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Trafalgar Theatre is a new West
End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of
Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following
a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to
reinstate it back to its original heritage design. 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.
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. 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 series of five long-running farces, presented under the
umbrella title "Whitehall farce" by the actor-manager Brian Rix,
were staged at the theatre from 1950 to 1966: Reluctant Heroes,
by Colin Morris (1950–54); Dry Rot, by John Chapman (1954–58);
Simple Spymen (1958–61); One For the Pot, by Ray Cooney and Tony
Hilton (1961–64); and Chase Me, Comrade, by Cooney (1964–66).
Excerpts from the shows were televised by the BBC.
The building was acquired in 1971 by Paul Raymond who was
producer of a nude review that had opened there in 1969 called
Pyjama Tops, it ran for five years after which productions
including Ipi Tombi and Anyone for Denis? had successful runs.
The building was shuttered until July 1982 when a production of
Private Dick starring Robert Powell ran for 16 weeks. It then
briefly housed an exhibition of World War II memorabilia known
as The Whitehall Theatre of War. Acquired from the Paul Raymond
Organisation in 1985 by Maybox Theatres the Theatre came under
the direction of Ian Albery. After considerable refurbishment
that retained most of its Art Deco features, it reopened on 5
March 1986 with a successful revival of J.B. Priestley's When We
Are Married. Subsequent productions included When I Was a Girl I
Used to Scream and Shout by Sharman Macdonald, The Importance of
Being Earnest, The Foreigner, Run For Your Wife, Absurd Person
Singular, Travels with My Aunt, tributes to Patsy Cline, Roy
Orbison and the Blues Brothers, and solo performances by Ennio
Marchetto and Maria Friedman.
Between 1997 and 1999, the theatre was converted into a
television and radio studio used primarily to broadcast Jack
Docherty's talk show and BBC Radio 4's Live from London. It
returned to theatrical use, with such productions as Three
Sisters, Puppetry of the Penis, "Art", Rat Pack Confidential,
and Sing-a-Long-a-ABBA, before its owner, the Ambassador Theatre
Group, announced the building would be reconfigured and reopen
with a new name.
The current building contains two intimate theatres designed by
architects Tim Foster and John Muir. Studio 1, the larger of the
two spaces with 380 seats, opened on 3 June 2004 with the Royal
Shakespeare Company's production of Othello. Studio 2, with 100
seats, opened in October 2005 with the play Cyprus.
Since 2004, Trafalgar Studios has presented short runs of
revivals of classic plays and musicals, including Sweeney Todd
(2004); Losing Louis (2005); a season by the RSC repertory
season, from December 2005 to February 2006, of plays including
Sir Thomas More, Sejanus: His Fall and Believe What You Will; an
adaptation of Jane Eyre by Polly Teale (2006); Bent (2006–07);
Elling (2007); Dealer's Choice (2007–08); Fat Pig (2008,
transferring to the Comedy Theatre); Entertaining Mr Sloane
(2009) and A Christmas Carol (2010–11). Three Days in May showed
at the theatre from November 2011 to March 2012.
The theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in December
1996, noting "The auditorium has a decorative cohesion and
prettiness rare in theatres of its day, and has the best
surviving original fabric of this type of theatre".
In May 2016, Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire, founders and
former owners of Ambassador Theatre Group, announced they were
stepping down from ATG to set up their own production company
called Trafalgar Entertainment Group (TEG), which would take
control of Trafalgar Studios.
In May 2020, planning permission was granted to return the
premises to a 630-seat theatre. Since the building's listed
status meant the 2004 changes had to be reversible, it will be
possible for the theatre to be restored to its previous form.
Westminster City Council granted the necessary planning
permission and listed building consents to carry out the work.
The venue closed earlier than expected in March 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, and building work on the theatre began in the
summer. On 27 October, Trafalgar Entertainment announced that
the theatre would re-open as Trafalgar Theatre in Spring 2021.
The restoration resulted in the creation of a new single
auditorium at an increased capacity and a larger stage, matching
other theatre venues such as the Duke of York's and Vaudeville
theatres. All seats at Trafalgar Theatre are on just two levels,
Stalls and Dress Circle. The redevelopment was overseen by
Foster Wilson Architects. On 30 October, it was announced that
Jersey Boys would be opening the new Trafalgar Theatre in April
2021. However, its opening has now been delayed to July 2021.
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