A Master’s Masterpiece

Pygmalion was written by GB Shaw in 1913, and was adapted from the original Pygmalion that was written many years ago by Ovid. Shaw had already distinguished himself as a playwright par excellence. While some plays plodded on in heavy overtones about the social injustices of the times, others were nothing more than light-hearted pieces, with very little or no substance at all. Shaw managed to marry both concepts quite expertly in all his plays- Pygmalion in particular is indeed a stinging satire about class distinctions in England at that time. Nevertheless, it is done in such a light-hearted and witty way, Shaw neatly puts his point across, without being melodramatic or heavy-handed.

Today, fans are prepared to wait in line for a Pygmalion NY theatre show, because the play is still very popular. This has been another notable aspect of the play- while some works are simply enjoyed for what they are; Pygmalion has been adapted numerous times on the stage and in Hollywood to suit the changing times. In fact, the unforgettable movie Pretty Woman that catapulted Julia Roberts into superstardom is a modern take on Pygmalion. However, perhaps the most monumental production of the play is the Academy award winning My Fair Lady.

All I Want Is a Room Somewhere

My Fair Lady was already making waves, even before it went into production. If there is such a demand for the Pygmalion NY theatre show today, it’s because of the buzz that started back then when the play hit Broadway. Julie Andrews was a legendary success in the lead role on stage, but on film, it was Audrey Hepburn, who would beat out stalwarts like Elizabeth Taylor for the role. The play is perhaps best known for its songs, such as ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly’, ‘The Rain in Spain’ and ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’.

If the Pygmalion NY theatre shows were successful, My Fair Lady would prove to be phenomenal, veritably sweeping the Oscars with a stunning eight Academy award wins. The movie would go on to be ranked as one of the greatest American movies of all time and one of the best musicals. Pygmalion of course has done very well for itself too. Not only is it prescribed in curriculums right across the world, it regularly is revived on the stage, with many top-notch actors trying their hand at the immortal roles of Eliza and Henry Higgins. Needless to say, getting tickets for Pygmalion will mean waiting in line, but you can easily avoid all that. Contact an authorized online ticket vendor and you can buy your tickets for a Pygmalion NY theatre show from home.

When it comes to budgeting for your home theatre, you have some big choices to make. It’s possible to spend anything from $1000 to $1,000,000 on a home cinema, although typically a good setup will cost no more than $3000. The key is to budget wisely, don’t spend all your money on a Projector while buying cheap speakers or your experience will suffer!

Typically, a Home Theatre setup will consist of a DVD (or nowadays a Blu-Ray) player, a Home Theatre Amplifier, a set of surround sound speakers, and a Projector and screen. Some people prefer to use an LCD or Plasma TV, but while these are good enough for TV programs, sports or video gaming, nothing less than a proper projector and screen setup will give you the real “big screen” feel you get at a movie theatre. When budgeting, don’t forget to include the cost of extras like cables, and seating, and even dedicated lighting and remote controls if you want them.

With the death of HD-DVD, Blu-Ray is now the only hi-def movie format, so the heart of you system should be a good quality Blu-Ray player. There are now plenty to choose from, with prices starting from around $300, but surprisingly, one of the best Blu-Ray players is a the Sony Playstation 3. Not only is it a very capable video games machine, but it’s video output is of a very high quality, and it benefits from very speedy menus and loading due to it’s powerful processors.

Your next purchase should be a Home Theatre Amplifier (Amp). Home Theatre amplifiers are different from Stereo Amplifiers, in that they can decode the sound formats used by DVD’s and Blu-Rays, and have outputs for 6, 7, or 8 channels. A good amplifier is a must, look for one that is powerful enough for your room, and can also decode the latest sound formats. Some amplifiers will also switch your video between multiple inputs and outputs, which can be useful if you want to hook up several sources to your projector and speakers.

Speakers should be chosen to match your amplifier. For home cinema the most popular setup is 5.1, where there are 5 main speakers, and 1 “subwoofer”, a speaker dedicated to producing very low “booming” sounds. If you want to feel every explosion or gunshot of a film, buy a speaker package with a high-quality subwoofer! The 5 normal speakers are placed around your seating position; one in front, one each to the front left and front right, and one each to the rear left and rear right. 6.1 and 7.1 systems are available with even more speakers, but 5.1 is good enough for most rooms.

