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Gillian Lynne Theatre

January 24, 2024

The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre formerly occupied the site until 1965. On 1 May 2018, the theatre was officially renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre in honour of choreographer Gillian Lynne. It is the first theatre in the West End of London to be named after a non-royal woman.[1][2]

Gillian Lynne Theatre
The Gillian Lynne Theatre (July 2021)
Address166 Drury Lane
Holborn, London, WC2B 5PW
United Kingdom
Coordinates51°30′55″N 00°07′21″W / 51.51528°N 0.12250°W / 51.51528; -0.12250
Public transit Holborn
OwnerLW Theatres
TypeWest End theatre
Capacity1,118 on 2 levels
Construction
Opened2 January 1973; 51 years ago (1973-01-02)
Rebuilt1911 (Frank Matcham)
ArchitectPaul Tvrtkovic
Website
lwtheatres.co.uk/theatres/gillian-lynne/

Previous buildings edit

The modern theatre is built on the site of previous taverns and music hall theatres, where a place of entertainment has been located since Elizabethan times. Nell Gwynn was associated with the tavern, which became known as the Great Mogul by the end of the 17th century, and presented entertainments in an adjoining hall, including "glee clubs" and "sing-songs". The Mogul Saloon was built on the site in 1847, which was sometimes known as the "Turkish Saloon" or the "Mogul Music Hall." In 1851, it became the Middlesex Music Hall, known as The Old Mo. This in turn was rebuilt as the New Middlesex Theatre of Varieties, in 1911 by Frank Matcham for Oswald Stoll.[3]

In 1919, the theatre was sold to George Grossmith Jr. and Edward Laurillard, refurbished and reopened as the Winter Garden Theatre. They produced Kissing Time (1919, with a book by P. G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton and music by Ivan Caryll), followed by A Night Out (1920), both starring Stanley Holloway.[4] Grossmith and Laurillard also became managers of the Apollo Theatre in 1920.[5] But expanding their operation caused Grossmith and Laurillard to end their partnership, with Grossmith retaining control of the Winter Garden.[6]

Grossmith then partnered with George Edwardes's former associate, Pat Malone, to produce a series of mostly adaptations of imported shows at the Winter Garden between 1920 and 1926: Sally (1921), The Cabaret Girl (1922, with book by Wodehouse and music by Jerome Kern), The Beauty Prize (1923, with Wodehouse and Kern), a revival of Tonight's the Night (1923), Primrose (1924, with music by George Gershwin), Tell Me More (1925, with words by Thompson and music by George Gershwin)[7] and Kid Boots (1926 with music by Harry Tierney),[8] many of them featuring Leslie Henson.[9] Grossmith co-wrote some of the Winter Garden pieces, directed many of his own productions and starred in several, notably as Otis in Sally. Several of the later productions lost money, and Grossmith and Malone ended the partnership.[6]

The Vagabond King was produced here in 1927, and in 1929, Fred and Adele Astaire starred in Funny Face. In 1930, Sophie Tucker played in the Vivian Ellis musical Follow a Star, and in 1923, Gracie Fields appeared here in Walk This Way. In 1933, the theatre hosted Lewis Casson in George Bernard Shaw's On the Rocks, followed in 1935 by Love on the Dole, starring Wendy Hiller. The theatre has been temporarily closed in the late 1930s, reopening in 1942. In 1945, it hosted a Donald Wolfit season, and in 1953, Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution played. 1956 saw The Water Gypsies by Vivian Ellis and A P Herbert; Hotel Paradiso starring Alec Guinness, Douglas Byng, Irene Worth and Billie Whitelaw; and Tyrone Power starred in Shaw's The Devil Disciple. 1958 included The Iceman Cometh.[10]

The theatre closed permanently in 1959[11] when it was sold by the Rank Organisation to a developer.[10] It was then gutted and remained vacant until 1965 to be replaced in 1973 by the current building.[12]

New London and Gillian Lynne edit

 
The New London Theatre (2007)

Designed by architect Paul Tvrtkovic and scenic designer Sean Kenny (Blitz!, Oliver!, Pickwick (musical)), modelled after the Walter Gropius Total-Theater, and seating 960 on 2 levels, the theatre's auditorium first opened with a television recording of Marlene Dietrich's one-woman show.[13] The theatre officially opened on 2 January 1973 with a production of The Unknown Soldier and His Wife starring Peter Ustinov. It then hosted Grease, starring Richard Gere as Danny and Elaine Paige as Sandy. Beginning in 1977, the theatre was used as a television studio for several years and then returned to use as a theatre.[13] The theatre's biggest hit was the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn musical Cats, choreographed by Gillian Lynne which premièred in the theatre on 11 May 1981. Closing in 2002, this production became the then longest running musical in West End history, although it has since been overtaken by Phantom Of The Opera and Les Misérables.

