London Palladium Theatre

Address: Argyll Street , W1A 3AB

Tube: Oxford Circus

Architect: Frank Matcham

Opened: 1910

Capacity: 2270

From its opening on Boxing Day 1910, the London Palladium was a Variety House which presented the contemporary face of Music Hall, Melodrama, Farce, and Operetta.

Its most famous managing director was Val Parnell he adopted a contentious, but successful, policy of hiring big-name acts, including Petula Clark, Judy Garland, Sophie Tucker, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Frankie Laine, Johnnie Ray, and Norman Vaughan. To many British people who owned a television set in the 50’s and 60’s the London Palladium is famous for the Sunday Night at the London Palladium series of variety shows, hosted by Tommy Trinder and later a young Bruce Forsyth and later still by Jimmy Tarbuck.

In the 1980s The Palladium became home to a string of successful large scale musical revivals, such as 'The King and I' with Virginia McKenna and Yul Brynner, 'Barnum' starring Michael Crawford, as the famous circus impresario, 'Singing in the Rain' with Tommy Steele. The less successful, but equally lavish 'Ziegfield' was not redeemed by its star Topol and the show failed.

At the time the theatre was owned by Moss Empires', and Val Parnell began negotiations with a property developer to demolish the Palladium. Once this became public knowledge, The Victoria Palace, and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, organised a take-over to save the theatres and Val Parnell retired, defeated.

In January 1973, the rock band Slade played at the theatre, but the event was more famous for the near collapse of the balcony than the music itself. In 2000, ownership of the theatre it was acquired by Andrew Lloyd Webber's “Really Useful Theatre Group”. One of the first management acts was to order the removal of the infamous but outdated revolving stage. It was under this management that the theatre has the most successful show ever. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ran for three and a half years. The shows choreographer Gillian Lynne had herself been a Palladium's Star Dancer during the 1950’s.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian's new production of The Sound of Music opened at the Palladium in November 2006. Andrew Lloyd Webber had made theatre history by choosing his star leading lady Connie Fisher on television in a talent contest. The British public cast the final vote. On 20 May 2007, the London Palladium hosted the 2007 BAFTA awards, broadcast by BBC television.

Past Productions at the London Palladium:

1994: Oliver! directed by Sam Mendes, starring at various times - Jonathan Pryce, Sonia Swaby, Robert Lindsay, Jim Dale and Russ Abbott
1998: Saturday Night Fever directed by Arlene Phillips, starring Adam Garcia and Ben Richards
2000: The King and I starring Elaine Paige
2002: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang directed by Adrian Noble, starring at various times - Michael Ball, Emma Williams, Nichola McAuliffe, Brian Blessed, Gary Wilmot, Jason Donovan, Brian Conley, Christopher Biggins, Scarlett Strallen, Louise Gold, Tony Adams, Richard O'Brien, Paul O'Grady, Wayne Sleep, Lionel Blair, Stephen Gately, Derek Griffiths and Alvin Stardust
2005: Scrooge - The Musical, by Leslie Bricusse, starring Tommy Steele
2006: Sinatra at the London Palladium
2006: The Sound of Music directed by Jeremy Sams, starring Connie Fisher