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Harold Pinter Theatre

The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,[1] is a West End theatre, and opened on Panton Street in the City of Westminster, on 15 October 1881, as the Royal Comedy Theatre. It was designed by Thomas Verity and built in just six months in painted (stucco) stone and brick.[2] By 1884 it was known as simply the Comedy Theatre. In the mid-1950s the theatre underwent major reconstruction and re-opened in December 1955; the auditorium remains essentially that of 1881, with three tiers of horseshoe-shaped balconies.[2]

This article is about the venue formerly known as the Comedy Theatre. For the former Broadway venue, see Comedy Theatre (New York City).

Address

Panton Street
London, SW1
United Kingdom

796
(1,186 originally)

15 October 1881 (1881-10-15)

History[edit]

Early years: 1881–1900[edit]

The streets between Leicester Square and the Haymarket had been of insalubrious reputation until shortly before the construction of the Comedy Theatre, but by 1881 the "doubtful resorts of the roisterers" had been removed.[3] J. H. Addison held a plot of ground in Panton Street at the corner of Oxenden Street, for which he commissioned the architect Thomas Verity to design a theatre.[4] The builders were Kirk and Randall of Woolwich.[3] The original seating capacity was 1,186, comprising 140 stalls, 120 dress circle, 126 upper boxes, amphitheatre 100, pit 400 and gallery 300.[4] the construction was completed in six months.[2]


The theatre was, and remains, a three-tier house, its exterior in the classical tradition in painted (stucco) stone and brick.[2] The theatrical newspaper The Era described the interior as "Renaissance style, richly moulded and finished in white and gold. The draperies of the boxes are of maroon plush, elegantly draped and embroidered in gold".[5] It was originally planned to light the theatre by the new electric lighting, but for unspecified reasons this was temporarily abandoned, and the usual gas lighting was installed.[5][n 1]


The first lessee of the theatre, Alexander Henderson, who had worked with Verity on the design of the building, intended it to be the home of comic opera; at one time he had intended to call it the Lyric.[n 2] The theatre historians Mander and Mitchenson write that the name he finally chose – the Royal Comedy – lacked any official approval for the use of "Royal", which was dropped within three years.[6][n 3] He assembled a strong team, including Lionel Brough as stage director and Auguste van Biene as musical director.[5]

(22 February – 15 April 2006) by Ray Galton and John Antrobus[25]

Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane

(9 May – 15 December 2006) by Michael Frayn, starring Samantha Bond, David Haig, Mark Addy and James Dreyfus[26]

Donkeys' Years

(4–29 January 2007) by Richard O'Brien, starring David Bedella and Suzanne Shaw

The Rocky Horror Show

The Lover/The Collection (29 January – 3 May 2008) by , starring Timothy West, Gina McKee, Charlie Cox and Richard Coyle[28]

Harold Pinter

Dickens Unplugged (9–29 June 2008) by [29]

Adam Long

(15 December 2008 – 30 May 2009) by Andrew Lloyd Webber, directed by Craig Revel Horwood[30]

Sunset Boulevard

(24 July – 8 August 2009), world premiere of a new musical about Ernest Hemingway[31]

Too Close to the Sun

(30 September – 6 December 2009) by Simon Bent, starring Matt Lucas and Chris New[32]

Prick Up Your Ears

(17 December 2009 – 13 March 2010) by Molière, starring Keira Knightley, Damian Lewis, Tara Fitzgerald and Dominic Rowan[33]

The Misanthrope

(25 March – 19 June 2010) by George Bernard Shaw, starring Felicity Kendal[34]

Mrs. Warren's Profession

(7 July – 4 September 2010) by David Hirson, starring Mark Rylance, David Hyde Pierce and Joanna Lumley[35]

La Bête

(28 September 2010 – 15 January 2011) based on the book by Sebastian Faulks, starring Ben Barnes[36]

Birdsong

The Children's Hour (9 February – 7 May 2011) by , starring Keira Knightley[37]

Lillian Hellman

(16 June – 20 August 2011) by Harold Pinter, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Douglas Henshall and Ben Miles[38]

Betrayal

(24 October 2011 – 21 January 2012) by Ariel Dorfman starring Thandie Newton, Tom Goodman-Hill and Anthony Calf[39]

