The Novello Theatre is a theatre on Aldwych in the West End of London.
The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W.G.R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on May 22, 1905, and was renamed the Strand Theatre in 1909. It was again renamed as the Whitney Theatre in 1911 before again becoming the Strand Theatre in 1913. In 2005, the theatre was renamed by its owners (Delfont Mackintosh Theatres) the Novello Theatre in honour of Ivor Novello.
The black comedy Arsenic and Old Lace had a run of 1337 performances here in the 1940s, and Sailor Beware ran for 1231 performances from 1955. Stephen Sondheim's musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opened here on the day of Kennedy's assassination, running for nearly two years. In 1971 the comedy No Sex Please, We're British opened here, remaining for over 10 years of its 16-year run until it transferred to the Garrick Theatre in 1982.
The theatre was extensively refurbished in 1930 and again in the early 1970s. For its 100th anniversary in 2005, the theatre is undergoing yet another extensive refurbishment. The current capacity is around 1,050.
It reopened on 8 December 2005 with the Royal Shakespeare Company's annual London season, playing to 4-week runs of Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It, concluding in March 2006. In 2006 the theatre has played host to the London premiere of the smash Broadway musical Footloose starring Cheryl Baker.
Ending on 11 November, Footloose made way for the Royal Shakespeare Company's return season for 2006-7, following which the Broadway musical The Drowsy Chaperone will make its European premiere on 6 June 2007, following previews from 14 May. The London production will star Elaine Paige, Bob Martin and John Partridge.
Notable Productions[]
- Verdict (May 22, 1858 - ???) (Strand Theatre)
- No Sex Please - We're British (June 3, 1971 - January 16, 1982)
- The Real Thing (November 16, 1982 - February 16, 1985)
- Cabaret (July 17, 1986 - May 4, 1987)
- Someone Like You (March 22 - April 26, 1990)
- Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love (June 3 - July 10, 1993)
- Buddy (October 6, 1995 - March 3, 2002)
- The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas (July 1, 2003 - 28 May 2005)
- Twelfth Night [RSC] (December 8, 2005 - December 31, 2005)
- The Comedy Of Errors [RSC] (January 6, 2006 - January 28, 2006)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream [RSC] (February 2, 2006 - February 25, 2006)
- As You Like It [RSC] (March 2, 2006 - March 25, 2006)
- Footloose - The Musical (April 8, 2006 - 11 November, 2006)
- Much Ado About Nothing [RSC] (December 7, 2006 - January 6, 2007)
- Antony and Cleopatra [RSC] (January 11, 2007 - February 17, 2007)
- The Tempest [RSC] (February 22, 2007 - March 24, 2007)
- The Drowsy Chaperone (Previews May 14, 2007 - London Premiere June 6, 2007 - August 4, 2007)
- Desperately Seeking Susan (Previews October 16, 2007 - London Premiere November 15, 2007 - December 15, 2007)
- Shadowlands (December 21, 2007 - February 23, 2008)
- Into The Hoods (Previews March 21, 2008 - Opens March 26, 2008)
Nearby tube stations[]
- Charing Cross