Londres
Duchess Theatre
Londres - Angleterre
Construction: 1929
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Topologie du théâtre
Nombre de salles actives: 1
Salle 1: (476) 1929 - Actif
Accès
En métro: Covent Garden (Piccadilly line)
En bus: 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 77A, 91, 176
Adresse:
Evolution
Bâtiment: The Duchess theatre was designed by Ewen Barr, and constructed by F. G. Minter Ltd, for Arthur Gibbons. The theatre is built with the stalls below street level, to overcome the scale of the site, and the rights of neighbours to Ancient lights. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929. The interior decoration scheme was introduced in 1934 under the supervision of Mary Wyndham Lewis, wife of J. B. Priestley.
Nom:
Propriétaire(s)
Remarquable
Bas-reliefs by sculptor Maurice Lambert.
476
1929 - Actif
Catherine Street, opened in 1673 and named in honour of Charles Il’s Queen, Catherine of Braganza, whom diarist Samuel Pepys considered ‘mighty pretty', extended south to the Strand until the opening of Aldwych in 1905. Until 1974 its northern end fed into the organized conglomeration of wagons, carts, containers and porters that was Covent Garden Market, prior to the market moving in that year to modern accommodation at Nine Elms. Since then, the shops and pubs that catered for the contrasting needs of market and theatre-goers alike have been transformed almost en masse into the boutiques and bistros that crowd around the Duchess.
In the early 1920s the site was owned by William Clarkson, a theatrical costumier, who had ambitions to build his own theatre. His vision came to nought, however, because of problems he encountered with the law of Ancient Lights, specifically the illegal obstruction of one’s neighbour’s daylight that would result from the building planned. Finally he gave up and sold the plot to West End and Country Theatres Ltd, which leased it on to Arthur Gibbons, a promoter whose choice of architect Ewen S. Barr was inspired.
Barr must have spent many hours at his drawing board before the persistent problem that had defeated Clarkson was finally solved. He would sink the stalls deep into the ground, extending back under the foyer and what is now the dress-circle bar, which in turn would be formed into the underside of the dress circle. The resultant low-rise design overcame the daylight obstacle, and a small but attractive theatre was born. Interestingly, at almost the same time that Barr was designing for Gibbons, he was looking to the future and producing, with T. R. Sommerford, the interiors of four early atmospheric London Astoria cinemas.
Externally, the embryonic ’Elizabethan’ Portland-stone frontage, with its three shallow canted bay windows and simplified decorative motifs, forms a loose group with the Novello Theatre on the opposite side of the road, and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, to the north. Originally, the equally simple Art Deco interior with dished, domed ceiling was enlivened by a sensitive colour scheme in blue, silver and mauve by Marc Henri and Gaston Laverdet, later to be redesigned by Mary Wyndham-Lewis, wife of the playwright J. B. Priestley. Sadly, the only survivals of this decoration in today's partially artexed and cream- painted auditorium are two rather special bas-reliefs, which were designed by the young sculptor Maurice Lambert, flanking the proscenium arch.
The Duchess opened on 25 November 1929; among its successes are J. B. Priestley’s Laburnum Grove, which ran for 335 performances in 1933, and Emlyn Williams’s The Com Is Green, which ran for 395 performances in 1938. More recently, the highly successful Oh! Calcutta was transferred here from the Royalty, followed in 1986 by No Sex Please - We 're British, which completed a run of 6,671 performances at the Duchess, having transferred from the Garrick.
The Duchess theatre was designed by Ewen Barr, and constructed by F. G. Minter Ltd, for Arthur Gibbons. The theatre is built with the stalls below street level, to overcome the scale of the site, and the rights of neighbours to Ancient lights. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929. The interior decoration scheme was introduced in 1934 under the supervision of Mary Wyndham Lewis, wife of J. B. Priestley.
Bas-reliefs by sculptor Maurice Lambert.
