Aldwych Theatre
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Aldwych Theatre
London, three-tier theatre seating 1,100, was built for Seymour Hicks, who opened it in 1905 with himself and his wife Ellaline Terriss in a revival of their ‘dream fantasy’ Bluebell in Fairyland. The building was damaged during the First World War, but after restoration reopened and in 1923 had its first outstanding success with Tons of Money, a farce by Will Evans and Valentine. In the cast were Ralph Lynn and Tom Walls, and both actors stayed on to appear with Robertson Hare in a succession of ‘Aldwych farces’ written by Ben Travers. The series ended in 1933 with A Bit of a Test. There were notable productions of American plays: Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine (1943), Sherwood's There Shall Be No Night (1945), with the Lunts, A Streetcar Named Desire (1949), with Vivien Leigh, and Maxwell Anderson's The Bad Seed (1955). Edith Evans starred in Fry's The Dark Is Light Enough (1954).
In 1960, the Aldwych became the London home of the RSC. Extensive alterations were made to the interior, including the installation of a completely new lighting system and an apron stage, with a proscenium opening 31ft. wide; the seating capacity was slightly reduced, to 1,030. The first season opened with Peggy Ashcroft in Webster's The Duchess of Malfi, and the theatre subsequently housed new plays and revivals as well as productions transferred from Stratford. From 1964 to 1975 (except for 1974) the Aldwych also housed the annual World Theatre Season organized by Peter Daubeny. The first new work presented by the RSC was John Whiting's The Devils (1961), and in the same year Giraudoux's Ondine and Anouilh's Becket represented recent work from abroad, Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle following in 1962. Other Europeans whose work was staged included Dürrenmatt, Hochhuth, Peter Weiss, and Marguerite Duras, and there were two or more works from Pinter, Albee, and Peter Nichols. Notable revivals were Gogol's The Government Inspector (1965), Vanbrugh's The Relapse (1967), O'Casey's The Silver Tassie (1969), and Boucicault's London Assurance (1970). The virtual ‘discovery’ of Gorky in the English theatre was marked by five productions. The year 1980 was particularly successful, with a fine revival of O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock and two mammoth productions: The Greeks, a three-part adaptation by John Barton of 10 Greek plays, and David Edgar's eight-hour adaptation of Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby.
In 1982 the RSC transferred its London base to the Barbican Theatre and The Pit in the Barbican Centre. The Aldwych's subsequent productions have included Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) and Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge (1987), both transferred from the National Theatre, and Stoppard's Hapgood (1988).
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Aldwych Theatre
| Aldwych Theatre | |
|---|---|
 Aldwych Theatre in April 2007 |
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| Address | Aldwych |
| City | Westminster, London |
| Country | UK |
| Coordinates | 51°30′48″N 0°07′05″W / 51.513306°N 0.117944°WCoordinates: 51°30′48″N 0°07′05″W / 51.513306°N 0.117944°W |
| Designation | Grade II |
| Architect | W.G.R. Sprague |
| Owned by | James Nederlander |
| Capacity | 1200 |
| Type | West End theatre |
| Opened | 1905 |
| Production | Top Hat (Opening: 9 May 2012) |
| www.aldwychtheatre.com | |
The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971.[1] Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels, a fairly large auditorium.[2]
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Contents
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History
Origins
The theatre was built as a pair with the Waldorf Theatre now known as the Novello Theatre, both being designed by W.G.R. Sprague. Funded by Seymour Hicks, in association with the American impressario Charles Frohman, and built by Walter Wallis of Balham. The ornate decorations were in the Georgian style. The theatre was constructed on the newly built Aldwych.
The Aldwych theatre opened on 23 December 1905 with a production of Blue Bell, a new version of Hicks' popular pantomime Bluebell in Fairyland. In 1906, Hicks' The Beauty of Bath, followed in 1907 by The Gay Gordons, played at the theatre. In February 1913 the theatre was used by Serge Diaghilev and Vaslav Nijinsky for the first rehearsals of Le Sacre du Printemps before its controversial première in Paris later that year.[3] In 1920, Basil Rathbone played Major Wharton in The Unknown. From 1925-1933, it became the home of Ben Travers's farces, also known as The Aldwych Farces. Members of Travers's company included Ralph Lynn, Tom Walls, Yvonne Arnaud, Norma Varden, Mary Brough, Winifred Shotter and Robertson Hare. In 1933, Richard Tauber presented and starred in a new version of Das Dreimäderlhaus at the Aldwych under the title Lilac Time. From the mid-1930s until about 1960, the theatre was owned by the Abrahams family.[4]
Post-war years and Royal Shakespeare Company
Vivien Leigh, who had won an Academy Award for the film version, appeared in a 1949 London production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Aldwych, which was directed by her husband, Laurence Olivier. Bonar Colleano co-starred as Stanley.
