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Phoenix Theatre, London
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David Wood's stage adaptation of Michelle Magorian's novel Goodnight Mister Tom starring Oliver Ford Davies up to 26 January 2013 followed by the return to London's West End of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing stars Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace in their stage show Midnight Tango - also featuring special guest Russell Grant - from 30 January to 2 March 2013. Then, from 16 March 2013, the West End transfer fromm Broadway of the new Tony Award-winning musical Once based on John Carney's Academy Award-winning film and featuring the Oscar-winning music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová
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| Architect: Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Bertie Crewe and Cecil Masey Opened: 24 September 1930 Listed: Grade II | Seats: 1,012 on 3 levels Archive: Previous shows at this theatre |
While the elevation of this theatre which fronts onto Charing Cross Road, which is shared at street level with various shops and restaurants, looks rather drab, the interior with extensive use of mirrors, which was designed by the Russian director and designer Theodore Komisarjevsky, is wonderful.
When the theatre opened it was reported that: "In working out the scheme of interior architecture and decoration for the Phoenix Theare, Mr Komisarjevsky says that he chose the period of the Italian High Renaissance before the transition to the Baroque, as it seemed to be lighter, gayer, and more ornate than the earlier years, and therefore more suitable for a place of amusement. Most of the ideas he took from Raphael, Giulio Romano, Girolamo da Carpi, and Giovanni da Udine. He was not attracted alone by the lightness of their sculptural decorations, but also because they attached great importance to colour, which, above all else, gives life and intimate atmosphere to an interior. In fact, Mr Komisarjevsky confesses that he was not above 'stealing' certain details intact and unaltered, such as the coffered ceiling in the Phoenix Street hall and the columns in the Charing Cross Road entrance, the originals of which are in the Courtyard (built in 1538) of the Palazzo Boncompagni at Bologna."
In the 1970s the main entrance to the theatre was moved from Charing Cross Road to around the corner in Phoenix Street, while the Advance Box Office is actually half way between the two in Charing Cross Road - very confusing! In 1986 the adjacent car park, which had been a former bomb site, was used to build a cinema, but this has now been demolished to make way for a residential development.
This theatre is particularly associated with Noel Coward - The opening production was the premiere of Coward's comedy Private Lives which featured Noel Coward as 'Elyot', Gertrude Lawrence as 'Amanda', Laurence Olivier as 'Victor' and Adrienne Allen as 'Sybil' in the cast. The production lasted 3 months before it transferred to Broadway. Noel and Gertie returned to the theatre in 1936 with his programme of nine one act plays which played under the heading of Tonight at 8.30. In December 1969 the foyer bar was renamed 'The Noel Coward Bar' and on Tuesday 16 December 1969 the theatre owners organised a special midnight matinee, titled A Talent To Amuse, in honour of Coward's 70th birthday and raise funds for the Combined Theatrical Charities. The performance, which was compered by Robert Morley and Richard Attenborough, featured over 100 stars performing various extracts from Coward's work for some four hours (!)
Other notable productions staged here include, in 1968, The Canterbury Tales which had a run of over 2,000 performances and Tom Stoppard's Night and Day which run for two years. In 1991 Willy Russell's musical Blood Brothers transferred here from The Albery Theatre and is now the longest running show ever at The Phoenix Theatre before it closed in November 2012.
