Prince of Wales Theatre

Address: Coventry Street , London , W1

Tube: Piccadilly Circus

Architect: C.J. Phipps

Opened: 1884

Capacity: 1100

The Prince of Wales Theatre was opened in 1884, rebuilt in 1937 and extensively refurbished in 2004. The former Scala Theatre in Charlotte Street, off the Tottenham Court Road was known as the Prince of Wales Royal Theatre or the Prince of Wales's Theatre from 1865 until its demolition in 1903. The theatre in Coventry Street was renamed the "Prince of Wales Theatre" in 1886 in honour of the future King, Edward VII.

The first production in the theatre was an 1884 revival of W. S. Gilbert's The Palace of Truth starring Herbert Beerbohm Tree. In 1885, Lillie Langtry, the Jersey Lily starred in Princess George and The School for Scandal. The first record-breaking production of the comic opera, Dorothy, starring Marie Tempest this was so successful the authors utilised the profits to build the Lyric Theatre, and moved the production there 1888.

George Edwardes' musical play, In Town, often considered the first English musical comedy, opened in 1892. In 1895, Basil Hood's Gentleman Joe, the Hansom Cabby began a long run starring Arthur Roberts,the comedian. Then the theatre presented plays with Maeterlinck's Pelléas et Mélisande (1898) and Wills's adaptation of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities as The Only Way (1899, also starring Harvey). In 1901 Charles Hawtrey starred in A Message from Mars.

The theatre played more musical comedies beginning in 1903, including the Frank Curzon and Isabel Jay hits Miss Hook of Holland and its matinée was performed by children for children.

Ivor Novello's The Rat in 1924, was Novello's first play, in which he starred. In 1930, Edith Evans became the manager at the theatre, presenting and starring in Delilah, which was not a success. In 1932, the theatre began a series of risqué "Folies" style revues, Voila! And Les Dames and Encore les Dames, The series was so successful that it funded the refurbishment of the theatre in 1937 necessary because the capacity of the theatre needed to be enlarged from the original eight hundred.

On June 17, 1937, Gracie Fields sang as she laid the foundation stone of the new Art Deco-decorated theatre, and the theatre opened in October of that year. The new theatre's seating capacity was about 1,100, it also had a larger stage and improved facilities for both the public and the performers. These facilities included a dance floor.

The first production at the new theatre was Les Folies de Paris et Londres, starring George Robey, followed by Folies De Can-Can in 1938, a continuation of the series of commercially successful risqué revues, which ran until 02.00 every night. In 1941, the theatre screened the UK premiere of Charlie Chaplin's film The Great Dictator, which was banned at the time and the theatre received a hefty fine for screening it.

In the 1950s, the theatre hosted variety and revues, starring the diverse performances of Norman Wisdom, Peter Sellers, Bob Hope, Gracie Fields, Benny Hill, Hughie Green, Frankie Howard, and Morecambe and Wise. In 1959, Paul Osborn's play The World of Susie Wong became the theatre's longest running play with 832 performances. The sixties continued the Broadway musicals, including Funny Girl in 1966 with Barbra Streisand, Sweet Charity in 1967, and Promises, Promises in 1969.

In 1982, Underneath the Arches was a long-running hit. In 1989 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love smashed box-office records for the theatre, running for 1,325 performances. The theatre re-opened in 2004 after another extensive refit, with ABBA's musical Mamma Mia!. On 18 August 2007, Mamma Mia! became the longest running show at the Prince of Wales theatre, and on Thursday 23 August 2007, celebrated its 3,500 performance.

Past productions at the Prince of Wales Theatre: