About the Cambridge Theatre

A 1930 building, and unusually for the West End it was designed under the influence of cinema rather than of the Victorian playhouse. That's why the tiers sit back instead of leaning out over each other, why there are no pillars anywhere, and why the cheaper seats here give you more than the price suggests.

It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie, with interiors by Serge Chermayeff, and it's Grade II listed. It opened with André Charlot's revue Masquerade, was refurbished in 1950, and was restored in 1986, after an attempt to turn it into a permanent home for a magic show didn't work out. Andrew Lloyd Webber bought it in 2000, and it's run by LW Theatres.

It also has a habit of holding on to a show. Chicago began its London life on this stage in 1979. Return to the Forbidden Planet ran the best part of four years and won the Olivier for Best Musical, and Our House won an Olivier as well. Matilda arrived in 2011 and hasn't moved since.

Notable past productions

• Masquerade (1930), André Charlot's revue, the opening production
• Heartbreak House (1943), George Bernard Shaw's play
• Sauce Tartare (1949), with Audrey Hepburn in the chorus
• Billy Liar (1960)
• Hamlet (1971), with Ian McKellen
• Behind the Fridge (1972), with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore
• Chicago (1979)
• Man and Superman (1980), with Peter O'Toole
• Return to the Forbidden Planet
• Fame and Grease
• The Beautiful Game
• Our House, the Madness musical
• Jerry Springer: The Opera

Other venues of similar size

• Piccadilly Theatre, 1,232 seats on Denman Street, over three levels: Stalls, Royal Circle and Grand Circle
• His Majesty's Theatre, 1,216 seats on Haymarket, over four levels
• Sondheim Theatre, 1,109 seats on Shaftesbury Avenue, with Stalls, Dress Circle and Grand Circle