Lastly, you will want a projector and screen. The models that are right for you will depend on your room size and the level of ambient light when you watch your films. In general, look for the brightest, most high-contrast model you can afford, and buy a model that produces at least a 720p image, although preferably 1080p.

westendtheatre.com rounds up what looks hot in London theatre in 2009

If theatre mirrors life then you would expect 2009 to be a bad year for the performing arts in London: economic downturns and credit crunches sound like gloomy news for our discretionary entertainment spending. But West End theatre box office figures have kept on going up in recent years, and the huge number of new productions sailing into town during 2009 could mean that Theatreland manages to buck the trend.

THE GREAT REVIVAL

The RSC, National Theatre, Donmar and Old Vic dominated straight drama in the West End in 2008, and they haven’t finished yet. Big hitters coming to town include Judi Dench in the Donmar in the West End’s Madame de Sade at the Wyndhams; Jude Law offering us his, hopefully fighting fit, Hamlet; Gillian Anderson in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at the Donmar Warehouse; and a number of crowd-pleasing revivals at the Old Vic, no more so than Dancing at Lughnasa, Brian Friel’s hugely successful play starring Andrea Corr, and Sam Mendes directing Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard and Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale, both featuring Simon Russell Beale and Sinead Cusack.

STAR POWER

Other stars shimmying into town include Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot at the Haymarket, Ken Stott in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge at the Duke of York’s, heavy-hitter Pete Postlethwaite as King Lear at the Young Vic, and Antony Sher giving us his Prospero in the RSC’s The Tempest. The Gavin and Stacey phenomenon continues to roll on, as we see Joe Orton’s delicious romp Entertaining Mr Sloane at the Trafalgar Studios starring Gavin himself, Matthew Horne, alongside Imelda Staunton; whilst Gavin’s onscreen Mum Alison Steadman plays a barking Leeds housewife in Alan Bennett’s Enjoy at the Gielgud Theatre.

NEW PLAYS

The sharp eyed amongst you will notice that all of these plays are revivals rather than new work, keeping audiences firmly in their comfort zones. That said, new plays may be thin on the ground but not absent all together, with the National offering up Richard Bean’s England People Very Nice, following two lovers across four centuries, and Samuel Adamson’s Mrs Affleck set in the 1950s. Jez Butterworth has two new plays in pre-production, with comedy Parlour Song at the Almeida and Jerusalem at the Royal Court. Also at the Royal Court, Mark Ravenhill will bring his new play Over There. Plus Hollywood man of the moment James McAvoy is to star in Richard Greenberg’s acclaimed play Three Days of Rain at the Apollo, and at The Old Vic Richard Dreyfuss headlines the world premiere of American playwright Joe Sutton’s new play Complicit, directed by Kevin Spacey.

“BASED ON A FILM”

In musical theatre, 2009 promises to be a year of great big fabulous and familiar shows, surely enough to see us through the dark times? And it’s no coincidence that many of them are based on hugely successful films.

Oliver! will be well and truly steaming ahead through 2009 at the Drury Lane Theatre Royal with Rowan Atkinson and Jodie Prenger; La Cage Aux Folles will continue camping it up at the Playhouse but with Graham Norton taking over from Douglas Hodge; and at the Adelphi Theatre Lee Mead will bow out of Joseph to be replaced by Gareth Gates.

Jason Donovan will be donning the wigs and lip gloss to take us on an Australian power-mince in Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre. And Sister Act at the London Palladium will be doing its best to recreate the fun of the film, helped along by Whoopi Goldberg as co-producer. And not quite a musical but as good as, Calendar Girls the stage play will up the naked flesh quotient in the West End, starring Patricia Hodge and Lynda Bellingham at the Noel Coward Theatre.

KIDS RULE

Kids should also see a good year in 2009 with an enormous live theatrical production of Walking with Dinosaurs coming to a stadium near you, and War Horse transfers from its successful run at the National Theatre to the New London Theatre.