The theatre also hosted the 1977 BBC Sports Personality of the Year and the Masters snooker between 1976 and 1978. Also in 1977, the theatre hosted the BBC's A Song For Europe contest, the preliminary heat to choose the UK entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. However, the show was blacked out on TV due to a last minute strike by technicians. The music video for the song "We Are the Champions" by Queen was shot there in October 1977, following a 70-min. concert.[14]

Between 2003 and September 2005 the theatre hosted Bill Kenwright's revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The venue played host to the London transfer of the off-Broadway production, Blue Man Group, which closed in June 2007, to make way for the Royal Shakespeare Company's repertory productions of The Seagull and King Lear, starring Ian McKellen. In spring 2008, a new musical adaptation of Gone with the Wind ran for only two months. New musical Imagine This closed after only being open for one month.

The National Theatre production of War Horse transferred into the theatre from 28 March 2009 where it stayed until 12 March 2016 after over 3,000 performances.

The theatre was home to the Sheffield Crucible's production of the musical Show Boat which opened on 9 April 2016. Despite positive reviews, the production closed early, on 27 August 2016. On 22 October 2016 the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock the musical opened, direct from Broadway, and closed after a three and a half year run before undergoing a refurbishment.

Lloyd Webber's Cinderella had its world premiere on 14 July 2021 with previews starting 25 June.[15] The opening, originally scheduled for August 2020, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] The production closed on 12 June 2022.[17][18][19][20]

Following seasons at the Leeds Playhouse, the Bridge Theatre, and a UK and Ireland tour, the new adaptation of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis opened at the theatre from 18 July 2022 running until 9 January 2023.[21] The 2022 Chichester Festival production of Crazy for You is scheduled to play at the theatre for a limited 30-week West End engagement beginning 24 June 2023, prior to an official opening July 3.[22]

The theatre has been owned since 1991 by Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group.[23] The theatre building also contains an underground car park, a cabaret venue, a basement nightclub, shops and a residential tower.[10] In 2014, Lloyd Webber reorganized the group; the entity that owns the theatre is Really Useful Theatres.[24]

Recent and present productions edit

Nearby tube stations edit

References edit

  1. ^ "West End theatre renamed after Cats choreographer Gillian Lynne". BBC News. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  2. ^ New London Theatre to be renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre accessed 15 March 2018
  3. ^ . Str.org.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  4. ^ Stanley Holloway#Musical, theatre and concert party credits
  5. ^ "Information about their management of the Apollo Theatre. Date accessed: 20 October 2007". Nimaxtheatres.com. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  6. ^ a b Gänzl, Kurt. "Grossmith, George (1874–1935)" in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press (2004) accessed 21 Oct 2007
  7. ^ Tell Me More review in The Times, 27 May 1925 p. 14
  8. ^ Kid Boots review in The Times 3 February 1926, p. 12
  9. ^ "Biography of George Grossmith, Jr. containing information about the Winter Garden Theatre's productions from 1919–1926". Math.boisestate.edu. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  10. ^ a b c . Travel.coao.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Carthalia – London: Gillian Lynne Theatre". Andreas-praefcke.de. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  12. ^ . Arthurlloyd.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  13. ^ a b "New London Theatre London – information and tickets". Thisistheatre.com. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  14. ^ McLeod, Ken (2013). We are the Champions: The Politics of Sports and Popular Music: The Politics of Sports and Popular Music. Ashgate Publishing. p. 124.
  15. ^ "Andrew Lloyd Webber plans to open shows in the West End this summer with Cinderella to premiere in July | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  16. ^ Wood, Alex. "Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella delays opening until October", WhatsOnStage.com, 5 March 2020
  17. ^ Snow, Georgia. "Carrie Hope Fletcher to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella musical", The Stage, 14 February 2020
  18. ^ Wiegand, Chris (10 January 2020). "Killing Eve's Emerald Fennell and Andrew Lloyd Webber create new Cinderella". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Victoria Hamilton-Barritt to join cast of Cinderella". LW Theatres. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  20. ^ Edmonds, Lizzie (10 December 2020). "Dancer plucked from obscurity by Andrew Lloyd Webber wins lead role in Cinderella". Evening Standard.
  21. ^ "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to transfer to the West End this summer | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Charlie Stemp Will Star in West End Revival of Crazy for You". Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  23. ^ "LW Theatres – Book tickets from the official website". LW Theatres. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  24. ^ Dennys, Harriet. "Lord Lloyd-Webber splits theatre group to expand on a global stage", The Daily Telegraph, 24 March 2014, accessed 3 October 2014

