About the Phoenix Theatre

The Phoenix opened on 24 September 1930, and it opened with a good story: the premiere of Noël Coward's Private Lives, with Laurence Olivier and Gertrude Lawrence in the cast and Coward himself on stage. He came back to the theatre many times afterwards, his seventieth birthday was marked here with a midnight matinee in 1969, and the bar in the Charing Cross Road foyer carries his name.

It was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Bertie Crewe and Cecil Masey, with the director and designer Theodore Komisarjevsky as art director. The plain neoclassical frontage gives nothing away: inside it's red and gold, with gold engraving, red seats and curtains, decorated ceilings and sculpted wooden doors, all modelled on traditional Italian theatre design. It's been Grade II listed since 1973, and it's run by ATG Entertainment.

The longest chapter in its history is Blood Brothers. Willy Russell's musical transferred here in November 1991 and didn't leave until November 2012, a run of 21 years and more than 10,000 performances. Very few West End theatres have been so completely identified with a single production for so long.

Notable past productions

  • Come From Away (2019 to 2023), which played here for four years and used only the floor of the stage, so the back of the Stalls saw everything
  • Chicago (2018 to 2019)
  • The Exorcist (2017 to 2018)
  • Guys and Dolls (2016)
  • Bend It Like Beckham (2015 to 2016), the musical of the film
  • Once (2013 to 2015), the first show here after Blood Brothers
  • Blood Brothers (1991 to 2012), 21 years and more than 10,000 performances
  • Into the Woods and The Baker's Wife, both directed here by Trevor Nunn
  • Private Lives (1930), the opening production, with Coward, Lawrence and Olivier

Other venues of similar size

  • Gielgud Theatre, 991 seats on Shaftesbury Avenue, with the same three levels: Stalls, Dress Circle and Grand Circle
  • Sondheim Theatre, 1,109 seats on Shaftesbury Avenue, and the same three levels again
  • Novello Theatre, 1,085 seats on Aldwych, over four levels

FAQs

When was the Phoenix Theatre built?

It opened on 24 September 1930 with the premiere of Noël Coward's Private Lives, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Bertie Crewe and Cecil Masey.

What shows have been at the Phoenix Theatre?

Blood Brothers ran here for 21 years, from 1991 to 2012. Since then it has staged Once, Bend It Like Beckham, Guys and Dolls, The Exorcist, Chicago and Come From Away, and now Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

Who runs the Phoenix Theatre?

ATG Entertainment, which also runs the theatre's Box Offices and its access team.