Book these shows here

With the main purpose of serving the Durham community by presenting films and live performance programming, Carolina Theatre of Durham is recognized as one of the best places to see movies in Durham and Chapel Hill area. It is the theatre that hosts most film festivals that come to the city such as the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Retrofantasma film series, the Escapism Film Festival, and the Nevermore film festival. Apart from the films the theatre has a wonderful surrounding that is further complementing.

With more space and comfortable seating this theatre is well frequented by local and foreign movie and theatre lovers. The theatre is run under the stewardship of a nonprofit organization named The Carolina Theatre of Durham Incorporated. An architectural firm named Milburn & Heister engaged in designing of the museum in the Beaux-Arts style.

Though dating back to 1926, the theatre began showing its movies in 1930.This complex has two cinema screens which can host 276 and 76 seats, while the main hall named as Fletcher Hall can facilitate seating arrangement for 1014. This theatre also offers facilities for receptions which can be held at the Kirby Lobby located in front of the Fletcher Hall, the Upper Balcony Lobby and the Connie Moses Ballroom. The Carolina Theatre’s offerings will certainly unlock your imagination and celebrate the rich cultural diversity in Durham region through cinematic and performing arts.

A holiday in Durham will not be completed without a visit to Carolina Theatre. In your trip to this city find Durham accommodation in a Durham Hotel. One such recommended hotel would be Millennium Hotel, which is located in Durham, North Carolina.

With the help of latest technology, so many things have been made to come true which were not even dreamt earlier. In the similar manner, earlier we used to go to the theatres to watch movies, but now the time has come to bring theaters to your home and enjoy the real and original fun of theatres at home.

There are many factors that influence the designing of the home theatres. The most important one is its seating because the spurious and authentic fun of home theater can be felt only if there is full comfort and easiness.

Tips To Select Home Theatre Seating

It is really good to have a surround-sound home theatre system, but it will be of no use if there is no comfortable seating in order to enjoy and relax after having a hectic daily schedule. There are so many things to be kept in mind before going to select home theatre seating. For example, it should suit your decor, should be fully comfortable, etc.

There is a wide range of home theatre seating from the movie theatre seats to the home theatre couches with footrests. The numerous designs and varieties of home theatre seating are offered by different companies that generally make the customers perplexed. The following tips can assist you in choosing the perfect home theater seating.

Home Theatre Seating Tip #1
The first thing to be considered while choosing the home theater seating is the number of persons to be seated in the room possessing home theater as the arrangement of seating will be done accordingly.

Home Theatre Seating Tip #2
It is always recommended to have a spacious room for your home theatre. In as spacious room, the seating plan can be done properly avoiding congestion and preventing overcrowdedness.

Home Theatre Seating Tip #3
The most important feature of the seating is the comfortability and the easiness as one has to sit for approximately 2 hours to watch the full length movie. The seats should possess wide armrests to maintain the right balance and the sliding footrest should extend before as the backrest reclines. This will help in giving the support to the body.

There should be a proper stability and flexibility at the seat and back, and the seat should possess high density foam cushions in order to offer extreme comfort and back support. The seats should be capable of providing support from head to toe. Therefore, only those seats should be selected that are fully comfortable in each and every manner so that it should become relaxing and entertaining to watching film.

Home Theatre Seating Tip #4
You should always opt for that type of home theatre seating which suits your decor and should embellish your home theatre. There are different types of seating like upholstered home theater seating, the timber’s natural woodgrain brightened with an oil finish, etc. with a wide range of colors like pinks, browns, etc.

Home Theatre Seating Tip #5
The home theatre seating should consist of strong and durable couches and seats.

Home Theatre Seating Tip #6
The most important thing to be kept in mind is the budget. You should first set your budget as there is a wide range of prices. For example, a three-seater Rodeo Leather Lounge with built in wireless bass shaker, recliner, footrest, and wide armrest rolls that costs around $4700 is the best.

Therefore, the most important thing to be considered before planning to have a home theatre is its seating.

“If the world were like the movies

we would never make mistakes

we’d correct our little blunders

and select our better takes”

- From the 1982 film

“My Favorite Year”

The shows I’m reviewing this week, “The School for Scandal” and “The Altar Boyz,” are a mixed bag of entertainment pluses and minuses. While each show has a lot going for it, each has a way to go or grow, depending on how you look at it.

