 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
 Duke of York's Theatre in 2021 | |
 | |
| Address | St Martin's Lane London, WC2 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°30′36″N 0°07′39″W / 51.51°N 0.1275°W |
| Public transit |  Charing Cross; Leicester Square Charing Cross |
| Owner | ATG Entertainment |
| Designation | Grade II listed |
| Type | West End Theatre |
| Capacity | 640 on 3 levels (900 on 4 levels in 1892) |
| Production | Barcelona |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 10 September 1892 |
| Architect | Walter Emden |
| Website | |
| [1]https://www.thedukeofyorks.com/ | |
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by the architect Walter Emden, it opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, and was renamed Trafalgar Theatre in 1894. The following year, it became the Duke of York's to honour the future King George V.[1]
The theatre's opening show was comic opera The Wedding Eve by Frédéric Toulmouche. One of the earliest musical comedies, Go-Bang, was a success at the theatre in 1894. In 1900, Jerome K. Jerome's Miss Hobbs was staged as well as David Belasco's Madame Butterfly, which was seen by Puccini, who later turned it into the famous opera. This was also the theatre where J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up debuted on 27 December 1904. Many famous British actors have appeared here, including Basil Rathbone, who played Alfred de Musset in Madame Sand in June 1920, returning in November 1932 as the Unknown Gentleman in Tonight or Never.
The theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in September 1960.[2] In the late 1970s the freehold of the theatre was purchased by Capital Radio and it closed in 1979 for refurbishment. It reopened in February 1980 and the first production under the patronage of Capital was Rose, starring Glenda Jackson. In 1991 comedian Pat Condell performed sketches at the theatre which were later released on DVD.[3]
ATG Entertainment bought the theatre in 1992; this coincided with the successful Royal Court production of Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden. A host of successes followed including the 21st anniversary performance of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show and the Royal Court Classics Season in 1995.
The theatre houses the producing offices of ATG Entertainment's subsidiary Sonia Friedman Productions, whose revival of In Celebration starring Orlando Bloom played until 15 September 2007.
Singers Rag'n'Bone Man and Pink filmed their 2021 video for Anywhere Away From Here in the theatre.[4][5]
- ^ Violet Melnotte (1855–1935) D'Oyly Carte, Who Was Who (Boise State University) accessed 11 October 2007
- ^ English Heritage listing details accessed 28 April 2007
- ^ "Barf Bites Back! (VHS) (1991)". Amazon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
- ^ "Rag'n'Bone Man & P!nk – Anywhere Away from Here (Official Video)". YouTube.
- ^ "Rag'n'Bone Man collaborates with P!nk on latest single 'Anywhere Away from Here'". 13 April 2021.