Shaftesbury Theatre - History
Shaftesbury theatre is, unsurprisingly, found on Shaftesbury Avenue in the city of London. There are a rang of nearby underground stations in the form of Covent Garden, Tottenham Court Road and Holborn and its nearest train station is found at Charing Cross.
The Shaftesbury Theatre has not always been crowned with this name and instead it opened its doors back on Boxing Day in December 1911 under the name the New Princes Theatre. It kept this name until 1914 when it was given the new title of simply the Prince’s Theatre. It was a rather large theatre and had a capacity of 2,392, making it more than capable of ensuring large crowds could witness its productions. It was designed from the mind of the well known theatre architect Bertie Crewe who was working for the brothers Walter and Frederick Melville.
Shaftesbury Avenue was already home to such theatres as Queen’s Theatre and the Gielgud Theatre, but the New Prince’s Theatre was the last to be built here and in its early years it had much in the way of success. Basil Rathbone is known to have graced its stage with a production in the form of Diplomacy. Another early show came from Gilbert and Sullivan, who were a well loved and famous part of the New Prince’s Theatre in these early years. Then the 1930s arrived, bringing with it a large number of plays that stayed for short runs. These included The Frog (1936) as well various seasons of ballet performances by the time the 1940s rolled in.
The 1950s brought with them some successful productions, including Antony and Cleopatra, Pal Joey and Wonderful Town. Then the 1960s arrived and with it many well received shows. But before this the theatre was reopened and reconceived as the Shaftesbury Theatre, removing reference to Princes and instead marking its position on Shaftesbury Avenue. It was now owned by EMI and a new chapter was opened in the history of this well known theatre.
The next major event took the form of a closure that took place from 1973 to 1974. This was not due to a reselling of the theatre to new owners or because low sales had caused its closure. Instead the theatre suffered as the ceiling fell in and interrupted the long running production called Hair. When it reopened, audiences were treated to West Side Story as well as productions originally intended for the Royal Opera House during its own closure for refurbishment.
The theatre has continued with its success in the years following. The 1980s mainly consisted of the likes of They’re Playing Our Song (1980) and follies from 1987 to 1989. Then through the 90s audiences gathered for productions of Carousel and Rent. The new millennium has continued to be strong and this has been marked by productions of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Bat Boy The Musical, High Society and Hairspray. The latter is bringing in high praise from critics and audiences alike and will take the theatre into the next decade.
