About the Prince of Wales Theatre

Two theatres have stood on this site. The first opened in 1884 as the Prince's Theatre, built by C.J. Phipps for the actor-manager Edgar Bruce, a traditional three-tier theatre of just over a thousand seats. It was renamed the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1886, after the future Edward VII.

Through to the 1930s it made its name and its money on French-style revues, to the point where it was known as London's Folies Bergère. Those shows were controversial and enormously profitable, and the profits paid for the theatre's own demolition.

The current building opened on 27 October 1937, designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style. Gracie Fields laid the foundation stone that June and sang to the builders on the site. The opening bill ran non-stop from two in the afternoon until eleven at night.

The 2004 refurbishment

It was listed Grade II in 1999. In 2003 it closed for a refurbishment costing around £7.5 million, which rebuilt the auditorium and every front-of-house space, and it reopened in June 2004 with a gala performance of Mamma Mia!. The rooftop tower, a landmark from several streets away, was refitted with LED lighting at the same time.

The interior today is cream, ivory and gold against red velvet. The effect is modern and polished on an Art Deco frame, rather than a period interior kept as it was.

Notable past productions

  • Les Folies de Paris et Londres (1937), the opening revue
  • The Great Dictator (1941), Charlie Chaplin's film, shown here for a season
  • Harvey (1949, and again in 1975 with James Stewart)
  • The World of Suzie Wong (1959), 832 performances
  • Funny Girl (1966), Barbra Streisand's London stage debut
  • Aspects of Love (1989), with Michael Ball, which ran 1,325 performances
  • Mamma Mia! (from 2004), which overtook Aspects of Love as the theatre's longest-running show in 2007
  • The Book of Mormon (from 2013), which won four Olivier Awards and broke the record for the biggest single day of ticket sales in West End and Broadway history

In 1963 The Beatles played the Royal Variety Performance here.

Other venues of similar size

If you're booking a run of shows, the Theatre Royal Haymarket is three minutes away.

FAQs

When was the Prince of Wales Theatre built?

In 1937. It's the second theatre on this site: the first, the Prince's Theatre of 1884, was pulled down to make way for it.

Who owns the Prince of Wales Theatre?

Delfont Mackintosh Theatres, which rebuilt the auditorium and front of house in 2003 and 2004.