Théâtre
Original
1) Play that goes wrong (The) (Original)
Joué durant 6 ans 1 mois 2 semaines actuellement
Première preview: ven. 05 septembre 2014
Première: dim. 14 septembre 2014
Dernière: Open end
Compositeur: *** Divers •
Parolier: *** Divers •
Libettiste: *** Divers •
Metteur en scène: Mark Bell •
Chorégraphe:
Avec: Leonard Cook (Robert), Bryony Corrigan (Sandra), Harry Kershaw (Chris), Laura Kirman (Annie), Chris Leask (Trevor), James Marlowe (Max), Laurence Pears (Jonathan), Niall Ransome (Dennis), Adam Byron, Matt Cavendish, April Hughes and Sarah Madigan.
Commentaire: The Play That Goes Wrong is a play by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields. They are all part of the Mischief Theatre Company. It premiered at the Old Red Lion Theatre in London in 2012, moved to Trafalgar Studios in 2013, and opened to the Duchess Theatre in the West End on 14 September 2014. It won Best New Comedy at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards. (plus)
Presse: "All in all, it’s a great-looking, brilliantly performed piece ... My only qualm about The Play That Goes Wrong is that in getting their play so dreadfully wrong night after night, they are also getting it absolutely right." Tim Walker for The Telegraph
"It’s not sophisticated and it’s certainly over-extended; the show’s one-act Fringe origins aren’t hard to spot. Yet, along with the rest of the enthusiastic audience, I laughed continually. Director Mark Bell also offers some ingenious, not to mention precision-drilled, physical comedy." Fiona Mountford for The Evening Standard
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Musical
Original
14) Fermeture COVID (Original)
Joué durant 1 an 4 mois
Première preview: 16 March 2020
Première: 16 March 2020
Dernière: 19 July 2021
Compositeur:
Parolier:
Libettiste:
Metteur en scène:
Chorégraphe:
Avec:
Commentaire: Tous les théâtres anglais ont dû fermer dès le 16 mars 2020 suite à la pandémide de COVID… (plus)
Presse:
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Musical
West End Transfer
13) Wind in the Willows (The) (Version Ward) (West End Transfer)
Joué durant 1 mois 2 semaines
Première preview: 11 December 2013
Première: 16 December 2013
Dernière: 01 February 2014
Compositeur: Martin Ward •
Parolier:
Libettiste:
Metteur en scène: Will Tuckett •
Chorégraphe: Will Tuckett •
Avec: Tony Robinson (Kenneth Grahame - The Narrator), Will Kemp (Ratty), Cris Penfold (Toad), Christopher Akrill (Badger), Clemmie Sveaas (Mole). Ewan Wardrop, Paul James Rooney, Kayleigh Gore, Connor Dowling, Kirsty Mather, Anna Martine, Jo Meredith, Aron Wild.
Commentaire:
Presse:
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Théâtre
Revival
12) Resistible rise of Arturo Ui (The) (Revival)
Joué durant 2 mois 1 semaine
Première preview: 18 September 2013
Première: 25 September 2013
Dernière: 07 December 2013
Compositeur:
Parolier:
Libettiste: Bertold Brecht •
Metteur en scène: Jonathan Church •
Chorégraphe:
Avec: Henry Goodman (Arturo Ui), Michael Feast (Roma), William Gaunt (Old Dogsborough), Joe McGann (Giri/O’Casey), Keith Baxter (Actor), Mark Carlisle, Alex Giannini, Amanda Gordon, Charlie Hamblett, Lucas Hare, Hugh John, Richard Mark, Lizzy McInnerny, Peter Moreton, Steve Simmonds, Colin Stinton, David Sturzaker, Benny Young
Commentaire:
Presse: "Swaggeringly confident production, with Henry Goodman giving an electrifying performance in the title role, this is a show you really should see."
Charles Spencer for Daily Telegraph
"Henry Goodman is a knockout as Arturo U."
Lyn Gardner for The Guardian
"This accomplished production...has a golden ticket when it comes to its leading actor. Henry Goodman, who in the past has won much acclaim for roles with a markedly Jewish slant, now dazzles as a very loosely veiled Adolf Hitler. It’s a hell of a role and Goodman gives a hell of a performance to match."
Fiona Mountford for The Evening Standard
"The role of Arturo Ui calls for bravura, high-definition acting and that's what it gets, in spades, from Henry Goodman in Jonathan Church's splendid production."
