|
ABOUT THE GIELGUD THEATRE
The Gielgud Theatre is located on Shaftesbury Avenue, the heart of the West Ends ´theatreland´, and was designed by WGR Sprague as a pair with the adjacent Queens Theatre. It first opened in 1906 as the Hicks Theatre, in honour of actor, playwright and manager Seymour Hicks, later changing to The Globe Theatre in 1909. Its name changed again before the 1997 opening of the new Globe Theatre on South Bank, to the Gielgud Theatre, honouring the great British actor Sir John Gielgud.
The Gielgud Theatre is a spectacular building and is one of the more impressive theatres in the West End standing at four storeys high with the interior being equally impressive. Refurbishments in 1987 included the construction of a circling staircase and oval gallery.
1939 saw the opening of Oscar Wilde´s ´The Importance of Being Ernest´, with John Gielgud starring in the lead role as well as producing and directing. John Gieldud also directed Richard Burton in the most famous of Christopher Fry's plays, ´The Lady's Not for Burning´, in 1945. From here on in, and prior, the theatre has presented some long running successes but not without the occasional flop such as the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's ´Tell me on a Sunday´.
From 1966, Terence Frisby´s ´There's a Girl in my Soup´ enjoyed a run of 1,064 performances, Barry Humphries then had audiences in hysterics with his season as ´Dame Edna Everage´ in 1976 and Andrew Lloyd Webber´s ´Daisy Pulls if Off´, began its successful run of 1,180 shows in April 1983. And so the list goes on. The Gielgud Theatre has also seen silver screen stars reignite love affairs with the stage such as British starlet Rachel Weisz in Noel Coward´s 1995 revival of ´Design for Living´, Christian Slater starring in the fabulous ´One Flew over the Cuckoo´s Nest´, and David Schwimmer of ´Friends´ starred in 2005´s ´All The Girls´.
But after its almighty success in 2004-05.
Picccadilly and Leicester Square underground stations and Charing Cross rail station are the closest to the theatre.
When purchasing tickets for mainstream theatre productions, it is important to keep the following in mind.
The cheapest way to buy tickets is to buy directly from the theatres´ box office where the show is playing. Or, purchase your tickets from the ´Half Price Ticket Booth´ (AKA ´tkts´) located in Leicester Square, where they sell ´on the day´ tickets for all of the West End shows at a discount rate. The booth is open Monday to Saturday from 10am - 7pm and Sundays from 12pm - 3.30pm. There is a service fee of £2.50 per ticket and a maximum of 4 tickets per person. Avoid touts hanging about the theatres and any other ticket agencies around the West End that appear a little dodgy as tickets may not be legitimate. Always ask if your seat is in a restricted viewing area. You can also purchase a theatre and hotel package which saves money all round.
However, the best thing to do if you have your heart set on seeing a particular show is to book ahead. You will be guaranteed a good seat, a great view and a fab night out.
|
Search London
Shaftesbury Avenue, London, UK W1V 7HB 