Aldwych Theatre
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The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster.
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[edit] History
[edit] 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. Funded by Seymour Hicks, in association with the American impressario Charles Frohman, and built by Walter Wallis of Balham. The theatre was constructed on the newly built Aldwych. The Aldwych theatre opened on 23 December 1905 with a production of Blue Bell. From 1925-1933 used for performances of Ben Traver's farces, also known as The Aldwych Farces. From the mid-1930s until about 1960, the theatre was owned by the Abrahams family.[1] Amongst the many famous actors who have appeared here is Basil Rathbone who played Major Wharton in The Unknown in August 1920.
[edit] Royal Shakespeare Company
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.
The current capacity is around 1,150.
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).
[edit] Principal 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)
- Tom Stoppard Travesties (10 June 1974)
- An Inspector Calls (August 25, 1993 - January 21, 1995)
- Whistle Down The Wind (July 1, 1998 - January 6, 2001)
- Fame (September 6, 2002 - April 22, 2006)
- Dancing In The Streets (April 27, 2006 - July 16, 2006)
- Dirty Dancing (September 28, 2006 - )
[edit] References
- Who's Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London, 1947, p.1183.
- ^ Theatre Postcard site accessed 19 Mar 2007
[edit] Nearby tube stations
