Dominion Theatre
Dominion Theatre in 2008 showing We Will Rock You
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| Address |
Tottenham Court Road London, WC2 United Kingdom |
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| Coordinates | 51°31′00″N 0°07′49″W / 51.516556°N 0.130139°W |
| Public transit |
 Tottenham Court Road
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| Owner | Nederlander Organization |
| Designation | Grade II listed |
| Type | West End theatre |
| Capacity | 2,163 on 2 levels 2,074 (for WWRY) |
| Production | An American in Paris |
| Construction | |
| Opened | October 1929 |
| Architect | W & TR Milburn |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Dominion Theatre, initially a cinema, is a West End theatre located on Tottenham Court Road, close to St Giles Circus and Centre Point, in the London Borough of Camden.
The Dominion was home to the long-running musical We Will Rock You played at the theatre from 14 May 2002 until 31 May 2014. It was also home to the London auditions of Britain's Got Talent and from February to April 2016 to War Of The Worlds.
Over several years, the theatre has undergone a rolling programme of refurbishment which has included reclaiming the area above the main foyer as a studio for rehearsals or events (2008), and reclaiming the offices in Nederlander House, which were originally part of the theatre but had been rented as commercial office space. Within this area, originally listed on the theatre plans as a 'Boardroom', a new Boardroom space has been created (2011). Following the closure of We Will Rock You, the theatre remained dark for 15 weeks, during which time owners undertook a mass programme of refurbishment, including replacing carpets, painting and restoring architectural features, refurbishing seats, renovating the 'front of house' toilets and bars, and updating much of the backstage facilities, including the flying system.
Since re-opening on 16 September 2014, the Dominion Theatre has been home to a number of short run musicals and spectaculars, including Evita (September 2014), White Christmas (November 2014), Lord of the Dance (March 2015) and the London premiere of Elf (October 2015).
In addition to hosting musicals in recent years, the theatre has also hosted a number of regular charity events, including MADTrust's West End Eurovision (2012, 2013, 2014) and West End Heroes (2013, 2014, 2015). The brainchild of current General Manager, David Pearson, 'West End Heroes' was produced by the theatre and brought together stars from current West End Shows, with musicians, from all the armed forces. The second event, in 2014, was hosted by Michael Ball.
The Dominion is also currently home to Hillsong Church every Sunday.
Construction of The Dominion began in March 1928 with a design by W and TR Milburn and a budget of £460,000. The site was the location of the former Horse Shoe Brewery, which was the site of the 1814 London Beer Flood. The first performance was 3 October 1929. The Tottenham Court Road façade features a ground level entry sheltered by a broad marquee with the second through fourth levels framed by large pilasters. The central portion is concave and faced with Portland stone. A three-bay bow window extends the height of the second and third storeys and is surmounted by sculpture of two griffins. Behind the griffin statue are three square openings which hold decorative iron grates. The griffins were removed in 1932 to mount an airplane for the musical Silver Wings. The remainder of the bow window was hidden during the run of We Will Rock You by a large shimmer curtain and statue of Freddie Mercury. These elements were reinstalled as part of the restoration. In addition to restoring the Tottenham Court Road façade, the stonework and windows of the dressing room block at the rear of the theatre were cleaned and replaced.
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