The Palace Theatre in London was designed by Thomas Collcutt. It is a grand redbrick building, which dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus.
Commissioned by D’Oyly Carte, he intended it to be the home to the English Grand Opera. 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 started in January 1891 with Arthur Sullivan’s "Ivanhoe". There was no expenditure of money to make the production a success including a double cast and "every imaginable effect of scenic splendor" (Hesketh Pearson, ''Gilbert and Sullivan'') which 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 “if D’Oyly Carte 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", he was already preparing the "Flying Dutchman" with Eugene Oudin in the name part. It 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, which was finally changed to The Palace Theatre in 1911.
The musical comedy "No, No, Nanette" opened on March 11, 1925 at the Palace Theatre starring Binnie Hale, which made it the third longest running West End musical of the 1920s with a run of 665 performances. On November 2nd 1933, the Palace Theatre became the venue for Fred Astaire’s musical "Gay Divorce".
End of the twentieth century also saw two exceptional runs at the theatre - "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Les Misérables". "Les Misérables", after having transferred from the Barbican Centre on December 4, 1985, ran for 18 years. After which the theatre was thoroughly renovated.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s "The Woman in White" had its world premiere on 15 September 2004, starring Maria Friedman and Michael Crawford originally with subsequent casts including Ruthie Henshall, Anthony Andrews, Simon Callow, Michael Ball and David Burt. The show ran for 19 months until 25 February 2006. The next production was fixed by Ostar Boyett Productions as the London premiere of Monty Python’s Spamalot on 2nd January 2006. Nearest Tube : Leicester Square Tube Distance : 5 minutes walk Train Station : Charing Cross Car Park : MasterPark at Cambridge Circus Map : Click Here
Loading, please wait ...