On 15 December 1960, after intense speculation, it was announced that the Royal Shakespeare Company of Stratford-upon-Avon was to base its London productions in the Aldwych Theatre for the next three years. In fact they stayed for over 20 years, finally moving to the Barbican Arts Centre in 1982. Among many notable productions were The Wars of the Roses, The Greeks, and Nicholas Nickleby, as well as numerous Shakespeare productions.
During absences of the RSC, the theatre hosted the annual World Theatre Seasons, foreign plays in their original productions, invited to London by the theatre impresario Peter Daubeny, annually from 1964 to 1973 and finally in 1975. For his involvement with these Aldwych seasons, run without Arts Council or other official support, Daubeny won the Evening Standard special award in 1972.
In 1990-91, Joan Collins starred in a revival of Private Lives at the Aldwych. The theatre is referred to in Julio Cortázar's short story Instructions for John Howell (Instrucciones para John Howell) in the anthology All Fires the Fire (Todos los fuegos el fuego).
Twenty-first century
Since 2000, the theatre has hosted a mixture of plays, comedies and musical theatre productions. Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Whistle Down the Wind played until 2001, and Fame enjoyed an extended run from 2002 to 2006. From 2006 to 2011, it was the home to the British musical version of Dirty Dancing.[5][6]
Hauntings at Aldwych Theatre
The Aldwych Theatre is amongst the many theatres that are reported to be haunted.[7]
Notable historical productions
- John Whiting The Devils (1961)
- Harold Pinter The Collection (18 June 1962)
- Harold Pinter The Homecoming (3 June 1965)
- Harold Pinter Old Times (1 June 1971)
- Jean Genet The Balcony (25 November 1971)
- Tom Stoppard Travesties (10 June 1974)
- An Inspector Calls (August 25, 1993 - January 21, 1995)
- Indian Ink (February 27, 1995 - January 6, 1996) by Tom Stoppard
- Whistle Down The Wind (July 1, 1998 - January 6, 2001) by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman
- Fame - The Musical (September 6, 2002 - April 22, 2006) by Jacques Levy and Steve Margoshes
- Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage (28 September 2006 - 9 July 2011), by Eleanor Bergstein
Recent and current productions
- A Round-Heeled Woman (30 November 2011 – 14 January 2012)
- Midnight Tango (31 January 2012 – 31 March 2012)
Notes
- ^ Aldwych Theatre listing details - English Heritage accessed 3 Apr 2007
- ^ "Aldwych Theatre Seating Plan". http://www.theatres.tv/london/aldwych-theatre/.
- ^ Lucas, John: Thomas Beecham (2008), p. 94, Boydell Press, ISBN 978-1-84383-402-1
- ^ Theatre Postcard site accessed 19 Mar 2007
- ^ Winterman, Denise (2006-10-24). "The Time of Your Life". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6076808.stm. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
- ^ "The insider's guide to 'Dirty Dancing'". CNN. 2006-10-25. http://edition.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/10/25/insider.dirtydancing/index.html. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
- ^ "Aldwych Theatre Hauntings". http://uktickets.co.uk/news/30.
References
- Who's Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London, 1947, p. 1183.
- The Oxford Companion to the Theatre Fourth edition, edited by Phyllis Hartnoll, Oxford, 1983
- Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 97–8 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN 0-7136-5688-3
Nearby tube stations
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aldwych Theatre |
External links
- Official Website
- London Theatre Guide Aldwych Theatre Details
- History of the Aldwych Theatre
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Oxford Companion to the Theatre
The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. © 1996
Oxford University Press.
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Mentioned in
Thark
(1932 Comedy Film)
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(1941 Comedy Film)
Royal Shakespeare Company
(organization, United Kingdom – in theater)
Ben Travers
(Writer, Comedy)
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