Shaftesbury Avenue
London
W1D 5AY

The Palace Theatre in London is located at the intersection between Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue, and is a large and imposing red-brick structure that stands out amongst the other buildings in the vicinity. Built in 1891, the Palace Theatre was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and commissioned by Richard D’Oyly Carte, who wanted the theatre to become the home of English grand opera. As was Carte’s wish, the theatre opened with the name the Royal English Opera House in January of 1891 with the first production being Arthur Sullivan’s Ivanhoe. The opera ran for over half a year and was a great success, but when it finished, Carte had no production to follow it and so he had to close down the theatre. The venue was then sold by Carte at a loss and opened as the Palace Theatre of Varities, becoming a huge success.

In 1911, the name of the theatre was eventually altered to the Palace Theatre and became the home to many popular musicals and shows such as No, No Nanette, a popular show during the 1920s and The Sound of Music in the 1960s.

The later part of the twentieth century saw two very successful runs at the Palace Theatre. The first was Jesus Christ Superstar which ran from 1972 until 1980, and the second was Les Miserables which opened at the Palace in 1985 and ran for nineteen years, transferring to Queen’s Theatre in 2004 where it remains today as the world’s longest-running musical of all time.

From March 2009, the large, glittery shoe of Priscilla Queen of the Desert greeted those who entered the Palace Theatre, and the show recently played its final performance on New Year’s Eve 2011, with Singin’ In The Rain opening in 2012.

The Palace Theatre facilities feature a number of bars on each level, as well as toilets towards the rear of each section. 1400 seats are divided between three levels in the auditorium, of which the Balcony is the highest, up 77 steps from ground level. The foyer is accessible via two steps from the street entrance. The Theatre also features a Royal Room and a Kitchen room for functions and private events. There is an infrared hearing system as well as fully accessible toilets for guests. The auditorium is air-cooled throughout.

At Palace Theatre London.org we provide a guide to the current show, Singing in the Rain, including videos and reviews. We also describe the location of the theatre with a map of the area included, details on how to purchase tickets, seating plans to help you choose where to sit, hotels near the Palace Theatre and details on tasty restaurants nearby.