Cambridge Theatre

Cambridge Theatre

Cambridge Theatre in 2011
Address	Earlham Street, Seven Dials London, WC2 United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°30′49″N 0°07′36″W / 51.51364°N 0.12653°W / 51.51364; -0.12653
Public transit	Covent Garden
Owner	LW Theatres
Designation	Grade II
Type	West End theatre
Capacity	1,231 on 3 levels
Production	Matilda the Musical
Construction
Opened	4 September 1930; 93 years ago (1930-09-04)
Architect	Wimperis, Simpson & Guthrie
Website
cambridgetheatre.co.uk

The Cambridge Theatre is a

It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons Grinling.^[2] The theatre is built in steel and concrete and is known for its elegant and clean lines of design. The theatre was refurbished in 1950—the original gold and silver décor was painted over in red, and candelabras and chandeliers were added. In 1987, to restore the original décor, the theatre was once again refurbished, this time by Carl Toms. The theatre has a circular entrance foyer, with Grinling's bronze frieze depicting nude figures in exercise poses, the theme continues into the main foyer, with dancing nudes, marble pilaster up lighters and concealed lighting.^[2]

English Heritage observes:

the Cambridge Theatre is a rare, complete and early example of a London theatre adopting the moderne,

expressionist style pioneered in Germany during the 1920s. It marked a conscious reaction to the design excesses of the music hall and contemporary cinemas. Theatres looked for a new style appropriate to the greater sophistication of their entertainment and found it in the Germanic moderne forms of simple shapes enlivened by concealed lighting, shiny steelwork and touches of bright colour; this was not taken up by cinema designers until 1935.^[2]

The theatre was Grade II listed in January 1999.

Productions

An early production staged on October 19, 1930, by

Productions at the Cambridge Theatre have been characterised by relatively short runs interspersed with several dark periods and the theatre was used for trade film shows in the late 1930s and again in 1969 as a cinema.

Productions have included

commenced performances at The Cambridge from 18 October 2011, with an official opening night on 22 November 2011. As of April 2017, Matilda became the longest running production in the theatre's history.

Recent Productions

• Grease (24 October 1996 – 11 September 1999) by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, starring at various times Shane Richie and Ben Richards
• Great Balls of Fire (6 October 1999 – 18 December 1999)
• The Beautiful Game (26 September 2000 – 1 September 2001) by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton
• Fame (20 September 2001 – 31 August 2002)
• Our House (28 October 2002 – 16 August 2003) by Madness and Tim Firth
• Jerry Springer: The Opera (14 October 2003 – 19 February 2005), starring David Soul
• Something Wicked This Way Comes (2 June 2005 – 2 July 2005), by Andy Nyman and Derren Brown
• Dancing in the Streets (19 July 2005 – 22 April 2006)
• Chicago (27 April 2006 – 27 August 2011)
• Matilda the Musical (24 November 2011 –), by Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin

References

Citations

1. ISBN 978-1-84330-069-4.^{[permanent dead link}
   ]
2. ^ ^{a b c} English Heritage listing details. Retrieved 28 April 2007
3. ISBN 1 85273061 7
   .
4. ^ Theatre History. Retrieved 28 April 2007

Further reading

• Earl, John; Sell, Michael (2000). Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950. Theatres Trust. p. 102.
  ISBN 0-7136-5688-3
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cambridge Theatre, London.

• Official website