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For the theatre in Melbourne, Australia see Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
Comedy Theatre
Comedy Theatre, July 2007
Address
Panton Street
City
Westminster, London
DesignationGrade II listed
ArchitectThomas Verity
Owned byAmbassador Theatre Group
Capacity796 on 4 levels
(1,180 on opening)
TypeWest End theatre
Opened15 October 1881
Previous namesRoyal Comedy Theatre
ProductionDickens Unplugged
Coordinates: 51°30′35″N 0°07′51″W / 51.509778, -0.130722

The Comedy Theatre, is a West End Theatre, and opened on Panton Street in the City of Westminster, on October 15, 1881, as the Royal Comedy Theatre. The Comedy Theatre is a 997 seat theatre in Melbourne. It was built in 1928 and was built in the Spanish style with a Florentine-style exterior and wrought-iron balconies The City of Westminster ( is a borough of London with city status. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance Thomas Verity (1837&ndash1891 was an English Theatre Architect during the theatre building boom of 1885&ndash1915 The Ambassador Theatre Group was co-founded by Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire in 1992 West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London 's "Theatreland" A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London 's "Theatreland" The City of Westminster ( is a borough of London with city status. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Year 1881 ( MDCCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common It was designed by Thomas Verity and built in just six months in painted (stucco) stone and brick[1]. Thomas Verity (1837&ndash1891 was an English Theatre Architect during the theatre building boom of 1885&ndash1915 Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water By 1884 it was known as just the Comedy Theatre. Year 1884 ( MDCCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year In the mid-1950s the theatre went under major reconstruction and re-opened in December 1955, the auditorium remains essentially that of 1881, with three tiers of horseshoe shaped balconies[1]. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar)

Contents

History

In 1883, the successful operetta Falka had its London premiere at the theatre, and in 1885, Erminie did the same. Erminie is a Comic opera in two acts composed by Edward Jakobowski (1858 - 1927 with a libretto by Claxson Bellamy and Harry Paulton The theatre's reputation grew through World War I when C. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All B. Cochran and André Charlot presented their famous revue shows. Famous actors who appeared here include Henry Daniell who played John Carlton in Secrets in September 1929. Henry Daniell ( March 5, 1894, London, England – October 31, 1963, Santa Monica

The theatre was notable for the role it played in overturning stage censorship by establishing the New Watergate Club in 1956, under producer Anthony Field[2]. Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable harmful or sensitive as determined by a censor The outdated Theatres Act 1843 still required scripts to be submitted for approval by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. The Theatres Act 1843 (6 & 7 Vict c 68 (also known as the Theatre Regulation Act) was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. Formation of the club allowed plays that had been banned due to language or subject matter to be performed under 'club' conditions. Plays produced in this way included the UK premières of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, Robert Anderson's Tea and Sympathy and Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. Arthur Asher Miller (October 17 1915 &ndash February 10 2005 was an American Playwright and Essayist. A View from the Bridge is a play by Arthur Miller originally produced as a one-act Verse drama on Broadway in 1955 Robert Anderson is the name of a number of people in various fields Arts and entertainment Robert Anderson (author (1750&ndash1830 Scottish literary Tea and Sympathy is a 1953 stage play in three acts by Robert Anderson. Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26 1911 &ndash February 25 1983 better known as Tennessee Williams, was a major American playwright who received many of the top theatrical Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a Tony -nominated play by Tennessee Williams. The law was not revoked until 1968, but in the late 1950s there was a loosening of conditions in theatre censorship, the club was dissolved and Peter Shaffer's Five Finger Exercise premièred to a public audience[3]. Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (born May 15, 1926) is an English Dramatist, author of numerous award-winning plays several of which have been filmed A five finger exercise is a Musical composition designed primarily for the purpose of exercising all one's fingers

Recent productions have included Journey's End, The Old Masters, Whose Life is it Anyway?, The Home Place, Epitaph for George Dillon, The Caesar Twins, Steptoe and Son, Donkeys' Years, The Rocky Horror Show. Journey's End is the seventh and most famous play by R C Sherriff. Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane a fictional street The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British stage musical, opening in London on 19 June 1973

The current production is Dickens Unplugged. The theatre is a part of the Ambassador Theatre Group. The Ambassador Theatre Group was co-founded by Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire in 1992

The theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in June 1972. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance English Heritage is a Non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government ( Department for Culture Media and Sport) with a broad remit of

Recent and present productions

References

  1. ^ a b English Heritage listing details accessed 28 Apr 2007
  2. ^ Interview with Anthony Field CBE 14 March, 2007(The Theatre Archive Project, British Library) accessed 16 Oct 2007
  3. ^ Comedy Theatre history accessed 4 May 2007

External links

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