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This
fully revised and updated edition of the hugely successful
London Theatres features
ten additional theatres, including the Victoria Palace Theatre, the Sondheim Theatre, the Bridge Theatre and the Noël Coward Theatre.
London is the undisputed theatre capital of the world. From world-famous musicals to West End shows, from cutting-edge plays to Shakespeare in its original staging, from outdoor performance to intimate fringe theatre, the range and quality are unsurpassed.
Leading drama critic Michael Coveney invites you on a tour of more than 50 theatres that make the London stage what it is. With stories of the architecture, the people and the productions which have defined each one, alongside sumptuous photographs by Peter Dazeley of the auditoriums, public and backstage areas,
this illustrated overview of London's theatres is a book like no other. A must for fans of the stage!
Praise for the first edition:
‘This coffee table whopper ... dazzles’
Spectator ‘
London Theatres ... will surely feature on any theatre buff's present list’
Sightlines New chapters included in the second edition:
Victoria Palace Theatre; The Bridge Theatre; Menier Chocolate Factory; Hampstead Theatre; Sondheim Theatre (formerly Queen's Theatre); Harold Pinter Theatre, Noël Coward Theatre; Aldwych Theatre; Garrick Theatre; Vaudeville Theatre; Phoenix Theatre
List of contents
Foreword by Mark Rylance
Introduction
Grandes Dames Royal Opera House; London Coliseum; Palace Theatre; Theatre Royal Haymarket; Theatre Royal Drury Lane; Her Majesty’s Theatre
Pleasure Palaces Shaftesbury Theatre; Victoria Palace Theatre; London Palladium; Dominion Theatre; Prince Edward Theatre; Lyceum Theatre; Prince of Wales Theatre
Informal Delights Donmar Warehouse; The Bridge Theatre; Menier Chocolate Factory; The Young Vic; Hampstead Theatre; Almeida Theatre; Normansfield Theatre; The Other Palace
Legends Alive Sondheim Theatre; Gielgud Theatre; Harold Pinter Theatre; Noël Coward Theatre; Novello Theatre
Popular Landmarks Shakespeare’s Globe; Sadler’s Wells Theatre; The Old Vic; Royal National Theatre; Royal Court Theatre; Roundhouse; Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Of Special Renown New Wimbledon Theatre; Aldwych Theatre; Richmond Theatre; Garrick Theatre; Vaudeville Theatre; Playhouse Theatre; Adelphi Theatre
Eastward Ho! Wilton’s Music Hall; Barbican Theatre; Hackney Empire; Theatre Royal Stratford East
West End Jewels St Martin’s Theatre; Wyndham’s Theatre; Fortune Theatre; Phoenix Theatre; Criterion Theatre; Duke of York’s Theatre; Savoy Theatre
index
acknowledgements
About the author
PETER DAZELEY FRPS, known as Dazeley, is a celebrated London photographer renowned for fine art and advertising photography. He was born in West Kensington and studied photography at Holland Park School, now known as the Socialist Eton. His work has won many awards from organisations across the world, including the Association of Photographers and the Royal Photographic Society in the UK, EPICA in France, Applied Arts Magazine in Canada, and Graphis Inc. in the USA. Dazeley is a member of the Association of Photographers and a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. Peter Dazely is the photographer of
Unseen London,
London Uncovered,
London Theatres (all Frances Lincoln).
Summary
Leading drama critic Michael Coveney invites you on a tour of over 50 of London’s most iconic and important theatres, with stories of the architecture and the productions which have defined each one. Sumptuous photographs by Peter Dazeley of the public areas, auditoriums and backstage areas complete the picture.
Additional text
“According to the recently published new edition of Michael Coveney and Peter Dazeley’s seriously splendid book London Theatres, we’re promised massively enhanced technical facilities at Drury Lane, not least the ability to transform the auditorium into a 2,000-seat in-the-round space. Its Regency splendour restored, tiered levels of seating curved and the stalls seats brought forward for greater intimacy, the building’s every space within and without has been transformed. Coveney’s text is shot through with historical detail but his commentary is, above all, a labour of love, while Dazeley’s exquisitely evocative photographs of these pleasure palaces are frankly ravishing. Unless you happen to own one or more of these architectural jewels, you’ll never have the opportunity to see them in such glorious, glowing detail. Since we currently can’t enjoy them in person, get your hands on a copy and revel in what awaits us when theatre returns.”
