Piccadilly Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre Denman Street, London W1V 8DY
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| Venue: | Piccadilly Theatre |
| Address: | Denman Street, London W1V 8DY |
| Seating Plan: | View Seating Plan |
| Location Map: | View Location Map |
| Underground: | Piccadilly Circus |
| Total Seats: | 1200 |
| Parking Instrctions: | Parking at NCP car park in Denman Street. Street parking is very limited - we strongly advise the use of public transport. |
| Guide Dogs: | Theatre staff are happy to look after 3 guide dogs per performance in the Royal Room. However in certain circumstances guide dogs are permitted inside the auditorium. |
| Infra Red: | Induction loop at Box Office and infra-red system in the auditorium. |
| Wheelchair Access: | Via side entrance in Sherwood Street into a box (entrance is 65cm wide) which has space for 2 wheelchair users and their companions. 2 more wheelchairs can be accommodated in row A of the Royal Circle. The view of the left-hand side of the stage is slightly restricted. Stage left is slightly restricted. Access to transfer seating at A25-28 in the Royal Circle is through the same EXIT door in the Sherwood Street yard up one 8cm step. Scooters users allowed in the venue, but must move to transfer seats. 4 wheelchairs or 2 scooters can be stored next to the Royal Box. If you need help with transferring you should bring a companion. |
| Toilet: | Adapted toilet available from August 2004 – please call to check. |
| Steps: | 1 shallow step up from the pavement through the central and right-hand doors into the foyer (no step at the left-hand doorway). Box Office counter on the left. No steps to Royal Circle from Sherwood Street entrance , or up 6 steps from the foyer. Stalls are down 15 steps, Royal Circle up 28 steps (2 steps between rows), Grand Circle up 70. Staircases have handrails on both sides. |
| Air Conditioning: | Yes |
| Owner: | Ambassador Theatre Group |
A huge theatre - it is was claimed in the souvenir brochure celebrating the opening that 'if all the bricks used in the building were laid in a straight line, they would stretch from London to Paris'. The interior is art deco in style. The seating has been reduced from the original 1400 to 1232.
The theatre opened with the musical Blue Eyes by Jerome Kern, and starring Evelyn Laye. History was made here in 1928 when the theatre premiered Al Jolson's second film The Singing Fool - the first talkie to be shown in Britain. Talkies continued to be shown for the next year before the theatre returned to use as a live theatre.
Other productions of particular note here include the premiere of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit in 1941 which included Margaret Rutherford. In 1968 Edward Albee's Whos' Afraid of Virginia Woolf? featuring the original Broadway leads, Uta Hagen and Arthur Hill, played here. The Stephen Sondheim/Jule Styne musical Gyspy opened in May 1973 with Angela Lansbury in the lead, she was then succeded by Dolores Gray. 1975 saw Henry Fonda making his West End theatre debut in the one man show Clarence Darrow.
The theatre has a reputation for short runs - sometimes attributed to the fact that, although the theatre is centrally located, it is rather hard behind the north side of Piccadilly Circus and so suffers from both a lack of passing trade and public awareness.
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