The first documentary series of Great West End Theatres on Sky Arts 2 was a fascinating story of the origins, architecture and history of the first ten theatres in a production that eventually visits all forty. These were:
Theatre Royal Haymarket
Prince of Wales Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
St Martins Theatre
Ambassadors Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Palace Theatre
Noël Coward Theatre
Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Some of these were familiar to me and some were not. The series is entertainingly presented by Donald Sinden and directed by his son Mark. What stood out for me was the vast amount of money that has been recently invested into these theatres by the likes of Cameron Macintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber. I guess they now look better than when they first opened.
I was Heartbreak House at The Theatre Royal Haymarket in 1992, Les Miserables at the Palace Theatre in 1991and Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1993. The Noel Coward Theatre used to be called The Alberry Theatre where we saw Hay Fever in 1992 and Oliver sometime around 1979.
The Mousetrap has been performed continuously at St Martin's Theatre since 1974 having transferred from the next door Ambassador's where it had run for 22 years before that. We went to see it in 1987. The Prince of Wales Theatre was most impressive. The art deco restoration in 2004 under Cameron Macintosh is quite something. Note - there are tours of the theatre on Friday afternoons. Mama Mia was performed there for eight years following it's transfer from the Prince Edward Theatre.
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