Death and the Maiden

(9 February – 14 April 2012) by Alan Ayckbourn, starring Reece Shearsmith, Kara Tointon and Elizabeth Berrington[40]

Absent Friends

and The Browning Version (24 April – 21 July 2012) by Terence Rattigan, starring Nicholas Farrell, Anna Chancellor and Alex Lawther

South Downs

(27 September 2012 – 5 January 2013) by Alan Ayckbourn, starring Rob Brydon, Nigel Harman and Ashley Jensen[41]

A Chorus of Disapproval

(31 January – 6 April 2013) by Harold Pinter, starring Rufus Sewell, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lia Williams[42]

Old Times

(23 April – 27 July 2013) by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth transferred from Menier Chocolate Factory.

Merrily We Roll Along

(7 August – 19 October 2013) by Lucy Kirkwood, starring Claudie Blakley and Stephen Campbell Moore[43]

Chimerica

(13 November 2013 – 8 February 2014) by Jez Butterworth, starring Brendan Coyle, Rupert Grint and Ben Whishaw[44]

Mojo

(14 April – 21 June 2014) by Noël Coward, starring Patricia Hodge, Caroline Quentin and Rory Bremner[45]

Relative Values

(17 July – 20 September 2014) by Oscar Wilde, starring Siân Phillips, Nigel Havers and Martin Jarvis[46]

The Importance of Being Earnest

(28 October 2014 – 29 October 2016)[47]

Sunny Afternoon

(25 November 2016 – 11 February 2017) by Mark Rylance and Louis Jenkins, starring Mark Rylance[48]

Nice Fish

(9 March – 27 May 2017) by Edward Albee, starring Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill[49]

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

(15 June – 2 September 2017) by William Shakespeare, starring Andrew Scott[50]

Hamlet

(11 October – 30 December 2017) by J. T. Rogers, starring Toby Stephens and Lydia Leonard[51]

Oslo

(18 January – 14 April 2018) by Harold Pinter, starring Toby Jones, Stephen Mangan and Zoë Wanamaker[52]

The Birthday Party

(29 May – 11 August 2018) by Nina Raine, starring Adam James, Stephen Campbell Moore and Claudie Blakley[53]

Consent

Ian McKellen On Stage: Shakespeare, Tolkien, Others and You (20 September 2019 – 5 January 2020) starring

Ian McKellen

(23 January – 2 May 2020) by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Conor McPherson, starring Toby Jones and Richard Armitage (closed early due to the COVID-19 pandemic)

Uncle Vanya

The Watsons (19 May – 26 September 2020) (cancelled due to the )

COVID-19 pandemic

(16 September – 6 November 2021) by Noël Coward, starring Jennifer Saunders (production was previously playing at the Duke of York's Theatre when theatres closed due to COVID-19 pandemic)

Blithe Spirit

(18 November – 18 December 2021) by T. S. Eliot, starring Ralph Fiennes

Four Quartets

David Suchet - Poirot and More, A Retrospective (4–22 January 2022) starring

David Suchet

(17 March – 9 April 2022), by Jean Cocteau, starring Ruth Wilson

The Human Voice

(15 April – 18 June 2022) by Suzie Miller, starring Jodie Comer

Prima Facie

(5 October 2022 – 7 January 2023) by C.P. Taylor, starring David Tennant

Good

Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons (18 January – 18 March 2023) by Sam Steiner, starring and Aidan Turner

Jenna Coleman

(25 March – 18 June 2023) based on the novel by Hanya Yanagihara, starring James Norton, Luke Thompson and Omari Douglas

A Little Life

(29 June – 7 October 2023) starring Mark Rylance

Dr. Semmelweis

Lyonesse (17 October – 23 December 2023) by , starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James

Penelope Skinner

(27 January - 15 June 2024) by Jez Butterworth, starring Laura Donnelly

The Hills of California

(1 October - 14 December 2024) by William Shakespeare, starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo

Macbeth

Mander, Raymond; Joe Mitchenson (1961). The Theatres of London. London: Rupert Hart-Davis.  221877906.

OCLC

Parker, John, ed. (1925). Who's Who in the Theatre (fifth ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons.  10013159.

OCLC