London Theatre Guide

Duchess Theatre

Address: Catherine St , London , WC2

Tube: Covent Garden

Architect: Ewen Barr

Opened: 1939

Capacity: 479

The theatre is one of the smallest and most modern 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. What is unusual is that the stage is at street level, but the stalls are below street level.

Past productions at the Duchess Theatre:

  • Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, which transferred from the Piccadilly Theatre to the St. James Theatre before moving to the Duchess Theatre where it completed a record run of 1,997 performances in 1942.
  • Bill Naughton's legendary play 'Alfie' played at the Duchess in 1962.
  • Tom Eyen's The Dirtiest Show in Town, which ran for just under 800 performances in the 1970s
  • Oh Calcutta, which transferred to the Duchess Theatre from the Royalty Theatre in December 1974 until 1980.
  • The Players' Theatre Company presented their Late Joys Victorian Music hall programme between 1987 and 1990
  • Marc Camoletti's Don't Dress For Dinner 1992 until 1997.
  • The Royal Shakespeare Company's The Herbal Bed by Peter Whelan ran for six months from April to October 1997.
  • “Buddy” - The Buddy Holly Story opened on the 3rd of August 2007.

 

  
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