|
Discount Theatre Tickets >> London Theatres >> Palace
Theatre |
|
Palace
Theatre |
 |
|
|
Palace Theatre |
Currently showing:
Spamalot |
|
|
|
|
The Palace Theatre, London,
is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the
west side of Cambridge Circus.
Commissioned by Richard D'Oyly Carte in the late 1880's,
it was designed by Thomas Collcutt. D'Oyly Carte
intended it to be the home of English grand opera, much
as his Savoy Theatre had become the home of light opera
with the Gilbert and Sullivan series. The foundation
stone, laid by his wife Helen in 1888, can still be seen
on the facade of the theatre, almost at ground level to
the right of the entrance.
The Royal English Opera opened in January 1891 with
Arthur Sullivan's Ivanhoe. No expense was spared to make
the production a success, including a double cast and
"every imaginable effect of scenic splendour" (Hesketh
Pearson, 'Gilbert and Sullivan'). It ran for 160
performances.
However, this was not enough to sustain the venture. Sir
Henry Wood, who had been répétiteur for the production,
recalled in his autobiography that "[i]f D'Oyly Carte
had had a repertory of six operas instead of only one, I
believe he would have established English opera in
London for all time. Towards the end of the run of
Ivanhoe I was already preparing the Flying Dutchman with
Eugène Oudin in the name part. He would have been
superb. However, plans were altered and the Dutchman was
shelved." ('My Life of Music', Victor Gollancz Ltd,
London 1938)
D'Oyly Carte sold the theatre within a year, and it was
renamed the Palace Theatre of Varieties. The name
finally changed to The Palace Theatre in 1911.
On March 11, 1925 the musical comedy No, No, Nanette
opened at the Palace Theatre starring Binnie Hale. The
run of 665 performances made it the third longest
running West End musical of the 1920s.
The Palace Theatre was also the venue for Fred Astaire's
final stage musical Gay Divorce which opened there on
November 2, 1933.
The last years of the twentieth century saw two
exceptional runs at The Palace: Jesus Christ Superstar
and Les Misérables. The latter ran for eighteen years,
having transferred from the Barbican Centre on December
4, 1985. The show is still running at the Queen's
Theatre just 100m further up Shaftesbury Avenue, having
transferred in April 2004.
Following the transfer of Les Miserables, the theatre
was greatly refurbished, marble walls uncovered,
restored, repainted, new chandeliers, cleaned etc. This
was followed by a short 6-week season of illusionist
Derren Brown following his successful UK tour.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman In White recieved its
world premiere on 15 September 2006 and ran for 19
months to 25 February 2006. The show starred Maria
Friedman and Michael Crawford originally with subsequent
casts including Ruthie Henshall, Michael Ball, Anthony
Andrews, Simon Callow and David Burt. It is still
playing at Broadway's Marquis Theatre where it opened in
November 2005.
The next production was confirmed by Ostar Boyett
Productions on 20 January 2006 as the London premiere of
Monty Python's Spamalot from 2 October 2006.
The Palace Theatre's current capacity is 1400.
Principal productions
Song and Dance (April 7, 1982 - March 31, 1984)
Les Misérables (December 4, 1985 - March 27, 2004)
The Woman in White (September 15, 2004 - February 25,
2006)
Monty Python's Spamalot (From October 2, 2006 - )
|
|
|
|
Palace
Theatre seating plan |
|
Click on thumbnail to
enlarge seating plan |
 |
|
Contents and design, unless
otherwise indicated, © discount-theatre.com 2006.
All
rights reserved. discount-theatre.com is committed to bringing you
the net's best cheap theatre tickets,
West End Musicals,
London plays,
half-price
tickets and great london theater deals. Use of
this site is in accordance with our
terms
of use.
Visit our sister site for
cheap
travel and holidays |
|
|
|