The Role Players Ensemble Theatre in Danville is presenting a brilliantly clever restoration comedy, “The School for Scandal,” by the articulate author, renowned orator and British parliamentarian, Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

First produced in 1777, Sheridan’s marvelous play affectionately satirizes the fashionable society of the wealthy class, with its overt materialism, gossip and hypocrisy. His story takes place within an elitist social circle whose members’ favorite pastime seems to favor finding someone to defame, ridicule or malign through carefully constructed falsehoods and/or innuendo. These individuals focus their primary interests into devising secret, cunning and complicated schemes, all to achieve a particular goal or to cause harm to others, often for their own personal gain or pure entertainment. These egregious character-slayers comprise many layers in “School for Scandal.”

This is a complicated play and certainly a very ambitious play for community theater

There are 15 diversely comic and intriguing characters in this farcical story about sibling rivalry, love, lust, fidelity, infidelity and artificial relationships. The characters are given names that in some small way describe some aspect of their character, such as Snake Lady Sneerwell, Sir Benjamin Backbite, Mrs. Candor, Mr. Crabtree, Sir Peter Teazle and Lady Teazle, Moses and the Surface Brothers.

The plot is blunt. Practically everyone has something to glean by mischievous and treacherous means.

Director Sue Trigg has done an excellent job of selecting cast members capable of providing full meaning to their characters. This play is an outrageous farce, a grand comedy and for the most part it is carried off very well. The language is “stately English” and at times is difficult to capture, for lack of familiarity.

It was not until I went online to review the actual script that I fully grasped some of the relationships. The play opens with two of the lesser support characters plotting to spoil Charles Surface’s character. It is here where we begin to grasp that there is a circle of socializers who gather routinely to pander in slander, to gossip and trade “delicious” tales out of context, fabrications and fornications of the truth.

Lady Sneerwell wants to damage a budding relationship between Charles Surface and Sir Peter Teazle’s ward, Maria, because she had at one time been in a relationship with Charles and doesn’t want him to marry this beautiful younger woman. Sir Peter Teazle has a much younger wife, who has romantic aspirations toward Charles’ brother, Joseph. While Joseph pretends to have similar inclinations toward Lady Teazle, he does so in order to get back at his brother, Charles, because he also lusts after the attractive young Maria.

Intrigue after intrigue compound the relationships, especially that of a wealthy uncle of the brothers, Sir Oliver Surface. He arrives on the scene incognito to determine the true character of his nephews, to help him decide who is the most worthy to inherit his estate when he dies. Sir Oliver Surface is played by Chris Chapman. Lady Teazle is played by Kathryne Davidson, Maria by Xanadu Bruggers, Mrs. Candor by Melynda Kiring, Mr. Crabtree by Candy Campbell (a lady who plays an older man very well), Moses by Elias D. Protopsaltis, Rowley by Michael Green, Careless by Jill Davidson, Snake and Sir Benjamin Backbite by Paul Plain and the stalwart servant by Joel Stefani.

Sir Peter Teazle (John Blytt) acknowledges his uneven and contradictory friendship with his deceased friend’s sons, the brothers Joseph Surface (Michael Sally), and Charles Surface (Craig Eychner). He believes Joseph to be the epitome of virtue and honor, while he believes Charles to be the opposite in character, the epitome of personal corruption and deplorable financial carelessness. He wishes that his young ward, Maria, would find Joseph an acceptable suitor for her hand in marriage, over her obviously romantic admiration for the more colorful and more handsome Charles Surface.

As the play develops, we quickly discover that brother Joseph Surface is a two- faced individual. Lady Snearwell describes him thus, “I have found him out a long time since. I know him to be artful, selfish and malicious-in short, a sentimental knave; (but) while with Sir Peter, and indeed with all his (general) acquaintance, he passes for a youthful miracle of prudence, good sense, and benevolence.”

I enjoyed the play very much and laughed at times. I did find fault with some aspects, but not enough to belabor any specific points. It was obvious that the play fell shallow on some ears. This is a long play, too long without a full professional cast. The first act was hard to sit through, but the second act moved much better. On the whole, the production never quite came together.

While every member of the cast contributes significantly to this production, the following actors deserve “outstanding” kudos for their efforts: Michael Sally, Melynda Kiring and Craig Eychner.

