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Saville Theatre
Fill image
Address
Shaftesbury Avenue
City
Westminster, London
Architect Sir Thomas Bennett,
with Bertie Crewe
Owned by Odeon Cinemas
Capacity 1,426 (1931)
Type Cinema
Opened 8 October 1931
Years active 1931 - 1969
Rebuilt Renovated, as cinema, 2001
Closed December 1969
Previous names ABC Shaftesbury Avenue
Current use Odeon Covent Garden
Coordinates: 51°30′51″N 0°07′42″W / 51.514269, -0.128242

The Saville Theatre is a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. For the racehorse see Shaftesbury Avenue (horse Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street 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. Sir Thomas Penberthy Bennett KBE FRIBA ( 1887 - 29 January 1980) was a renowned British architect responsible for much of the development Bertie Crewe (died 10 January, 1937 in London) was one of the leading English theatre designers in the boom of 1885 to 1915 Biography Odeon Cinemas is the largest chain of cinemas in Europe It is owned by Terra Firma Capital Partners. 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" For the racehorse see Shaftesbury Avenue (horse Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street in London, England, The City of Westminster ( is a borough of London with city status. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s, finally being converted to a cinema in 1970.

Contents

History

Theatre years

The theatre was designed by the architect Sir Thomas Bennett, in consultation with Bertie Crewe, and opened on 8 October 1931, with a play with music by H.F. Maltby, For The Love Of Mike[1]. Sir Thomas Penberthy Bennett KBE FRIBA ( 1887 - 29 January 1980) was a renowned British architect responsible for much of the development Bertie Crewe (died 10 January, 1937 in London) was one of the leading English theatre designers in the boom of 1885 to 1915 Biography Events 314 - Roman Emperor Licinius is defeated by his colleague Constantine I at the Battle of Cibalae, and loses Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Henry Francis Maltby ( 25 November 1880 &ndash 25 October 1963) was a prolific writer for the London stage and British cinema from after the

The theatre benefited from a capacity of 1,426 on three levels and a stage that was 31. 5 feet (9. 6 m) wide, with a depth of 30. 5 feet (9. 3 m). The interior was opulent, The Stage reviewed the new theatre on its opening

The stalls bar and saloon lounge adjoining, will please the public, special care has been exercised in their equipment and decoration. The Stage is a weekly British Newspaper founded in 1880 available nationally and published on Thursdays The bar, which has mural paintings by Mr A. R. Thompson, is 18 ft by 54 ft in front of the counters, while the lounge, which is also decorated by the same artist, is 42 ft by 40 ft. There is a sort of shopping arcade in and about the lounge, as in the up-to-date hotels, and it is quite big enough for tea dances or concerts. So comfortable, indeed, are the lounge and the bar at the Saville, that it is to be feared that something more than a warning bell will be necessary to clear them[1]

The theatre was damaged by bombing in 1941, but reopened quickly allowing Up and Running by Firth Shephard to complete a run of 603 performances. The Blitz was the sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941 in World War II. In 1955, the interior was completely refurbished by Laurence Irving, and John Collins created a new mural for the stalls bar. In 1963, a musical adaption of the Pickwick Papers premièred on July 4, 1963, featuring Harry Secombe in his first role in a musical. Pickwick was a musical, based on Charles Dickens 's The Pickwick Papers, which opened on July 4, 1963. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sir Harry Donald Secombe, CBE ( 8 September 1921 &ndash 11 April 2001) was a Welsh Entertainer with a noted fine It was a success, remaining in the West End for two years and going on to tour the US, with a run on Broadway. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located [2]

Epstein years

A poster from September 1967 advertising Sundays at the Saville
A poster from September 1967 advertising Sundays at the Saville

Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles and himself a former drama student, bought the theatre in 1965, presenting both plays (including works by Arnold Wesker) and rock and roll shows. NEMS Enterprises defaults here For the Latin American record label see NEMS Enterprises (label. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Sir Arnold Wesker (born Stepney 24 May, 1932) is a prolific British Dramatist known for his contributions to Kitchen sink drama Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African The venue became notorious for its Sunday night concerts, during one by Chuck Berry members of the audience stormed the stage and the police were called to clear the theatre. Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born October 18 1926 in St

The venue also saw the last UK appearance of The Jimi Hendrix Experience (on 4 June 1967) before their groundbreaking Monterey Pop Festival performance. "The Experience" redirects here For other uses of this term see Experience (disambiguation. The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey The Move and Procol Harum also appeared on the bill. The Move were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s from Birmingham, England, and were among the most popular British bands to not find any success Procol Harum are a British rock band formed in the 1960s which built an important foundation for what would become Progressive rock, or perhaps more Yoko Ono performed there in 1967, in front of a projection of her film Bottoms (Film No. born in Tokyo on February 18 1933 is a Japanese Artist and Musician. 5), and using smoke machines to fill the auditorium. An eclectic mix of bands such as Nirvana, Cream, Fairport Convention, the Incredible String Band and The Bee Gees, also appeared there. For the 1993 hip-hop single by the Wu-Tang Clan see CREAM CREAM is an acronym for Cognitive Reliability Error Analysis Method a The Incredible String Band (abbreviated as ISB were a psychedelic folk band formed in Scotland in 1965 The Bee Gees were a singing trio of brothers — Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. [3]

The Beatles themselves borrowed the Saville to make their "Hello, Goodbye" promo (an early music video) in 1967. " Hello Goodbye " is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics While the promo did air in the United States, it wasn't allowed on British television because of a restriction on mimed performances.

Epstein died in August 1967, with the late show cancelled, as a mark of respect and soon after, the theatre was sold. In 1969, the theatre returned to presenting theatrical productions and under the new management it presented the London première of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, a production that brought Leonard Rossiter to public attention. The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (original German title) is a play by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, originally written in Leonard Rossiter ( 21 October 1926 &ndash 5 October 1984) was an English Actor known for his role as Rupert Rigsby The last play to be performed at the theatre was Enemy by Robert Maugham, opening for a short run in December 1969[1].

Cinema years

The Saville was taken over by ABC Theatres (owned by EMI) in 1970 and converted to a two screen cinema. Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC originally British International Pictures (BIP was a British film production distribution and exhibition company The conversion was undertaken by William Ryder and Associates. It opened on 22 December 1970 with ABC1 seating 616, and ABC2 581. Events 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The stage area became administration offices and little of the original theatre internal structure remains[1]. In 2001, the building was taken over by the Odeon cinema group and is now the four screen Odeon Covent Garden cinema.

The exterior of the theatre retains many of the 1930s details, although the wrought iron window on the frontage, has been replaced by glass blocks. A sculptured frieze around the building for nearly 130 feet (40 m), remains and represents 'Drama Through The Ages'.

Saville Theatre productions

References

  1. ^ a b c d Saville Theatre history at Arthur Lloyd accessed 28 Aug 2008
  2. ^ Sir Harry Secombe dies 11 April 2001 (The Guardian) accessed 2 Feb 2008
  3. ^ September 1967 (Marmalade Skies, British psychedelia)

External links

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