The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, London, at the corner of Rupert Street. The house currently has 986 seats on three levels.
The theatre was designed by W.G.R. Sprague and opened on 27 December 1906 as the Hicks Theatre, named after Seymour Hicks, for whom it was built. The first play at the theatre was a hit musical called The Beauty of Bath co-written by Hicks. Another big success was A Waltz Dream in 1908. In 1909, the American impresario Charles Frohman became manager of the theatre and renamed the house the Globe Theatre – a name that it retained for 85 years. Call It a Day opened in 1935 and ran for 509 performances, a long run for the slow inter-war years. There's a Girl in My Soup, opening in 1966, ran for almost three years, a record for the theatre that was not surpassed until Daisy Pulls It Off opened in April 1983 to run for 1,180 performances, the theatre's longest run. In 1987 Peter Shaffer's play Lettice and Lovage opened, starring Maggie Smith, and became a hit.
The Globe's theatre cat, named Beerbohm, became famous enough to receive a front page obituary in the theatrical publication, The Stage in 1995. Refurbished in 1987, the theatre has since presented several Alan Ayckbourn premieres, including 1990's Man of the Moment, as well as a notable revival of An Ideal Husband in 1992. During reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on the South Bank, in 1994 the theatre was renamed the Gielgud Theatre in honour of John Gielgud. Another refurbishment was completed in 2008.
Gielgud Theatre
Shows
- Sun 16 Aug
- Mon 17 Aug
- Tue 18 Aug
- Wed 19 Aug
- Thu 20 Aug
- Fri 21 Aug
- Sat 22 Aug
- Sun 11 Oct
- Mon 12 Oct
- Tue 13 Oct
- Wed 14 Oct
- Thu 15 Oct
- Fri 16 Oct
- Sat 17 Oct
- Sun 18 Oct
- Mon 19 Oct
- Tue 20 Oct
- Wed 21 Oct
- Thu 22 Oct
- Fri 23 Oct
- Sat 24 Oct
- Sun 25 Oct
- Mon 26 Oct
- Tue 27 Oct
- Wed 28 Oct
- Thu 29 Oct
- Fri 30 Oct
- Sat 31 Oct
- Sun 10 Jan
- Mon 11 Jan
- Tue 12 Jan
- Wed 13 Jan
- Thu 14 Jan
- Fri 15 Jan
- Sat 16 Jan
- Sun 16 May
- Mon 17 May
- Tue 18 May
- Wed 19 May
- Thu 20 May
- Fri 21 May
- Sat 22 May
- Sun 23 May
- Mon 24 May
- Tue 25 May
- Wed 26 May
- Thu 27 May
- Fri 28 May
- Sat 29 May
Past shows
See all the shows that have been performed here at the venue history page.