This humorous restoration comedy plays Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. through Saturday, May 10, in the Community Center Theater at 420 Front Street in Danville.

Tickets may be purchased by calling 314-3400 or 314-3463, or online at www.villagetheatreshows.com, or in person at the Community Center, 420 Front Street, in Danville. Tickets are a reasonable $22 to $25 each.

“Altar Boyz” at the Willows

The Willows “Cabaret” Theatre in Martinez is carrying forward the little theater’s theater of Catholicism with another musical that will be appreciated by anyone with a personal history closely aligned with Catholic experiences. This cabaret-style theatre is presenting the Off-Broadway musical, “Altar Boyz.”

This is a venue where the audience sits at small tables where they can order drinks and snacks to enjoy during the show.

This upbeat, modern religious rock musical professes no one specific religious point of view. It must have been penned by someone with a great knowledge of Catholic ritual and rhetoric. “Altar Boyz” tells the inspiring, upbeat story of five guys from small-town USA who are drawn together in their quest to “save souls.” They form a singing, dancing company that travels town to town, like a comic revival show, seeking to inspire, cajole, convert and re-commit a sagging religious following among the young; to seek out and embrace Jesus as their savior. They make fun of religion, but not too offensively.

With songs such as “Jesus Called Me on My Cell Phone” and “Girl You Make Me Want to Wait,” the verbal message is loud and clear, but their sinfully terrific dancing, suggestive body language and straight street talk are modern and in touch with today’s hip overtures.

The musical is youthful, exuberant and exciting, tuning the audience into their party-exhilaration wavelength before the evening is over. The songs include the terrific “Rhythm in Me,” “Church Rulez,” “Something About You,” “Everybody Fits,” “La Vida Eternal” and “I Believe,” to mention a few. The songs relate to issues in the boy’s lives as well as issues that many audience members must have found relative as well. The audience was enthusiastic and appreciative. The lyrics are clever and fun.

Director and Choreographer Mickey Nugent has brought together five unique young men that include Kenneth Scott as Matthew, Bobby Bryce as Mark, Michael Scott Wells as Luke, Rod Voltaire Edora as Juan and Herbie Raad as Abraham. The musical director, Carl Pantle, provides great accompaniment.

The sound didn’t work for me. It too loud to be comfortable and many lines were walked over or just not delivered clearly. Rod Voltaire Edora who portrayed Juan had such a thick accent that I missed many of his lines entirely. They are all outstanding talented performers, but if you cannot understand them, the show loses much of its punch.

The other problem I have is that the theater seating is just too crowded for comfort. Other guests expressed the same feeling to me. This is a great show, an attractive little venue, but how often does one want to be so crowded that when the young women who serve drinks and snacks (at a fairly hefty price) have to shove their way past you so that they can reach other patrons.

If you sit near the aisle, you continually have to move your chair even closer to an already uncomfortably small table and other guests, so much so that it disturbed my enjoyment of the show and its hardworking performers. This is not good. One reason I don’t often go back to this theater to review shows is that the experience of the theater itself is basically the same, and that’s a shame! The whole concept is a great idea, if they just didn’t try to squeeze so many people in.

“Altar Boyz” continues Wednesdays at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m., Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays at 8, Saturdays at 2 and 8, with Sunday performances at 3, now through May 11.

The Willows Cabaret “Campbell” Theatre is located at 636 Ward Street in Downtown Martinez, one block east of Main Street at the corner of Estudillo Street. Call 798-1300 for tickets or visit the Willows Web site at www.willowstheatre.org. Tickets range between $20 and $30 each with discounts for seniors.

When the theatre first opened on Oct. 15, 1930, the super-cinema was called the New Victoria Cinema and played a George Arils film in Old English, which was based on a John Galsworthy stage play. The Apollo Victoria was equipped with a theatre organ, which was played opening night by Reginald Foort. Aside from the films shown, the theatre also offered variety shows to the public. Soon after the theatre’s opening, the management diminished the number of variety shows and began to specialize in film showings and the occasional performance by big bands. In June 1939, the cinema became one of three sites in London used to present The Epsom Derby in live, experimental transmissions.

