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Royal Court Theatre

The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, London, England. In 1956 it was acquired by and remains the home of the English Stage Company, which is known for its contributions to contemporary theatre and won the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities in 1999.

For the theatre in Liverpool, see Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Address

Sloane Square
London, SW1
United Kingdom

51°29′33″N 0°09′24″W / 51.492583°N 0.156583°W / 51.492583; -0.156583

London Underground Sloane Square

English Stage Company

Grade II listed

Non-commercial theatre

Theatre Downstairs: 380
Theatre Upstairs: 85

1870 (1870)

1888 (Walter Emden & Bertie Crewe)
2000 (Haworth Tompkins)

History[edit]

The first theatre[edit]

The first theatre on Lower George Street, off Sloane Square, was the converted Nonconformist Ranelagh Chapel, opened as a theatre in 1870 under the name The New Chelsea Theatre. Marie Litton became its manager in 1871, hiring Walter Emden to remodel the interior, and it was renamed the Court Theatre.[a]

by John Osborne, directed by Tony Richardson, music for songs by Tom Eastwood, starring Kenneth Haigh (1956)[43]

Look Back in Anger

by John Osborne, directed by Tony Richardson, starring Laurence Olivier (1957)

The Entertainer

Ainger, Michael (2002). Gilbert and Sullivan – A Dual Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.  0-19-514769-3.

ISBN

Bergan, Ronald (1992). The Great Theatres of London: An Illustrated Companion. London: Trafalgar Square Publishing.  1-85375-057-3.

ISBN

Earl, John; Sell, Michael (2000). Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950. Theatres Trust. pp. 135–36.  0-7136-5688-3.

ISBN

MacCarthy, Desmond (1907). . London: A. H. Bullen.

The Court Theatre 1904–1907 A Commentary and Criticism

Roberts, Philip (1999). . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-47962-2.

The Royal Court Theatre and the modern stage

History of the theatre

Profile of the theatre and other Victorian theatres

Napoleon, Davi (1991). Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater. Iowa State University Press.  0-8138-1713-7. (Includes a detailed comparison of the Royal Court and a theater in New York City that was influenced by it; also includes discussion of Royal Court plays that the Chelsea presented, including Saved, Total Eclipse, and The Contractor)

ISBN

Official website

at the Victoria & Albert Museum

English Stage Company/Royal Court Theatre Archive

at the Harry Ransom Center

English Stage Company Correspondence Collection

, 21 July 2009, The Royal Court Upstairs marks 40 years of scaling new heights

The Guardian