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gillian Lynne Theatre.
  • New London Theatre homepage

January 24, 2024
gillian, lynne, theatre, formerly, london, theatre, west, theatre, located, corner, drury, lane, parker, street, covent, garden, london, borough, camden, winter, garden, theatre, formerly, occupied, site, until, 1965, 2018, theatre, officially, renamed, honour. The Gillian Lynne Theatre formerly New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden in the London Borough of Camden The Winter Garden Theatre formerly occupied the site until 1965 On 1 May 2018 the theatre was officially renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre in honour of choreographer Gillian Lynne It is the first theatre in the West End of London to be named after a non royal woman 1 2 Gillian Lynne TheatreThe Gillian Lynne Theatre July 2021 Address166 Drury LaneHolborn London WC2B 5PWUnited KingdomCoordinates51 30 55 N 00 07 21 W 51 51528 N 0 12250 W 51 51528 0 12250Public transitHolbornOwnerLW TheatresTypeWest End theatreCapacity1 118 on 2 levelsConstructionOpened2 January 1973 51 years ago 1973 01 02 Rebuilt1911 Frank Matcham ArchitectPaul TvrtkovicWebsitelwtheatres wbr co wbr uk wbr theatres wbr gillian lynne wbr Contents 1 Previous buildings 2 New London and Gillian Lynne 3 Recent and present productions 4 Nearby tube stations 5 References 6 External linksPrevious buildings editThe modern theatre is built on the site of previous taverns and music hall theatres where a place of entertainment has been located since Elizabethan times Nell Gwynn was associated with the tavern which became known as the Great Mogul by the end of the 17th century and presented entertainments in an adjoining hall including glee clubs and sing songs The Mogul Saloon was built on the site in 1847 which was sometimes known as the Turkish Saloon or the Mogul Music Hall In 1851 it became the Middlesex Music Hall known as The Old Mo This in turn was rebuilt as the New Middlesex Theatre of Varieties in 1911 by Frank Matcham for Oswald Stoll 3 In 1919 the theatre was sold to George Grossmith Jr and Edward Laurillard refurbished and reopened as the Winter Garden Theatre They produced Kissing Time 1919 with a book by P G Wodehouse and Guy Bolton and music by Ivan Caryll followed by A Night Out 1920 both starring Stanley Holloway 4 Grossmith and Laurillard also became managers of the Apollo Theatre in 1920 5 But expanding their operation caused Grossmith and Laurillard to end their partnership with Grossmith retaining control of the Winter Garden 6 Grossmith then partnered with George Edwardes s former associate Pat Malone to produce a series of mostly adaptations of imported shows at the Winter Garden between 1920 and 1926 Sally 1921 The Cabaret Girl 1922 with book by Wodehouse and music by Jerome Kern The Beauty Prize 1923 with Wodehouse and Kern a revival of Tonight s the Night 1923 Primrose 1924 with music by George Gershwin Tell Me More 1925 with words by Thompson and music by George Gershwin 7 and Kid Boots 1926 with music by Harry Tierney 8 many of them featuring Leslie Henson 9 Grossmith co wrote some of the Winter Garden pieces directed many of his own productions and starred in several notably as Otis in Sally Several of the later productions lost money and Grossmith and Malone ended the partnership 6 The Vagabond King was produced here in 1927 and in 1929 Fred and Adele Astaire starred in Funny Face In 1930 Sophie Tucker played in the Vivian Ellis musical Follow a Star and in 1923 Gracie Fields appeared here in Walk This Way In 1933 the theatre hosted Lewis Casson in George Bernard Shaw s On the Rocks followed in 1935 by Love on the Dole starring Wendy Hiller The theatre has been temporarily closed in the late 1930s reopening in 1942 In 1945 it hosted a Donald Wolfit season and in 1953 Agatha Christie s Witness for the Prosecution played 1956 saw The Water Gypsies by Vivian Ellis and A P Herbert Hotel Paradiso starring Alec Guinness Douglas Byng Irene Worth and Billie Whitelaw and Tyrone Power starred in Shaw s The Devil Disciple 1958 included The Iceman Cometh 10 The theatre closed permanently in 1959 11 when it was sold by the Rank Organisation to a developer 10 It was then gutted and remained vacant until 1965 to be replaced in 1973 by the current building 12 New London and Gillian Lynne edit nbsp The New London Theatre 2007 