre from The Strand is the only road in Britain where cars are required by law to drive on the right hand side. This was a special privilege conferred by Parliament to enable visitors to the theatre to climb straight from their carriages into the theatre.
The new Savoy Theatre re-opened on 21st of October 1929 with a revival performance of Gilbert & Sullivan's 'The Gondoliers' with artistic direction by Charles Ricketts and the Orchestra conducted by Dr. Malcolm Sargent.
The Savoy Theatre continued to entertain theatre goers right up to the early hours of the 12th of February 1990, when the auditorium was destroyed by fire. It was thought that this catastrophe would be the end to the Savoy Theatre and it was in doubt if the Savoy Theatre would find the finances to restore the building. Thankfully the funding was found and with the creative instruction of distinguished Architects Sir Hugh Wontner and Sir William Whitfield, the Savoy Theatre was faithfully restored as close as possible to the D'Oyly Carte original 1929 designs, even though the original plans were destroyed. During the renovation an extra storey was added to provide a room to house the plant machinery, a health club and incredibly a swimming pool directly above the stage. The revised seating capacity of the auditorium is 1,158.
The Savoy Theatre re-opened on 19th July, 1993 in the presence of HRH the Princess of Wales, Diana with a Royal Gala performed by the English National Ballet. As a tribute to Gilbert and Sullivan, the overture to 'Patience' was played and the season's programme included Wayne Sleep's specially commissioned ballet Savoy Suite.
International Interest in the reopening of the Savoy Theatre was widespread with major theatrical productions vying to stage at the all newly created Savoy Theatre. It began with the return or Noel Coward's 'Relative Values', which was first staged at the Savoy in 1951. This was closely followed by Tom Stoppard's 'Travesties' with further productions of Terry Johnson's 'Dead Funny', Alan Ayckborn's 'Communicating Doors' and J.B. Priestley's 'When we are Married', which starred Dawn French, Leo Mckern and Alison Steadman. The Savoy Theatre was back.
In 1997 the Savoy Group decided to pass the management of the Savoy to a group led by Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen and the Savoy has seen a variety of productions which have included the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of 'Richard III', Simon Callow in 'The Importance of Being Oscar' and a pop gig with the 'Pet Shop Boys' in concert.
The year 2000 saw the triumphant return of the D'Oyly Carte Company with a traditional production of Gilbert & Sullivan's 'HMS Pinafore', continuing the D'Oyly Carte Season with 'The Pirates of Penzance'. Donald Sutherland also made his return to the stage to the Savoy Theatre in 'Enigmatic Variations'. The Savoy has continued its marriage with Gilbert & Sullivan's operas throughout 2003 and 2004 with more performances of 'HMS Pinafore' and 'The Pirates of Penzance', along with 'The Marriage of Figaro' and 'The Barber of Seville', all performed by the Savoy Opera Company.
This was followed by productions by Lorna Luft's 'Songs My Mother Taught Me' and Noel Coward's 'Blithe Spirit' which opened in late November and ran through to May 2005.
Showing: Legally Blonde
Saturday 5th December 2009 to Open ended run Savoy Theatre | Performances | Information | Directions | History
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