Shaftesbury Theatre

Address: 210 Shaftesbury Ave , London , WC2

Tube: Holborn

Architect: Bertie Crewe

Opened: 27 December 1911

Capacity: 1,400 seat

The theatre designed for Walter and Frederick Melville, opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre. In 1914 it became the Prince's Theatre. It had considerable commercial success with an 18-week season of Gilbert and Sullivan, in 1919. Basil Rathbone appeared at the Prince's Theatre in May 1933 starring in a revival of Diplomacy. The theatre was sold to EMI in 1962 and renamed again the Shaftesbury Theatre (not to be confused with the original Shaftesbury Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue.)

Part of the ceiling collapsed on 20 July 1973, forcing the closure of the long running musical Hair, after 1,998 performances. The theatre reopened with West Side Story a year later. During the redevelopment of the Royal Opera House in nearby Covent Garden in the late 1990s the theatre was booked as an alternative London venue for performances including Benjamin Britten's Paul Bunyan. Between 1 May and 1 September 2007, it hosted to a revival of 'Fame: the Musical' to fill the summer gap, prior to the European premiere of the Tony Award-winning Broadway smash Hairspray

Past performances at the Shaftesbury theatre:

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Little Me Hair September 20, 1968 - July 20, 1973
They're Playing Our Song October 1, 1980 - May 8, 1982
Follies July 1987 - February 1989
Kiss of the Spider Woman 20 October 1992 - 17 July 1993 by John Kander and Fred Ebb, starring Chita Rivera
Carousel 16 September 1993 - 27 March 1994 by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Out of the Blue 23 November 1994 - 10 December 1994 by Shun-Ichi Tokura, Paul Sand and David Gilmore
The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol 25 January 1995 - 25 February 1995 by John Berger, Simon McBurnley and Mark Wheatley
Harvey 18 May 1995 - 17 June 1995 by Mary Chase
Eddie Izzard: Definite Article 10 October 1995 - 16 December 1995 by Eddie Izzard
Return to the Forbidden Planet 19 December 1995 - 13 January 1996 by Bob Carlton
Tommy 5 March 1996 - 8 February 1997 by The Who and Des McAnuff
Sinderella Comes Again 22 April 1997 - 3 May 1997 by Jim Davidson and Bryan Blackburn
Rent 12 May 1998 - 30 October 1999 by Jonathan Larson
Lautrec - The Musical 6 April 2000 - 17 June 2000 by Charles Aznovour and Dee Shipman
Napoleon: The Musical 17 October 2000 - 3 February 2001 by Timothy Williams and Andrew Sabiston
Baddiel and Skinner: Unplanned 17 April 2001 - 12 May 2001 by David Baddiel and Frank Skinner
Peggy Sue Got Married 20 August 2001 - 13 October 2001 by Arlene Summer, Jerry Leichting and Bob Gaudio, starring Ruthie Henshall
Umoja: Spirit of Togetherness 15 November 2001 - 6 February 2002 by Todd Twala, Thenbi Nyandeni and Ian von Memerty
125th Street 17 September 2002 - 11 January 2003 by Alan Janes and Rob Bettinson
Calamity Jane 26 June 2003 - 20 September 2003 by Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster, and Phil Park, starring Toyah Willcox
Thoroughly Modern Millie 21 October 2003 - 26 June 2004, starring Amanda Holden and Maureen Lipman
Bat Boy: The Musical 27 August 2004 - 15 January 2005 by Keythe Farley, Brian Flemming and Laurence O'Keefe, starring Deven May
The Far Pavilions - The Musical 24 March 2005 - 17 September 2005, starring Kulvinder Ghir
High Society 1 October 2005 - 21 January 2006, starring Jerry Hall
Daddy Cool - The Musical 15 August 2006 - 17 February 2007 by Frank Farian, starring Michelle Collins, Javine Hylton and Harvey Junior
Fame: The Musical 4 May 2007 - 1 September 2007)by Jacques Levy and Steve Margoshes, starring Ian Watkins and Natalie Casey
Hairspray: The Musical 11th October 2007 - starring Michael Ball, Leanne Jones, Mel Smith, Ben James-Ellis, Tracie Bennett, Adrian Hansel and Rachael Wooding, by Mark O'Donnell, Thomas Meehan, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman