Noel Coward Theatre - History
The Noel Coward Theatre is located on St Martin’s Lane in London where its nearest underground station is found at Leicester Square whilst its nearest railways station can be found at Charing Cross.
The Noel Coward Theatre has gone by various names over the years and has strong historical ties to many of London’s famous venues under the architect W G Sprague, who was also behind thirty two theatres in the capital. When it first opened in 1903 it was donned with the name The New Theatre and was backed to another London venue in the form of the Wyndham’s Theatre. The venue’s owner Charles Wyndham owned both venues at the time, having opened the latter in 1899 with extra space left over for a new site. The New Theatre had a classical design in the style of Louis XVI, making it an elegant night out that offered an experience far beyond the normal callings of a theatre and so it received praise of similar sentiment.
In 1903 the venue opened with a production called Rosemary which was a comedy from Louis Parker and Murray Carson. In the early days of the venue audiences could have witnessed the likes of David Garrick, The Light That Failed (1893) and The Second Mrs Tanqueray (1903). During this time various performers took to the stage including Charles Wyndham himself along with Mary Moore, Mrs Patrick Campbell and Johnston Forbes-Robertson. Following these were productions of The Scarlett Pimpernel (1905), Dorothy o’ the Hall, Henry of Navarre, Romeo and Juliet (1911) and As You Like It (1911). It was a time that saw the likes of Fred Terry, his wife Julia Neilson and his daughter Phyllis appearing regularly on the stage. Fred Terry’s appearance as The Scarlett Pimpernel proved particularly popular for the theatre and was revived on numerous occasions due to public demand.
Today we of course know the place as the Noel Coward Theatre and the man himself made various appearances including his own stage debut as Bobbie Dermott in I’ll Leave It To You in 1920. Though it did not run here for long he would later make another appearance in 1926 as Lewis Dodd in The Constant Nymph. The 20s and 30s were a curious time for the venue and the likes of Sybil Thorndike appeared in a career defining role here before a play by the dictator Benito Mussolini appeared. The play was Napoleon: The Hundred Days, but its run was limited. Audiences were apparently uninterested in the only play written by a living dictator to appear in London.
As the twentieth century continued many more thespians graced the stage; then during the Second World War, many theatre companies housed plays at the theatre when their own buildings were out of use because of the bombings.
The theatre kept the name The New Theatre until 1973, when the Albery family became highly tied to the venue. Sir Bronson Albery looked after the venue for years as well as his son Donald Albery and then Donald’s son Ian. As a result the theatre became the Albery Theatre, housing many plays such as Equus by Peter Shaffer (1976), Children of a Lesser God by Mark Medoff (1981) and A Month in the Country with Helen Mirren and John Hurt – the most successful play at the venue (1994).
Then the new millennium arrived, bringing with it pays like Private Lives with Alan Rickman and Shockheaded Peter (both 2002). The theatre also changed hands to the Ambassador Theatre Group and as a result much of it has been refurbished. When the theatre reopened following this in 2006 it was given the new name – The Noel Coward Theatre.
