Wyndham's Theatre opened in 1899 and was owned and commissioned by the Marquess of Salisbury. The stipulation for the theatre's construction was that it had to be managed by Sir Charles Wyndham, who had for some time dreamed of building his own theatre. The Wyndham celebrated its opening with a revival of T.W. Robinson's "David Garrick." The Prince of Wales attended the theatre's debut performance.
The theatre was designed by W.G.R. Sorague, who also designed six other theatres within London between 1898 and 1916. The initial theatre design had three levels, but later renovations allowed there to be four levels altogether. The theatre was listed in September 1960 as being Grade II by English Heritage.
The theatre's auditorium, offering 759 seats, is considered to be one of London's most comfortable auditoriums. Seats in the theatre are arranged to be within good vicinity to the stage and every seat available allows patrons to watch the shows without common neck-aches caused by straining to see the stage. It is a West End theatre on Charing Cross Road in Westminster.
From 1910, the theatre was co-managed by Gerald du Maurier and it was during the 15 years following this managerial change that Tallulah Bankhead debuted on stage in 1923's "The Dancers." Daphne du Maurier, Gerald's daughter, watched performances from the sidelines of the stage and, 30 years after Gerald began his co-management of the venue, she presented her own play, entitled, "The Years Between," on the exact same stage.
Other noteworthy performances given at Wyndham's Theatre include 1954's "The Boy Friend," a show that remained at the theatre for 2,078 performances; "Wise Child," a show starring Alec Guinness; and "Godspell," a 1972 show which is still considered the theatre's greatest success. This version of the show included Marti Webb, Jeremy Irons and David Essex in the original cast.
More recent productions have included the comedy "Art" by Yasmina Reza, a performance which was presented for a record-breaking run between October 1996 and October 2001; "Up For Grabs," premiering in 2002 and served as Madonna's West End debut; "The Witches," a children's stage version of the Roald Dahl book, which ran in March 2005; and a limited season of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues."
The theatre was taken over by Delfont-Mackintosh Ltd. In May 2005 and the company began actual operations of the theatre in September 2005. In October of the same year, Tom Stoppard's "Heroes," starring John Hurt and Richard Griffiths, was presented at Wyndham. The theatre then presented the transfer of "The History Boys," a hit from Alan Bennett's National Theatre, until April 2007. Following "The History Boys," the theatre showed performances of "The Letter," "Shadowlands," and "Twelfth Night," which will run until March 9.
Wyndham closed temporarily while final renovations were made and it reopened in September 2008 with performances of Tom Stoppard's version of Chekov's "Ivanov." Following "Twelfth Night," the theatre will present "Madame de Sade" from March 13 until May 23 and "Hamlet" From May 29 to August 22.
The theatre was designed by W.G.R. Sorague, who also designed six other theatres within London between 1898 and 1916. The initial theatre design had three levels, but later renovations allowed there to be four levels altogether. The theatre was listed in September 1960 as being Grade II by English Heritage.
The theatre's auditorium, offering 759 seats, is considered to be one of London's most comfortable auditoriums. Seats in the theatre are arranged to be within good vicinity to the stage and every seat available allows patrons to watch the shows without common neck-aches caused by straining to see the stage. It is a West End theatre on Charing Cross Road in Westminster.
From 1910, the theatre was co-managed by Gerald du Maurier and it was during the 15 years following this managerial change that Tallulah Bankhead debuted on stage in 1923's "The Dancers." Daphne du Maurier, Gerald's daughter, watched performances from the sidelines of the stage and, 30 years after Gerald began his co-management of the venue, she presented her own play, entitled, "The Years Between," on the exact same stage.
Other noteworthy performances given at Wyndham's Theatre include 1954's "The Boy Friend," a show that remained at the theatre for 2,078 performances; "Wise Child," a show starring Alec Guinness; and "Godspell," a 1972 show which is still considered the theatre's greatest success. This version of the show included Marti Webb, Jeremy Irons and David Essex in the original cast.
More recent productions have included the comedy "Art" by Yasmina Reza, a performance which was presented for a record-breaking run between October 1996 and October 2001; "Up For Grabs," premiering in 2002 and served as Madonna's West End debut; "The Witches," a children's stage version of the Roald Dahl book, which ran in March 2005; and a limited season of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues."
The theatre was taken over by Delfont-Mackintosh Ltd. In May 2005 and the company began actual operations of the theatre in September 2005. In October of the same year, Tom Stoppard's "Heroes," starring John Hurt and Richard Griffiths, was presented at Wyndham. The theatre then presented the transfer of "The History Boys," a hit from Alan Bennett's National Theatre, until April 2007. Following "The History Boys," the theatre showed performances of "The Letter," "Shadowlands," and "Twelfth Night," which will run until March 9.
Wyndham closed temporarily while final renovations were made and it reopened in September 2008 with performances of Tom Stoppard's version of Chekov's "Ivanov." Following "Twelfth Night," the theatre will present "Madame de Sade" from March 13 until May 23 and "Hamlet" From May 29 to August 22.
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