Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c.1898 by W.G.R. Sprague, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916. It was designed to seat 759 patrons on three levels although later refurbishment increased this to four. The theatre was Grade II* listed by English Heritage in September 1960.
Wyndham had always dreamed of building a theatre of his own and through the admiration of a patron and the financial confidence of friends, he was able to realise his dream when Wyndham's Theatre opened on 16 November 1899, in the presence of the Prince of Wales. The first play performed there was a revival of T. W. Robertson's David Garrick.
In 1910, Gerald du Maurier began an association with the theatre which lasted 15 years and was to include the stage debut of the screen actress Tallulah Bankhead. Du Maurier's small daughter, Daphne, often watched her father's performance from the wings. Thirty years later she presented her own play, The Years Between, on the same stage.
In April 1953 the theatre premiered Graham Greene's first play, The Living Room, with a cast including Dorothy Tutin. In January 1954, a small-scale musical pastiche, Sandy Wilson's The Boy Friend, which had begun life at the much smaller Players' Theatre, was moved to the Wyndham stage. It ran for 2,078 performances, before eventually transferring to Broadway. During the 60s and early 70s the theatre continued to provide a setting for stars such as Alec Guinness (Wise Child), Vanessa Redgrave and Diana Rigg.
The blockbuster of the decade – Godspell – opened at Wyndham's in January 1972 and lasted to October 1974. The original cast included David Essex, Marti Webb and Jeremy Irons.
Among more recent distinguished productions were the world premiere of The Ride Down Mt. Morgan by Arthur Miller and the British premiere of Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, starring Maggie Smith. Twenty-five years after making her debut there, Diana Rigg returned to play a hugely successful season as Medea. The critically acclaimed comedy, 'Art', by Yasmina Reza, began its record-breaking run at Wyndham's in 1996 with Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay and Ken Stott in the cast. It opened in October 1996, and transferred to the Whitehall Theatre in October 2001.
Madonna made her West End debut there in 2002, performing in a sell-out production of Up For Grabs. This was followed by many other dramatic productions including Dinner and the National Theatre's Democracy during 2004, Holly Hunter in By The Bog Of Cats, American TV star Ruby Wax in a children's stage version of The Witches which ran during March 2005, followed by a controversial limited season of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues which ran without the stars – Sharon Osbourne and her daughter Aimee, who dropped out the night before the production opened. Since then, theatre patrons have seen Sienna Miller star alongside Helen McCrory, Reece Shearsmith and Clive Rowe in a new production of Shakespeare's As You Like It.
A large-scale replica of the facade of the theatre was constructed at the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando as part of the park's London themed area.
In May 2005, the theatre was taken over by Cameron Mackintosh's Delfont-Mackintosh Ltd. which began operations of the venue in September 2005. In October 2005 the theatre presented Tom Stoppard's Heroes, a translation of the French play Le vent des peupliers by Gérald Sibleyras which starred Richard Griffiths and John Hurt.
The following year the theatre hosted a new production of Joanna Murray-Smith's play Honour starring Diana Rigg, Martin Jarvis and Natascha McElhone, which ran between 7 February and 6 May 2006. It later hosted the West End transfer of the Menier Chocolate Factory's hit production of Stephen Sondheim's musical Sunday in the Park with George, which starred Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell and ran till September. Between December 2006 and April 2007, the theatre presented the West End commercial transfer of Alan Bennett's National Theatre hit The History Boys which played to sell-out houses during its run until April 2007.
Bill Kenwright's production of Somerset Maugham's The Letter played through summer 2007, before a short hiatus where Chita Rivera was scheduled for a London return but was forced to postpone. Shadowlands, based on the life story of C.S. Lewis opened in October 2007, starring Charles Dance and Janie Dee, before another return of Alan Bennett's The History Boys from December 2007.
The theatre closed temporarily for refurbishment works before reopening in September 2008 with Kenneth Branagh starring in Michael Grandage's production of Chekhov's Ivanov in a new version by Tom Stoppard, the opening play in the Donmar West End twelve-month season at Wyndham's, with tickets at Donmar Warehouse prices.
The Donmar West End season also included Derek Jacobi starring in Twelfth Night, Judi Dench in Yukio Mishima's Madame de Sade and Jude Law in Hamlet, all staged by Grandage.
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* Wyndham's Theatre. *
The Wyndham's Theatre opened on Thursday the 16th of November 1899 with the play 'David Garrick' by T. W. Robertson. Sir Charles Wyndham himself played David Garrick, and Mary Moore, his future wife, played Ada Ingot. The Theatre was designed for Charles Wyndham by the well known Theatre Architect W G R Sprague. Sprague also designed Charles Wyndham's second Theatre, the New Theatre, today known as the Noel Coward Theatre, in St. Martin's Lane, which opened on the 12th of March 1903.
When Wyndham bought the land to build Wyndham's Theatre he also acquired the land to the rear of it which he had originally intended to sell on. However, the deal fell through and he decided he might as well build another Theatre on this spare land which fronted onto St. Martin's Lane.
Hence the New Theatre was built, which was only the second Theatre to be built on St. Martin's Lane. The first was the Trafalgar Square Theatre, now known as the Duke Of York's, which opened in 1892. The London Coliseum was being built on St. Martin's lane during the building of the New but it didn't open until 1904.
The Wyndham's Theatre auditorium was built on four levels, Stalls, Royal Circle, Grand Circle, and Balcony, and was decorated in the Louis XVI style. In the 1970's the fine ceiling, was restored to its former glory.