Designed by architect Paul Tvrtkovic and scenic designer Sean Kenny Blitz Oliver Pickwick musical modelled after the Walter Gropius Total Theater and seating 960 on 2 levels the theatre s auditorium first opened with a television recording of Marlene Dietrich s one woman show 13 The theatre officially opened on 2 January 1973 with a production of The Unknown Soldier and His Wife starring Peter Ustinov It then hosted Grease starring Richard Gere as Danny and Elaine Paige as Sandy Beginning in 1977 the theatre was used as a television studio for several years and then returned to use as a theatre 13 The theatre s biggest hit was the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn musical Cats choreographed by Gillian Lynne which premiered in the theatre on 11 May 1981 Closing in 2002 this production became the then longest running musical in West End history although it has since been overtaken by Phantom Of The Opera and Les Miserables The theatre also hosted the 1977 BBC Sports Personality of the Year and the Masters snooker between 1976 and 1978 Also in 1977 the theatre hosted the BBC s A Song For Europe contest the preliminary heat to choose the UK entry for the Eurovision Song Contest However the show was blacked out on TV due to a last minute strike by technicians The music video for the song We Are the Champions by Queen was shot there in October 1977 following a 70 min concert 14 Between 2003 and September 2005 the theatre hosted Bill Kenwright s revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber s musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat The venue played host to the London transfer of the off Broadway production Blue Man Group which closed in June 2007 to make way for the Royal Shakespeare Company s repertory productions of The Seagull and King Lear starring Ian McKellen In spring 2008 a new musical adaptation of Gone with the Wind ran for only two months New musical Imagine This closed after only being open for one month The National Theatre production of War Horse transferred into the theatre from 28 March 2009 where it stayed until 12 March 2016 after over 3 000 performances The theatre was home to the Sheffield Crucible s production of the musical Show Boat which opened on 9 April 2016 Despite positive reviews the production closed early on 27 August 2016 On 22 October 2016 the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber s School of Rock the musical opened direct from Broadway and closed after a three and a half year run before undergoing a refurbishment Lloyd Webber s Cinderella had its world premiere on 14 July 2021 with previews starting 25 June 15 The opening originally scheduled for August 2020 was delayed due to the COVID 19 pandemic 16 The production closed on 12 June 2022 17 18 19 20 Following seasons at the Leeds Playhouse the Bridge Theatre and a UK and Ireland tour the new adaptation of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe by C S Lewis opened at the theatre from 18 July 2022 running until 9 January 2023 21 The 2022 Chichester Festival production of Crazy for You is scheduled to play at the theatre for a limited 30 week West End engagement beginning 24 June 2023 prior to an official opening July 3 22 The theatre has been owned since 1991 by Lloyd Webber s Really Useful Group 23 The theatre building also contains an underground car park a cabaret venue a basement nightclub shops and a residential tower 10 In 2014 Lloyd Webber reorganized the group the entity that owns the theatre is Really Useful Theatres 24 Recent and present productions editCats 11 May 1981 11 May 2002 music by Andrew Lloyd Webber from T S Eliot s Old Possum s Book of Practical Cats starring Elaine Paige Umoja 6 September 2002 8 February 2003 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat 3 March 2003 3 September 2005 lyrics by Tim Rice music by Andrew Lloyd Webber starring Stephen Gately Ian Watkins and Darren Day Blue Man Group 10 November 2005 24 June 2007 King Lear and The Seagull 14 November 2007 12 January 2008 by respectively William Shakespeare and Anton Chekhov starring Ian McKellen Frances Barber Romola Garai and William Gaunt transferred from the Royal Shakespeare Company Gone with the Wind A New Musical 22 April 14 June 2008 by Margaret Martin and Trevor Nunn starring Darius Danesh Jill Paice and Edward Baker Duly Imagine This 19 November 20 December 2008 by