Paul Taylor for The Independent
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Théâtre
Revival
11) Our Boys (Revival)
Joué durant 2 mois 1 semaine
Première preview: 26 September 2012
Première: 03 October 2012
Dernière: 15 December 2012
Compositeur:
Parolier:
Libettiste: Jonathan Lewis •
Metteur en scène: David Grindley •
Chorégraphe: Aucun •
Avec: Cian Barry (Keith)
Arthur Darvill (Parry)
Laurence Fox (Joe)
Matthew Lewis (Mick)
Lewis Reeves (Ian)
Jolyon Coy
Commentaire:
Presse: "In David Grindley's strongly cast revival, it strikes me as a decent enough piece, but over-reliant on the conventions of army comedy and lacking in real anger at the way disabled servicemen are often thrown on to the scrapheap."
Michael Billington for The Guardian
"Sharp, robustly funny...The production negotiates the sudden switches of mood (from the uproarious to the melancholy) with aplomb; there's sensitivity in the punchy performances; and the play makes its case all the more powerfully for never becoming preachy or programmatic. "
Paul Taylor for The Independent
"The problem is it hasn’t really anywhere to go. Each scene is beautifully crafted, but they don’t quite join to form a narrative arc, and the tragic denouement feels uncomfortably bolted on to a play that is touching and amusing, but oddly lacking in shape. "
Jane Shilling for The Daily Telegraph
"Director David Grindley coaxes a terrific sense of edgy camaraderie and snappy loyalty from the group, who handle with sensitivity the men’s growing awareness that, outside Army life, a highly uncertain future awaits. "
Fiona Mountford for The Evening Standard
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West End Transfer
10) Love Story (West End Transfer)
Joué durant 2 mois 3 semaines
Première preview: 27 November 2010
Première: 06 December 2010
Dernière: 26 February 2011
Compositeur: Howard Goodall •
Parolier: Stephen Clark •
Libettiste: Stephen Clark •
Metteur en scène: Rachel Kavanaugh •
Chorégraphe:
Avec: Emma Williams ( Jenny Cavilleri), Michael Xavier (Oliver Barrett IV), Peter Polycarpou (Phil Cavilleri), Richard Cordery (Oliver Barrett III), Jan Hartley, Gary Milner, Julie Stark, Paul Kemble
Commentaire: It was inspired by Erich Segal’s best-selling novel of the same name, and the enormously successful 1970 film version starring Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw. The stage version, with a cast of 12 and an onstage band of seven, runs for an hour and forty minutes without an interval. It opened for a month-long sell-out run at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester on May 29 th 2010 and transferred to the Duchess for a limited ten week season. As with the original film, critical reaction was divided into two distinct camps: those who loved it and wept profusely into their hankies, and those who hated it and dismissed it as “Camille with bullshit”. (plus)
Presse: "A polished show that is pleasing, sometimes affecting, but never truly captivating." Henry Hitchings for The Evening Standard
"Even I am prepared to admit that Rachel Kavanaugh’s stylish production is superior to the soppy film." Charles Spencer for The Daily Telegraph
"The characters remain only mildly engaging with scenes and time passing so swiftly that you end up not really caring about anyone." Paul Vale for The Stage
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Musical
Revival
9) Fantasticks (The) (Revival)
Joué durant 2 semaines
Première preview: 24 May 2010
Première: 09 June 2010
Dernière: 26 June 2010
Compositeur: Harvey Schmidt •
Parolier: Tom Jones •
Libettiste: Tom Jones •
Metteur en scène: Amon Miyamoto •
Chorégraphe:
Avec: Luisa [The Girl] ... Lorna Want / Matt [The Boy] ... Luke Brady / El Gallo [The Narrator] ... Hadley Fraser / Bellomy [The Girl's Father] ... David Burt / Hucklebee [The Boy's Father] ... Clive Rowe / Henry [The Old Actor] ... Edward Petherbridge / The Mute ... Carl Au / Mortimer [The Man Who Dies] ... Paul Hunter
