Noel Coward Theatre
| New Theatre Albery Theatre |
|
Noël Coward Theatre in 2009
|
|
| Address |
St. Martin's Lane London, WC2 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°30′40″N 0°07′38″W / 51.511111°N 0.127222°W |
| Public transit |
 Leicester Square
|
| Owner | Salisbury estate |
| Operator | Delfont Mackintosh Theatres |
| Designation | Grade II listed |
| Type | West End theatre |
| Capacity | 872 on 4 levels |
| Production | Half a Sixpence |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1903 |
| Architect | W. G. R. Sprague |
| Website | |
| Official website at Delfont Mackintosh Theatres | |
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by architect W. G. R. Sprague with an exterior in the classical style and an interior in the Rococo style.
In 1973 it was renamed the Albery Theatre in tribute to Sir Bronson Albery who had presided as its manager for many years. Since September 2005, the theatre has been owned by Delfont-Mackintosh Ltd. It underwent major refurbishment in 2006, and was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre when it re-opened for the London premiere of Avenue Q on 1 June 2006. Noël Coward, one of Britain's greatest playwrights and actors, appeared in his own play, I'll Leave It To You, at the then New Theatre in 1920, the first West End production of one of his plays.
The theatre seats 872 patrons on four levels. The building is now a Grade II Listed structure.
After opening in 1903 with a production of Rosemary starring Charles Wyndham and his wife, Mary Moore (3 July 1861 – 6 April 1931), the Noël Coward Theatre has hosted a number productions. I'll Leave it to You, in 1920, was Coward's first play. George Bernard Shaw's St. Joan with an acclaimed performance by actress Sybil Thorndike ran in 1924.
The 1930s saw the greatest commercial success of John Gielgud's career, Richard of Bordeaux (1933). Gielgud followed up this triumph with a legendary production of Hamlet in which he both played the title role and directed a company that included Jessica Tandy, Jack Hawkins and a young Alec Guinness in one of his first professional roles as Osric. Gielgud also appeared with Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft and Edith Evans in Romeo and Juliet. With the Blitz came the destruction of the theatres that were home to the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells Theatre Companies. Both companies made the New Theatre home until their respective theatres were rebuilt in the 1950s. One of the most successful shows to play the New Theatre opened 30 June 1960. It was Lionel Bart's Oliver!, which ran for 2,618 performances.
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