On the opening of the Wyndham's Theatre the ERA published a review of the Theatre in their 18th November 1899 edition saying:- 'The house is not very large, being built on a site of only 7000 square feet. The reserved portion includes twelve private boxes, 157 stalls, 160 dress circle and 180 family circle seats. The pit is small, but particularly good, and the gallery is large and admirably planned.
The theatre being isolated, the exits from the various parts of the house are many and direct. In addition to the staircases, which to the dress circle and balcony are of white marble, there is a lift which runs to each floor and to the roof, where, if the L.C.C. will permit, Mr Wyndham proposes to have a Winter Garden...
...The stage, in common with that of the Criterion Theatre, is flat, but it is some 6 ft wider and 10 ft deeper. The scheme of decoration is that of the Louis XVI period, and the colours used are turquoise blue and cream, relieved by judicious gilding. The proscenium is set in cream and gold bordering, which is continued along the front of the stage, thus hiding the footlights, and forming a complete frame. At the top are allegorical figures, and portraits of Sheridan and Goldsmith.
The ceiling of the auditorium contains paintings after Boucher, which are illuminated by a ring of concealed electric lights and a central sunlight covered by a crystal pendant and surrounded by eight smaller lights. Round the dress and family circle there are clusters of electric lights, tempered by cream silk shades. The vestibule is decorated in 'old rose'.' The above text in quotes was first published in the ERA , 18th November 1899.
The Building News and Engineering Journal reported on the opening of the Wyndham's Theatre in their 17th of November 1899 edition saying:- 'Wyndham's Theatre, built from plans by Mr. W. G. R. Sprague on an isolated site in Charing Cross-road and St. Martin's-court, was opened yesterday (Thursday).
It is faced with Portland stone on every side, and is Modern Renaissance in style; the frontage to the main road is 84ft. The chief entrance leads into a circular crush-room and descends a marble staircase to the seats, of which there will be over 200. By ascending another marble staircase the dress circle is reached, and here there is accommodation for some 150 persons.
The width of the auditorium is about 54ft., and the same distance separates the back wall of the pit from the curtain-line. The decoration of the interior has been carried out in the Louis XVI. style, the upholstery being pale blue in tint. There are a dozen boxes. The refreshment-bars are conveniently placed, and as the cantilever system has been adopted there are no pillars to obstruct the view from any corner. The proscenium, which is a "floating frame," like that at the Haymarket, has an opening of 26ft. It is surmounted by a moulding, in which have been designed figures holding medallion portraits of Goldsmith and Sheridan.
The stage is 30ft. deep and 62ft. wide, and has a height to the grid of 50ft., which will enable all scenery to be lifted, thus obviating damage by rolling. There are two new features in this house. The first is the roof garden, which is an iron framework erected between the proscenium wall and the main frontage. This will be used as a lounge, and has a platform upon it. The "garden" is 54ft. wide and 44 ft. long. The second novelty is the lift, which will run from the entrance to the stalls to the glass house on the roof.' The above text in quotes was first published in the Building News and Engineering Journal, 17th of November 1899.
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Venue Access Information.
Tickets - How to book. Discounts are offered, subject to availability, for disabled theatregoers and one companion, including wheelchair users and Patrons who have specific access requirements. To discuss your visit and availability please:
Hearing. Infra-red system with 20 headsets available. ID required. Collect headsets from the Stalls kiosk/cloakroom.
Guide Dogs, Hearing Dogs & registered Assistance Dogs. Guide dogs are allowed in to the auditorium. Alternatively, staff are happy to dog sit.
Toilets. One toilet in the box although it would not be possible to access this in a wheelchair. The women's off the Stalls has been slightly adapted. From the foyer bar, the men's and women's are up 8 steps with a further 2 steps down inside the entrance to each. 1 step down to non-adapted toilet accessed via St Martin's Court (level access) - please ask staff to assist. Disabled Toilets. None at present.
Bars. 3 licensed bars. Stalls bar is 20 steps down from the main foyer, or 2 steps up from the Stalls (moveable seats). Further bars at Royal Circle and Balcony levels (no seats). Drinks can be taken to disabled customers.
Autism. Delfont Mackintosh Theatres knows that communication is KEY. They want all theirr patrons to have a good experience while in their theatres, so they now have a visual tool for parents and carers to use with children and adults on the autistic spectrum and/or with learning difficulties. They have been researching the benefits of using social stories and would like to offer a social story for a visit to Wyndham's Theatre. They know that people with autism find social situations difficult and understand that we are all unique. You can view the social story for Wyndham's theatre by clicking here for the social story in PDF format.
There is a cloakroom at the theatre. Security. For your comfort and security, you may be subject to additional checks on your visit to London theatres - they appreciate your patience and understanding while these are taking place. Hospitality. For further information on booking hospitality packages at the Wyndham's Theatre, please contact their Hospitality Department: Call now on 0844 482 5166.
If you're driving into the West End to see the show, take advantage of the Q-Park Theatreland Parking Scheme saving you 50% off car parking for up to 24 hours. To qualify, present your Q-Park car park ticket for validation at their box office. Please note the discount does not apply to the pre-booking service, for full terms and conditions, participating car parks and locations visit: www.q-park.co.uk/theatreland. There is also parking available at MasterPark at Cambridge Circus (150m) and NCP at Bedfordbury and Upper St Martin's Lane.
Location : Wyndham's Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0DA
Transport: Rail : Charing Cross (National Rail) then 5 minutes. Underground: Leicester Square (Piccadilly Line, Northern Line) then 2 minutes. London Buses routes : 24, 29 and 176 stop close by.
Access Line : 0344 482 5137
Tel: 0844 482 5120