The theatre closed temporarily, due to World War II, from September 1940 to May 1941, but did not suffer any serious damage and reopened quickly thereafter. In the 1950’s, plans were made to demolish the theatre, but these plans fell through the venue was used for a combination of live shows, films, and ballet.
Live at the Orange Peel and Tennessee Theatre
In November 1975, the cinema played its final show, a double showing of “Legend of the Werewolf,” starring Peter Cushing, and “Vampire Circus,” starring Adrienne Corri. The theatre was closed after this showing, and underwent extensive renovations. It reopened in 1981, renamed the Apollo Victoria Theatre, and specialized in presenting concerts, the first of which was performed by Shirley Bassey. Other musical acts shown during the early 1980’s include Bucks Fizz, Dean Martin and Liza Minelli. During this time, the theatre also began staging musical theatre performances.

Theatrical performances in the last two-and-a-half decades or so include “The Sound of Music,” which ran from Aug. 17, 1981, to Sept. 18, 1982; “Camelot,” running from November 1982 to February 1983; “Fiddler on the Roof,” which ran from June to October 1983; 1984’s “Starlight Express,” a show which required the theatre to undergo interior modification to allow roller-skating performers to skate through the audience, running for an extremely successful 18 years; Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Bombay Dreams” in 2002; “Saturday Night Fever,” shown in 2004, “Movin’ Out,” a musical based on the songs of Billy Joel, in 2006; and Stephen Schwartz’s “Wicked,” which is playing currently and which began its run Sept. 27, 2006. “Wicked,” has proven to be exceptionally successful for the theatre, as it pulled in £761,000, a record-breaking amount, during the first eight performances of the show and has, to date, grossed more than £50 million in London.

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Since it would have been impossible to use cranes from within the O2 dome structure, the roof of the arena was actually constructed on the ground of the venue and lifted upon completion, allowing the rest of the arena to be built around the already completed roof. The O2 arena, despite having only been open since 2007, has already played host to several music and sporting events.

The arena is comprised of three seating areas, the upper and lower tiers, built in the same manner as an amphitheatre, and the floor. Arena management claims there is a clear view to be had from any seat in the arena. The arena is also located in a low emission zone in London and, as such, was designed to be environmentally friendly. Within the venue, steps are taken to reduce carbon emissions. Some of these steps include recycling used cooking oil from the food vendors and composting waste food.

The first performance in the O2 arena, which took place June 23, 2007, was an event strictly for the O2 staff. The “O2 Premiere” private event consisted of performances by Peter Kay, Tom Jones, Kaiser Chiefs and Basement Jaxx. The venue opened to the public June 24, 2007, with a concert performed by Bon Jovi.
KEANE O2 Arena 21st July 2007 – Custom Framed Original Concert Ad – Framed Music Poster/Print
On Dec. 10, 2007, Led Zepplin played their first show in 25 years at the arena. Five days later, on Dec. 25, the Spice Girls played their first British concert in almost 10 years in their original five-piece group form at the arena.

In April of the next year, the Olympic torch passed the site during its relay in London and the arena hosted WWE tapings for ECW, SmackDown, and Raw; and in August, Tiësto became the first DJ to entirely sell out the venue in advance of the actual show.

The arena has hosted, aside from sporting events including ice skating, wrestling and boxing, several musical acts, including The Eagles, Prince, Smashing Pumpkins, and Justin Timberlake.

Since its opening, the entire O2 structure has been shown at several times in several different movie and television presentations. In the 2005 film “Green Street,” the O2 can be seen during the final fight scene. In 2006’s “The Da Vinci Code,” the O2 is featured prominently in the background during one sequence. In the James Bond film “The World is Not Enough,” the O2 was the structure that aided James Bond in reaching his hot air balloon destination. In season seven of “The Amazing Race,” the O2 was the location of a roadblock for the contestants, during which they had to properly drive a double-decker bus.

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The first few years of the theatre saw the performance of the first modern English opera, “The Mountain Sylph” the same year of its opening. This performance was followed by “Fair Rosamun,” performed in 1837, “Farinelli” in 1839 and “Blanche of Jersey,” shown in 1840.

Michael Balfe managed the theatre from 1841 to 1843, producing National Opera, but this proved to be unsuccessful. The works of Charles Dickens became associated with the theatre at this time, and an adaptation of “Martin Chuzzlewit” ran for more than 100 performances between 1844 and 1845.