Commentaire: This production originated in Tokyo, where Tom Jones, the lyricist, saw it, liked it, and managed to raise the money to re-stage it in London. With some audience sitting on the stage, and with some vaguely kabuki clowning interludes and oriental drumming it was “different”. However, yet again it failed to make a favourable impact in the UK despite the fact it is the longest running musical in the USA (1960-2002 and then revived in 2006 and still running!) The critics hated it: “cheek-numbingly boring and desperately unfunny” (D. Mail), “sticky, sugary depths. . .ghastly musical” (D. Telegraph), “No sane adult should have to sit through this” (Sunday Times), “I lost the will to live” (Mail on Sunday). It lasted less than 3 weeks. (plus)
Presse: "Since by the interval the plot has been virtually resolved and we've had the two best songs (Try to Remember, and Soon it's Gonna Rain), the second half strains hard to excite our curiosity...What irks one about the show is its dimpled, ingratiating cuteness." Michael Billington for The Guardian
"Most of the humour is feeble, and while the performances are serviceable...it’s impossible to redeem the material...This is one to forget." Henry Hitchings for The Evening Standard
"No amount of talent can redeem this terrible show." Charles Spencer for Daily Telegraph
"Yes, it occasionally puts the 'grate' in ingratiating. Yes, at two-and-half hours, it begins to outstay its welcome. But as an open-hearted antidote to soulless, big-budget hi-tech, The Fantasticks continues to prove that small can be quite fetching." Paul Taylor for The Independent
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Musical
Revival
8) Tick, tick ... BOOM (Revival)
Joué durant
Première preview: 13 May 2009
Première: 13 May 2009
Dernière: 17 May 2009
Compositeur: Jonathan Larson •
Parolier: Jonathan Larson •
Libettiste: Jonathan Larson •
Metteur en scène: Hannah Chissick •
Chorégraphe:
Avec: Paul Keating (Jonathan), Julie Atheron (Susan), Leon Lopez (Michael)
Commentaire: This production was limited to one week only as part of the Notes from New York season. The central performance by Paul Keating was greatly praised, and the story of an aspiring composer wondering if time is running out for him was an especially poignant one since Jonathan Larson had died, aged 36 while his hit show “Rent” was about to bring him acclaim. (plus)
Presse:
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Revival
7) Last Five Years (The) (Revival)
Joué durant
Nb de représentations: 7 représentations
Première preview: 06 May 2009
Première: 06 May 2009
Dernière: 10 May 2009
Compositeur: Jason Robert Brown •
Parolier: Jason Robert Brown •
Libettiste: Jason Robert Brown •
Metteur en scène:
Chorégraphe:
Avec:
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Presse:
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Revival
6) Buddy (Revival)
Joué durant 1 an 6 mois
Première preview: 03 August 2007
Première: 07 August 2007
Dernière: 07 February 2009
Compositeur: Buddy Holly •
Parolier: Alan Janes • Rob Bettinson •
Libettiste: Alan Janes • Rob Bettinson •
Metteur en scène:
Chorégraphe:
Avec:
Commentaire:
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Original
5) Behind the Iron Mask (Original)
Joué durant 2 semaines
Nb de représentations: 23 représentations
Première preview: 21 July 2005
Première: 02 August 2005
Dernière: 20 August 2005
Compositeur: *** Divers •
Parolier: *** Divers •
Libettiste: *** Divers •
Metteur en scène:
Chorégraphe:
Avec:
Commentaire: Notes: This show was greeted with unanimous hoots of derision and disappeared within three weeks. Some of the critical comments were: “Absolutely all expense has been spared on the skimpy set”; the leading man spends the whole show “in headgear that makes him look like a mix of Darth Varder, Hannibal Lecter and a charred parrot”; “in a supposedly erotic dance, Feguson wafts her skirt as if she is measuring up for curtains and talks of love and passion as though checking off a shopping list”; “to suggest it is plain terrible does not do justice to its sheer, gothic relentless awfulness”; “The
prisoner’s big number is called Touch Me’. Given this show, the phrase that
comes to mind is ‘not with a bargepole’”.
This show joined the legendary group of the most awful West End shows ever. (plus)
Presse: FIONA MOUNTFORD for THE EVENING STANDARD says, "..wretchedly overamplified production and the actors seem to have decided to conserve energy by expressing no emotion whatsoever in speech or song.."