Shuki Levy David Goldsmith lyricist and Glenn Berenbeim War Horse 28 March 2009 12 March 2016 by Nick Stafford adapted from the novel by Michael Morpurgo transferred from the National Theatre Show Boat 9 April 27 August 2016 book by Oscar Hammerstein II lyrics by Hammerstein and P G Woodhouse music by Jerome Kern transferred from Crucible Theatre Sheffield School of Rock 22 October 2016 1 March 2020 book by Julian Fellowes lyrics by Glenn Slater music by Andrew Lloyd Webber Cinderella 18 August 2021 12 June 2022 book by Emerald Fennell lyrics by David Zippel music by Andrew Lloyd Webber The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe 18 July 2022 8 January 2023 based on the book by C S Lewis The Lehman Trilogy 14 January 20 May 2023 by Stefano Massini adapted by Ben Power directed by Sam Mendes starring Nigel Lindsay Hadley Fraser Michael Balogun transferred from National Theatre Crazy for You 24 June 31 December 2023 music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin book by Ken Ludwig choreographed and directed by Susan Stroman starring Charlie Stemp Carly Anderson and Tom Edden transferred from Chichester Festival Theatre Nearby tube stations editCovent Garden Piccadilly line Holborn Central Piccadilly lines Tottenham Court Road Central Northern Elizabeth lines References edit West End theatre renamed after Cats choreographer Gillian Lynne BBC News Retrieved 23 June 2018 New London Theatre to be renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre accessed 15 March 2018 STR Research Interests C Str org uk Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 7 November 2018 Stanley Holloway Musical theatre and concert party credits Information about their management of the Apollo Theatre Date accessed 20 October 2007 Nimaxtheatres com Retrieved 7 November 2018 a b Ganzl Kurt Grossmith George 1874 1935 in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 2004 accessed 21 Oct 2007 Tell Me More review in The Times 27 May 1925 p 14 Kid Boots review in The Times 3 February 1926 p 12 Biography of George Grossmith Jr containing information about the Winter Garden Theatre s productions from 1919 1926 Math boisestate edu Retrieved 7 November 2018 a b c Timeline of the theatre Travel coao co uk Archived from the original on 7 February 2012 Retrieved 7 November 2018 Carthalia London Gillian Lynne Theatre Andreas praefcke de Retrieved 7 November 2018 The New London Theatre Gillian Lynne Theatre Drury Lane and Parker Street London Arthurlloyd co uk Archived from the original on 22 February 2007 Retrieved 7 November 2018 a b New London Theatre London information and tickets Thisistheatre com Retrieved 7 November 2018 McLeod Ken 2013 We are the Champions The Politics of Sports and Popular Music The Politics of Sports and Popular Music Ashgate Publishing p 124 Andrew Lloyd Webber plans to open shows in the West End this summer with Cinderella to premiere in July WhatsOnStage www whatsonstage com Retrieved 2 March 2021 Wood Alex Andrew Lloyd Webber s Cinderella delays opening until October WhatsOnStage com 5 March 2020 Snow Georgia Carrie Hope Fletcher to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber s Cinderella musical The Stage 14 February 2020 Wiegand Chris 10 January 2020 Killing Eve s Emerald Fennell and Andrew Lloyd Webber create new Cinderella The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 11 January 2020 Victoria Hamilton Barritt to join cast of Cinderella LW Theatres Retrieved 6 July 2020 Edmonds Lizzie 10 December 2020 Dancer plucked from obscurity by Andrew Lloyd Webber wins lead role in Cinderella Evening Standard The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe to transfer to the West End this summer WhatsOnStage www whatsonstage com Retrieved 29 May 2022 Charlie Stemp Will Star in West End Revival of Crazy for You Retrieved 1 December 2022 LW Theatres Book tickets from the official website LW Theatres Retrieved 7 November 2018 Dennys Harriet Lord Lloyd Webber splits theatre group to expand on a global stage The Daily Telegraph 24 March 2014 accessed 3 October 2014External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gillian Lynne Theatre New London Theatre homepage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gillian Lynne Theatre amp oldid 1196959740, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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