Playhouse Theatre
Playhouse Theatre Northumberland Avenue, London, UK WC2N 5DE
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| Venue: | Playhouse Theatre |
| Address: | Northumberland Avenue, London, UK WC2N 5DE |
| Seating Plan: | View Seating Plan |
| Location Map: | View Location Map |
| Underground: | Charing Cross(250m) Embankment (100m) |
| Total Seats: | 800 |
| Parking Instrctions: | MasterPark in Spring Gardens (Trafalgar Square), NCP at Bedfordbury. Single and double yellow lines in Northumberland Avenue. Taxi rank on the Embankment and at Charing Cross Station. |
| Guide Dogs: | Guide dogs are allowed inside the auditorium. Staff also available to dog-sit in foyer or Box Office. |
| Infra Red: | Induction loop system at Box Office. Infra-red system in auditorium. 16 headsets and 4 loops. |
| Wheelchair Access: | Contact the Box Office in advance so that the ramp (steep) can be placed over the 3 shallow steps inside the main entrance. No steps to the Stalls, which are on a shallow rake. 2 spaces for wheelchair users at G1 and G24. Companions can sit in same row. Scooter users can access the foyer and stalls, but must transfer. Transfer seating available to any Stalls aisle seat. Each wheelchair user must bring a non-disabled companion. |
| Toilet: | Adapted toilet to the right of the Stalls entrance. |
| Steps: | Level access through double doors opening outwards from the pavement, then 3 shallow steps up to the foyer (a ramp can be placed over these). Ticket collection point to your left. The back of the Stalls is level from here. 29 steps up to the Royal Circle (3 steps between the rows). 88 steps up to the Upper Circle, with 2 steep steps between rows in the auditorium. Staircases have handrails, and all steps are highlighted. Box Office is through a separate entrance to the right of the main entrance as you face the theatre. Surfaces are marble in the foyer, wood in the stalls bar and carpet in the auditorium. |
| Air Conditioning: | No |
| Owner: | Ray Cooney |
The Royal Avenue Theatre opened on the 11th March 1882 with a revival of Offenbach''s Madam Favart. The prefix "Royal" was soon dropped from the theatre''s name, but comic operas, burlesques and the like remained the staple fare for several years. For much of this time, Arthur Roberts, a popular star of the music halls, led the company at the Avenue. In the early 1890s the emphasis changed to drama and in 1894 Miss Horniman, the tea heiress, later a pioneer of the repertory movement, anonymously sponsored the actress Florence Farr in a season of plays. Sadly, the first production failed but Miss Farr persuaded her friend, a certain George Bernard Shaw, to finish his play, Arms and the Man, as a speedy replacement and his first West End production. It was successful enough to allow him to drop his music criticism in favour of play writing. Since then, the beautiful Playhouse has hosted the likes of WS Gilbert, legendary actress-manager Gladys Cooper, the BBC, The Almeida Theatre Company, The Peter Hall Company, and Janet McTeer.
In January 2003, Maidstone Productions became the new independent owners of the Theatre. Maidstone Productions, belonging to London and Broadway producers Ted and Norman Tulchin, has been behind a string of hit productions on both sides of the Atlantic, including Gagarin Way, Eden and Vincent in Brixton in the West End; Yazmina Reza''s The Unexpected Man, as well as Donald Margulies'' Dinner with Friends, which won the Pulitzer Prize. This was in addition to Turgenev''s Fortune''s Fool on Broadway, starring Alan Bates and Frank Langella, both winning Tony Awards for best actor and best supporting actor.
In March 2003, the Ambassador Theatre Group took over the stewardship of the Playhouse Theatre and is responsible for the theatre''s management and programming, working with Maidstone Productions and the team at the theatre.Recent productions include Richard Eyre''s production Vincent in Brixton starring Clare Higgins and Journey''s End directed by David Grindley.
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