PAUL TAYLOR for THE INDEPENDENT says, "There were weird, vacant moments when it seemed to run completely out of steam, as though, like its audience, it was losing the will to live."
LYNN GARDNER for THE GUARDIAN says, "Nobody comes out of this with any real credit, although Ferguson does at least inject some energy into her musical numbers."
BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE for THE TIMES says, "The music sometimes has a pleasant Lloyd-Webbery lilt, but the lyrics are mostly vile and the sudden twists of behaviour would take platoons of psychologists to unravel."
CHARLES SPENCER for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "It's so bad that it is merely unendurable.There's no insane flourish to its mediocrity, no sublimity to its awfulness. It is just relentlessly, agonisingly third-rate." "
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West End Transfer
4) Blue / Orange (West End Transfer)
Joué durant 7 mois 2 semaines
Première preview: 24 April 2001
Première: 30 April 2001
Dernière: 15 December 2001
Compositeur: *** Divers •
Parolier: *** Divers •
Libettiste: *** Divers •
Metteur en scène: Roger Michell •
Chorégraphe:
Avec: Andrew Lincoln , Bill Nighy , Chiwetel Ejiofor (then David Threlfall, Neil Stuke, Shaun Prices)
Commentaire: The interior of the Duchess Theatre has been re-configured allowing for the play to be presented in-the-round, as it was at the Cottesloe Theatre in April 2000 (plus)
Presse: BEN DOWELL for THE STAGE says, "Superbly acted in the round, it loses nothing of its combative, subtle power...." NICHOLAS DE JONGH for THE EVENING STANDARD was not as enthusiastic for the transfer saying, "At last night's West End transfer, I was besieged by second thoughts and first doubts about its real worth." He goes on to say, "As a psychiatric melodrama, with a cliffhanger's allure, Blue/Orange still works theatrical wonders. Unfortunately....I can no longer believe in the play's authenticity." BENIDICT NIGHTINGALE for THE TIMES still liked it saying, "The play is humorous and notably compassionate, yet seems scrupulously fair and balanced about subjects that range from an overburdened NHS and community care system to the relation of ethnicity to mental illness to the uses and misuses of psychiatry." DOMINIC CAVENDISH for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "Minor cavils aside, this will most likely prove to be the best play of the year, again."
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Musical
West End Transfer
3) Snoopy - the musical (West End Transfer)
Joué durant 1 an 1 mois 3 semaines
Nb de représentations: 479 représentations
Première preview: Inconnu
Première: 20 September 1983
Dernière: 11 November 1984
Compositeur: Larry Grossman •
Parolier:
Libettiste: Hal Hackady •
Metteur en scène: Arthur Whitelaw •
Chorégraphe: Kay Cole •
Avec: Anthony Best (Woodstock), Susie Blake (Sally Brown), Zoe Bright (Lucy), Nicky Croydon (Peppermint Patty), Mark Hadfield (Linus), Teddy Kempner (Snoopy), Robert Locke (Charlie Brown)
Commentaire: The production originated at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury. This show had a long run, a year and 2 months—surprising inasmuch as “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” had achieved a very much shorter in 1968. The production was nominated for an Olivier Award Best New Musical of the Year, and Teddy Kempner was nominated for Actor of the Year in a Musical. (plus)
Presse:
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Théâtre
Revival
2) Private lives (Revival)
Joué durant 10 mois 1 semaine
Première preview: 06 March 1980
Première: 06 March 1980
Dernière: 10 January 1981
Compositeur:
Parolier:
Libettiste: Noël Coward •
Metteur en scène: Alan Strachan •
Chorégraphe:
Avec: Maria Aitken (Amanda Prynne), Michael Jayston (Elyot Chase), Lesley Gregson (Louise, a maid), Jenny Quayle (Sybil Chase), Ian Collier (Victor Prynne)
Commentaire: Greenwich Theatre: 6/3/1980 - 12/4/1980
Dichess Theatre: 16/4/1980 - 10/1/1981 (plus)
Presse:
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