Madame Lucia Elizabeth Vestris managed the theatre from 1847 to 1855 and produced shows by James Planché and the adaptation of “A Tale of Two Cities” by Tom Taylor. It was then managed by Charles Fechter from 1863 to 1867.
Canvas Print, Sherlock Holmes: The Lyceum Theatre, London – 12 x 18
In 1871, under manager Hezekiah Linthicum Bateman, the theatre produced shows starring Sir Henry Irving. In 1874, “Hamlet” ran for 200 nights with Irving in the starring role. Upon Bateman’s death in 1878, Irving took over the theatre. During his tenure as manager, several popular shows were played, including “The Merchant of Venice,” “King Lear,” and “Much Ado About Nothing.”
1904 saw the rebuilding of the theatre’s interior and the theatre began presenting music and variety shows, trying to compete with the London Coliseum and the Palace Theatre. This, however, was not successful, and the theatre began, once again, showcasing strictly drama. In 1919, more alterations were made and dramas continued playing for 10 months out of every year.

In 1937, the theatre was converted into a cinema, but only one film, “The Gang Show,” was ever shown, in April of 1937. The following month, the space was converted back into a live theatre venue.

The London City Council bought the building in 1939, planning to demolish it. After the war, the demolition plans were abandoned, and the building was reopened as a ballroom. During the 1960s and 1970s, the space was used as a concert venue and for television broadcasts.

The theatre shut down in 1986. Owner Brent Walker leased the space but eventually gave up the lease, allowing the theatre to be restored and in 1996, the space was reconverted into a theatre with the capabilities to present large-scale musicals or opera. “The Lion King” musical has been playing since 1999.

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After “Blue Bell,” the theatre showed “The Beauty of Bath” in 1906, “The Gay Gordons” in 1907, and the site was used as the rehearsal space for “Le Sacre du Printemps,” a controversial play which premiered in Paris later that year. In 1920, “The Unknown” was performed and from 1925 to 1933, it was the performing center for farces by Ben Travers, featuring Norma Varden, Winifred Shotter, Robertson Hare, comedian Tom Walls and Yvonne Arnauld, a popular singer of the time. These performances, played exclusively at this theatre, were known as “The Aldwych Farces.” In 1933, a new version of “Das Dreimäderlhaus” was presented at the theatre under the title “Lilac Time.” “A Streetcar Named Desire” was shown in 1949 and the Academy Award-winning actress Vivien Leigh, who had won the award for the film version of the play, performed. The show was directed by Laurence Olivier, Leigh’s husband.
Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre: The Complete Collection
In December of 1960, the theatre management announced that the Royal Shakespeare Company of Stratford-upon-Avon was planning to base its London productions in the theatre for the next three years. In actuality, the group stayed in the theatre for more than 20 years, moving to the Barbican Arts Center in 1982. During the company’s time in the theatre, they produced many popular shows including “The Greeks,” “Nicholas Nickleby,” and multiple Shakespeare shows.

From 1990 to 1991, “Private Lives,” starring Joan Collins, was shown at the Aldwych. Other productions include “An Inspector Calls,” shown from 1993 to 1995; “Indian Ink,” running from 1995 to 1996; “Tolstoy,” shown from April to May 1996; Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman’s “Whistle Down the Wind,” which ran from 1998 to 2001; “Thunderbirds FAB,” performed from 2001 to 2002; “Fame – the Musical,” which had an impressive run spanning from Sept. 6, 2002, to April 22, 2006; and “Dirty Dancing – the Classic Story on Stage,” which premiered Sept. 28, 2006, and continues to play currently.
Aldwych Theatre Presents Miss Alexandra Carlisle as Proud Maisie 12×18 Giclee on canvas
The theatre has a potential capacity of 1,176 patrons, but as the standing areas are rarely used, it effectively has 1,092 seats. The stalls of the theatre have two aisles that run from the back of the theatre to row HH. The seats in the front section have no gangway and are in one central block. The Dress Circle offers great views of the stage, sans row M, which is affected by the Upper Circle’s overhang. There are also a few front-row seats which may have views blocked by a handrail.

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