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Trafalgar Theatre

Trafalgar Theatre is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. The Grade II listed building was built in 1930 with interiors in the Art Deco style as the Whitehall Theatre; it regularly staged comedies and revues. It was converted into a television and radio studio in the 1990s, before returning to theatrical use in 2004 as Trafalgar Studios, the name it bore until 2020, with the auditorium converted to two studio spaces. It re-opened in 2021 following a major multi-million pound project to reinstate it to its original single-auditorium design.

This article is about the theatre in London currently known as "Trafalgar Theatre". For the theatre in London formerly known as "Trafalgar Theatre", see Duke of York's Theatre. For the theatre in New York City formerly known as "Trafalgar Theatre", see Nederlander Theatre. For the recording studio in Sydney, Australia, see Annandale, New South Wales § Music.

Address

Whitehall
London, SW1
United Kingdom

630 seats

29 September 1930 (1930-09-29)

2004 (Tim Foster and John Muir) / 2020 (Foster Wilson Architects)

Edward A. Stone

History[edit]

1930 to 1996[edit]

The original Whitehall Theatre, built on the site of the 17th century Ye Old Ship Tavern was designed by Edward A. Stone, with interiors in the Art Deco style by Marc-Henri and Laverdet. It had 634 seats.[1] The theatre opened on 29 September 1930 with The Way to Treat a Woman by Walter Hackett, who was the theatre's licensee. In November 1933 Henry Daniell appeared there as Portman in Afterwards. Hackett presented several other plays of his own before leaving in 1934, and the theatre built its reputation for modern comedies throughout the rest of the decade. During World War II it housed revues, which had become commonplace entertainment throughout the West End. In 1942, The Whitehall Follies, featuring Phyllis Dixey, the first stripper to perform in the theatre district, opened with great fanfare and became an immediate success. Dixey leased the theatre and remained in it for the next five years.

A Mirror (22 January 2024, starring [15])

Jonny Lee Miller

(21 April 2021 - 4 January 2024) [16]

Jersey Boys

On Blueberry Hill (5 March – 2 May 2020)

[17]

(5 December 2019 – 29 February 2020, starring Jodie Prenger[18])

A Taste of Honey

(14 October – 30 November 2019, starring Toby Stephens and Claire Skinner)[19]

A Day in the Death of Joe Egg

(6 July – 7 September 2019)[20]

Equus

Education, Education, Education (31 May – 29 June 2019, written and devised by The Wardrobe Ensemble)

[21]

Admissions (28 February – 25 May 2019, starring [22])

Alex Kingston

(1 December 2018 - 23 February 2019)[23]

Nine Night

Misty (8 September – 17 November 2018)

[24]

(18 May – 18 August 2018, starring Orlando Bloom[25])

Killer Joe

(6 December 2017 – 5 May 2018)[26]

The Grinning Man

Apologia (29 July – 18 November 2017, starring as Kristin Miller, Freema Agyeman as Claire; written by Alexi Kaye Campbell)[27]

Stockard Channing

(31 August – 24 September 2016)[28]

The Naked Magicians

(16 January – 11 April 2015, starring James McAvoy)[29]

The Ruling Class

(4 October 2014 – 3 January 2015, starring Jane Horrocks and Ayub Khan-Din)[30]

East Is East

(1 July – 27 September 2014, starring Martin Freeman[31])

Richard III

(26 March – 21 June 2014)[32]

Another Country

The Pride (14 August 2013 – 9 November 2013)

[33]

(4 May – 3 August 2013, starring John Simm and Simon Russell Beale)[34]

The Hothouse

(9 February – 27 April 2013, starring James McAvoy in the title role, opposite Claire Foy)[35]

Macbeth

Three Days in May (2 November 2011 – 3 March 2012)

[36]

Charing Cross

Embankment

Westminster

Earl, John; Sell, Michael, eds. (2000). . A. & C. Black. pp. 146–7. ISBN 978-0-7136-5688-6. Retrieved 3 May 2023.

Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950

Theatre history

Who's Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London, 1947, pps: 477–478.

Gaye, Freda, ed. (1967). Who's Who in the Theatre (fourteenth ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons.  5997224.

OCLC

Smith, Leslie (1989). Modern British Farce: A Selective Study of British Farce from Pinero to the Present Day. Basingstoke: Macmillan.  978-0-3334-4878-6.

ISBN

at English Heritage

Whitehall Theatre

History of the Whitehall Theatre