Citizendia

Aldwych Theatre
Aldwych Theatre in April 2007
Address
Aldwych
City
Westminster, London
DesignationGrade II
ArchitectW.G.R. Sprague
Owned byJames Nederlander
Capacity1200
TypeWest End theatre
Opened1905
ProductionDirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage
www.aldwychtheatre.com
Coordinates: 51°30′48″N 0°07′05″W / 51.513306, -0.117944

The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. Aldwych ('ɔːldwɪtʃ is a place and road in the City of Westminster in London, England. The City of Westminster ( is a borough of London with city status. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance WGR Sprague (1863&ndash1933 was a theatre designer in the grand age The Nederlander Organization ( Detroit Michigan) founded in 1912 by David T West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London 's "Theatreland" Dirty Dancing is a 1987 Romance film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein, the film features Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London 's "Theatreland" Aldwych ('ɔːldwɪtʃ is a place and road in the City of Westminster in London, England. The City of Westminster ( is a borough of London with city status. The theatre was listed Grade II on July 20, 1971[1] Its seating capacity is 1,200. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar.

Contents

History

Origins

The theatre was built as a pair with the Waldorf Theatre (now called the Novello Theatre), both being designed by W.G.R. Sprague. Aldwych was also home to the earlier Royal Strand Theatre The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the WGR Sprague (1863&ndash1933 was a theatre designer in the grand age Funded by Seymour Hicks, in association with the American impressario Charles Frohman, and built by Walter Wallis of Balham. Seymour Hicks ( 30 January 1871 &ndash 6 April 1949) was a British actor Music hall performer playwright screenwriter Charles Frohman ( July 15 1856 – May 7, 1915) was a Jewish American theatrical producer Balham may refer to Balham London, a place in the London Borough of Wandsworth England Balham and Tooting (UK Parliament constituency 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. Events 962 - Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Pantomime (informally panto) (not to be confused with a Mime artist, referring to a theatrical performer of mime is a performance genre traditionally found In 1906, Hicks' The Beauty of Bath, followed in 1907 by The Gay Gordons played at the theatre. The Beauty of Bath is a musical comedy by Seymour Hicks and Cosmo Hamilton, with lyrics by C In 1920, Basil Rathbone played Major Wharton in The Unknown. Basil Rathbone, MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967 was a South African-born English Actor most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock From 1925-1933, it was used for performances of Ben Travers's farces, also known as The Aldwych Farces. Ben Travers CBE ( 12 November 1886 - 18 December 1980) was a British Playwright most famous for his Farces Members of Travers's company included Tom Walls, Yvonne Arnaud, Norma Varden, Ralph Lynn, Mary Brough, Winifred Shotter, and Robertson Hare. Tom Kirby Walls ( 18 February 1883 - 27 November 1949) was a popular English stage and motion-pictures character actor and film director Yvonne Arnaud (20 December 1892 - 20 September 1958 was a French -born pianist singer and actress Norma Varden ( 20 January 1898 - 19 January 1989) was an English actress with a long film career in Hollywood. Mary Bessie Brough (1863 &ndash 1934 was an English stage Actress and star of Silent films and early Talkies, including several Aldwych J Robertson Hare ( December 17, 1891 – January 25, 1979) was an English comedy actor who came to fame in the Aldwych farces In 1933, Richard Tauber presented and starred in a new version of Das Dreimäderlhaus at the Aldwych under the title Lilac Time. Richard Tauber (b 16 May 1891, Linz &ndash d 8 January 1948, London England) was an Austrian Tenor Das Dreimäderlhaus ( House of the Three Girls) adapted into English language versions as Blossom Time and Lilac Time From the mid-1930s until about 1960, the theatre was owned by the Abrahams family. [2]

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. Vivien Leigh Lady Olivier (5 November 1913 &ndash 8 July 1967 was an English actress. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize Laurence Kerr Olivier Baron Bonar Colleano co-starred as Stanley. Bonar Colleano ( 14 March 1924 - 18 August 1958) was a charismatic American-born British stage

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. Events 533 - Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC is a British Theatre company Stratford-upon-Avon (ˌstrætfɚd əpɒn ˈɛɪvən is a Market town and Civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. In fact they stayed for over 20 years, finally moving to the Barbican Arts Centre in 1982. Barbican Centre is the largest Performing arts centre in Europe Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Among many notable productions were The Wars of the Roses, The Greeks, and Nicholas Nickleby, as well as numerous Shakespeare productions. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby' is an eight-hour stage play presented over two performances adapted from the Charles Dickens novel of the same William Shakespeare ( baptised

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. The Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955 are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre.

In 1990-91, Joan Collins starred in Private Lives at the Aldwych. Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE (born 23 May 1933) is a Golden Globe Award -winning English actress and bestselling Private Lives is a play written by Noel Coward in 1930 Coward who also starred in the first production alongside Gertrude Lawrence and Laurence Olivier Other notable recent productions are listed below. 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). Julio Cortázar, born Jules Florencio Cortázar ( August 26, 1914 &ndash February 12, 1984) was an Argentine Author Todos los fuegos el fuego is a book of 8 short stories written by Julio Cortázar.

A New Millennium

Since 2000, the theatre has hosted a mixture of plays, comedies and musical productions, but has now become a recognised musical house with the large amount currently taking to the West End. Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Whistle Down the Wind played until 2001, whilst Fame enjoyed an extended run through 2006. Whistle Down the Wind is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the 1961 Film Whistle Down the Wind. Fame – The Musical (based on the 1980 movie by Alan Parker) conceived and developed by David De Silva is a musical with a book by Jose Since then, the venue has hosted the quick transfer of Dancing in the Streets from the Cambridge Theatre which subsequently moved to the Playhouse Theatre to make way for the British premiere of the stage version of Dirty Dancing which plays today. The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30 The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square. Dirty Dancing is a 1987 Romance film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein, the film features Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze

Notable Productions

Recent and present productions

References

  1. ^ Aldwych Theatre listing details - English Heritage accessed 3 Apr 2007
  2. ^ Theatre Postcard site accessed 19 Mar 2007

[edit] Nearby tube stations

[edit] External links

The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. Covent Garden is a London Underground station in Covent Garden. Holborn is a station of the London Underground in Holborn in London, located at the junction of High Holborn and Kingsway. The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster.
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic