The Sondheim Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London (original) (raw)
Formerly - The Queen's Theatre
Above - The Sondheim Theatre during the run of the World's Longest Running Musical 'Les Misérables in April 2014 and whilst the Theatre was still under its original name of the Queen's Theatre.
The Sondheim Theatre originally opened as the Queen's Theatre on the 8th of October 1907 with a comedy called 'The Sugar Bowl' by Madeleine Lucette Ryley. The Theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and was one of two Theatres designed by him next to each other on Shaftesbury Avenue.
Quick Facts
The first was the Hicks Theatre (later the Globe and now the Gielgud) which opened in 1906 and then later the Queen's Theatre which opened in 1907. Both Theatres were built by Walter Wallis of Balham with frontages of Portland Stone on a site which was formerly an estate agent's premises, comprising of 35 to 49 Shaftesbury Avenue, and seventeen houses in Wardour Street, Rupert Street, and Upper Rupert Street, which is now called Winnet street.
Above - The Hick's and Queen's Theatres in 1907 - From the ERA, August 17th 1907.
The Theatre's auditorium was built on the cantilever system and comprised of three levels, Stalls, Dress Circle, Upper Circle, and Gallery at the rear of the Upper, with a capacity of 1,917 but today the capacity is a more modest 989. Two days after the Theatre opened The Stage newspaper published a review of the building in their 10th of October 1907 edition saying:- 'A two-tier house, the Queen's holds about 1200 persons, representing some £300 in money. The colour scheme of the walls and roof is white and gold, while green is the hue of the carpets, hangings and upholstery, and of the very charming velvet tableau curtain.
Right - A programme for just one of the Queen's Theatre's successful productions over the years; the comedy 'The Wind And The Rain' by Merton Hodge, with Celia Johnson and Robert Harriswith in 1935.
From a spacious and lofty entrance-hall, with passages leading down into the stalls, one ascends by a handsome marble staircase to the dress circle, which runs out over the pit; and there is a fine and roomy saloon at the top. Mr Vedrenne makes a point that 7/6 will be charged for seats in the first three rows only of the dress circle, while but 5/- will be the price of the remaining eight rows, also unreserved, in which evening dress will be optional.
On the second tier of the Queen's, which is in the Old Italian Renaissance style and in the building of which the cantilever principle has been adopted, are the upper circle and the shilling gallery. The auditorium is lighted up agreeably with electric lamps and an electrolier, and ample refreshment room and other accommodation will be found to have been provided.'
The above text in quotes was first published in the Stage, 10th October 1907.
Above - A 1926 Alfred Hay's Seating Plan for the Queen's Theatre - Courtesy Roger Fox.
Above - An early Seating Plan for the Queen's Theatre, possibly 1920s
Above - A Seating Plan for the Queen's Theatre - From 'Who's Who in the Theatre' published in 1930 - Courtesy Martin Clark. Click to see more Seating Plans from this publication.
The Queen's Theatre was originally a twin with the Hicks, although slightly larger, but it was bombed during the Second World War on the 24th of September 1940, and suffered considerable damage to its front of house areas, the backs of the circles, and especially to its Facade which was completely destroyed. Following the war damage, parts of the building were apparently used as a scenery store for a while, but the Theatre itself remained closed and mostly derelict for nearly 20 years before being rebuilt by Westwood, Sons and Partner, on more modern lines.
Right - A photograph showing the original facade of the Queen's Theatre circa 1937 - From a 2003 Delfont Macintosh Press Handout.
The Stage reported on the proposals to rebuild and reopen the Queen's Theatre in their April 11th, 1957 edition saying:- 'Contemporary design with an all-glass frontage is planned by the architect Bryan Westwood for the rebuilding of the Queen's, Shaftesbury Avenue, which will be London's first post-war theatre construction.
It will cost £200,000, some of which will come under War Damage Commission. Work is to begin soon after Easter. From outside the new building it will be possible to see into the foyer and the saloon bar of the dress circle on the first floor, but it is planned to keep the 1,000 seater auditorium in its original red and gold Edwardian style of decor. It is expected that the theatre will be ready for re-opening in about 18 months' time. Responsible for making the decision to re-open, when so many theatres are closing down all over the country are the Globe and Queen's Theatres Ltd., of which A. H. Montgomery, also a director of H. M. Tennent, is chairman. Bomb-damaged in 1940, during the run of "Rebecca," and London's first war casualty theatre, the Queen's has been closed for 17 years. It was opened in 1907 with "The Sugar Bowl".' - The Stage, 11th April 1957.
Left - A Programme for 'Dear Octopus' which opened at the Queens Theatre on September the 14th 1938 - Kindly Donated by Clive Crayfourd.
A writer in the Tatler of 1958 wrote on the state of the Queen's Theatre after 19 years of dereliction saying:- '...Then there is the old Queen's Theatre, now rebuilding in Shaftesbury Avenue. It is owned jointly with the Globe by H. M. Tennent Ltd. Eighteen months ago I was taken round the filthy old shell before contractors came in to pull some of it down and rebuild the rest. A great hole had been torn in the roof by a bomb and from the stage where The Dairymaids was staged it was like squinting into some revolting dustbin. Grime and bird droppings hung from the plush rims of the boxes and from the gilded Cupids. Rats scuttled horribly in the stalls. This theatre is now well on the way to being rebuilt with a modern glass façade looking into Shaftesbury Avenue.' - The Tatler, 1958.
The Theatre finally reopened on July the 8th 1959 with a production of John Gielgud's Shakespearean Recital 'Ages of Man'. W. MacQueen-Pope wrote an article about the imminent reopening, published in the Stage on June the 4th, 1959, which you can read below.
Above - An article by W. MacQueen-Pope on the reopening of the Queen's Theatre in 1959 - From The Stage, June 4th, 1959.
_
_The Sondheim Theatre has been home to the World's longest running musical 'Les Misérables for a number of years. The show, which was originally a Royal Shakespeare Theatre production, first opened at the Barbican Theatre on the 8th of October 1985, before transferring to London's Palace Theatre on the 4th of December 1985. The show later transferred to the Queen's Theatre, today the Sondheim Theatre, on the 3rd of April 2004.
Right - Shaftesbury Avenue in June 1977 showing the Lyric, Apollo, Globe, and Queen's Theatres - Photo M.L. 1977.
On the 13th of July 2019 the show was closed at the Queen's Theatre so that the Theatre could undergo a £15m restoration, which included, according to the Theatre's Website, 'renovation of wartime bomb damage and a major restoration of the auditorium and the complete backstage'. Whilst this was going on a 'Concert Version' of 'Les Misérables' was put on at the adjoining Gielgud Theatre to keep the world's longest running musical alive during the restoration of the Theatre. A new production of 'Les Misérables' then reopened the now renamed Sondheim Theatre on the 18th of December 2019. The new name for the Queen's Theatre was given in honour of the American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. A review of the new production of 'Les Misérables', a show which has now clocked up a staggering 35 year record in the West End, can be read on the Stage Newspaper's website here. And an interesting interview with Cameron Macintosh on the restoration of both the Victoria Palace and the Sondheim Theatre can be read on the Stage Newspaper's website here.
The Sondheim Theatre is currently owned and run by Delfont Macintosh Theatres. You may like to visit the Theatre's own website here.
Above - Shaftesbury Avenue showing four of London's West End Theatres in a row, the Lyric Theatre, the Apollo Theatre, the Gielgud Theatre, and the Queen's Theatre in October 2006 - Photo M.L.
Adelphi Aldwych Ambassadors Apollo Apollo Victoria Arts Cambridge Charing Cross Theatre Criterion Dominion Donmar Warehouse Drury Lane Duchess Duke Of Yorks Fortune Garrick Gielgud Gillian Lynne Harold Pinter Haymarket His Majesty's Leicester Square Theatre London Coliseum London Palladium Lyceum Lyric Menier Chocolate Factory Noel Coward Novello Old Vic Palace Peacock Phoenix Piccadilly Playhouse Prince Edward Prince of Wales Royal Opera House Sadler's Wells Theatre Savoy Shaftesbury Sondheim St. Martin's Trafalgar Theatre Vaudeville Victoria Palace Wyndham's