Piccadilly Theatre

Address: Denman Street , London , W1

Tube: Piccadilly Circus

Architect: Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone

Opened: 27 April 1928

Capacity: 1,232

The Piccadilly has a simple facade which conceals the grandiose Art Deco interior designed by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet, with a 1232 seat auditorium completely decorated in pink. The opening production, Jerome Kern's musical Blue Eyes, starred Evelyn Laye, an acclaimed contemporary actress. The Piccadilly theatre was briefly managed by the Warner Brothers, who operated a cinema using the Vitaphone Talkie system, where they premièred the first talking picture in Great Britain, The Singing Fool Starring Al Jolson. The building re-opened as a theatre in November 1929, with a production of musical The Student Prince.

The theatre re-opened in April 1936 as a cabaret restaurant The London Casino, famous for its lavish stage shows. The building sustained considerable bomb damage during the Second World War. After renovations in the early 1950s it reverted to its original name and became a venue for plays, revues, and musicals.

In the 1960s and 1970s, it improved its reputation with a series of successful transfers from Broadway Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and A Streetcar Named Desire made their London debuts here. The 1990s witnessed an expansion in ballet and dance, notably the most successful commercial ballet season ever to play in the West End, Matthew Bourne's acclaimed production of Swan Lake.

The Piccadilly has played host to such renowned stars as Henry Fonda, Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, Michael Pennington, Barbara Dickson, Lynn Redgrave, Julia McKenzie, Eric Sykes, and Dame Edna Everage.

Recent productions at the Piccadilly Theatre:

Ragtime - starring Maria Friedman
Noises Off 13 August 2003 - 8 November 2003 by Michael Frayn
Jumpers 20 November 2003 - 6 March 2004 by Tom Stoppard
Jailhouse Rock - The Musical 19 April 2004 - 23 April 2005 by Rob Bettinson and Alan Janes
Guys and Dolls 19 May 2005 - 14 April 2007 by Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, starring at various times, Ewan McGregor, Jane Krakowski, Jenna Russell, Douglas Hodge, Nigel Harman, Sarah Lancashire, Patrick Swayze, Don Johnson, Ben Richards, Adam Cooper, Sally Ann Triplett, Amy Nuttall, Samantha Janus, Neil Morrissey, Alex Ferns and Claire Sweeney
Grease 24 July 2007 by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, starring Danny Bayne, Susan McFadden and Siobhan Dillon