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The Harold Pinter Theatre (formerly The Comedy Theatre), is a West End theatre, and opened on Panton Street in the City of Westminster, on 15 October 1881, as the Royal Comedy Theatre. It was designed by Thomas Verity and built in just six months in painted stucco stone and brick. By 1884 it was known as just the Comedy Theatre. In the mid-1950s the theatre went under major reconstruction and re-opened in December 1955, the auditorium remains essentially that of 1881, with three tiers of horseshoe shaped balconies.
Harold Pinter Theatre/Comedy Theatre History
In 1883, the successful operetta Falka had its London première at the theatre, and in 1885, Erminie did the same. The theatre's reputation grew through World War I when Charles Blake Cochran and André Charlot presented their famous revue shows. Famous actors who appeared here include Henry Daniell who played John Carlton in Secrets in September 1929.
The theatre was notable for the role it played in overturning stage censorship by establishing the New Watergate Club in 1956, under producer Anthony Field. The outdated Theatres Act 1843 still required scripts to be submitted for approval by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. Formation of the club allowed plays that had been banned due to language or subject matter to be performed under 'club' conditions. Plays produced in this way included the UK premières of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, Robert Anderson's Tea and Sympathy and Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. The law was not revoked until 1968, but in the late 1950s there was a loosening of conditions in theatre censorship, the club was dissolved and Peter Shaffer's Five Finger Exercise premièred to a public audience.
The theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in June 1972.
Comedy Theatre, London
The Royal Comedy Theatre, as it was then known, opened on 15 October 1881. The theatre's reputation grew through the First World War when C B Cochran and André Charlot presented their famous review shows. The range of work at the Comedy Theatre has been far reaching, from musical comedies to revival and experimental theatre and includes hugely successful shows such as Savages starring Paul Scofield in 1973 and The Rocky Horror Show making its West End debut in 1979. Alan Bennett has appeared with Patricia Routledge in his Talking Heads and Stockard Channing appeared in Six Degrees of Separation, which won best play at the 1993 Olivier Awards. No history of the Comedy Theatre would be complete without reference to Harold Pinter.
The Homecoming, No-man's Land, Moonlight, The Hothouse and The Caretaker have all been presented at The Comedy in recent years. Maureen Lipman has also graced the Comedy stage starring in Alan Plater's highly acclaimed comedy, Peggy For You, but The Comedy's two biggest successes must be The Caretaker starring Michael Gambon in 2000 and an eight week sell out of Little Malcolm and his Struggle Against the Eunuchs in 1999, starring Ewan McGregor and directed by Denis Lawson, which smashed all box office records. More recently, Francesca Annis and Anthony Andrews have starred in Ibsen's Ghosts and 2004 saw the much lauded revival of RC Sherriff's Journey's End and a successful run of The Old Masters by Simon Gray, starring Edward Fox and Peter Bowles.
This production was directed by Harold Pinter. In January 2005, Kim Cattrall starred in Peter Hall's production of Whose Life Is It Anyway? by Brian Clark, followed by Tom Courtenay in Brian Friel's The Home Place and Joseph Fiennes and Francesca Annis starred in Epitaph for George Dillon by John Osborne and Anthony Creighton. The Playhouse has also played host to Steptoe and Son, Michael Frayn's Donkey's Years, the Rocky Horror Show, and mthe hilarious high-flying comedy, Boeing-Boeing.
The Harold Pinter Theatre is a part of the Ambassador Theatre Group.
Harold Pinter Theatre Recent and present productions
Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane (22 February 2006 - 15 April 2006) by Roy Galton and John Antrobus
Donkeys' Years (9 May 2006 - 15 December 2006) by Michael Frayn, starring Samantha Bond, David Haig, Mark Addy and James Dreyfus.
The Rocky Horror Show (18 December 2006 - 29 January 2007) by Richard O'Brien, starring David Bedella and Suzanne Shaw.
Boeing-Boeing (5 February 2007 - 5 January 2008) by Marc Camoletti, starring Roger Allam, Frances de la Tour, Mark Rylance, Daisy Beaumont, Tamzin Outhwaite, Amy Nuttall, Rhea Perlman, Jean Marsh, Jennifer Ellison, Tracey-Ann Oberman and Kevin McNally.
The Lover/The Collection (12 January 2008 - 3 May 2008) by Harold Pinter, starring Timothy West, Gina McKee, Charlie Cox and Richard Coyle.
Dickens Unplugged (23 May 2008 - 29 June 2008) by Adam Long.
Sunset Boulevard (4 December 2008 - 30 May 2009) by Andrew Lloyd Webber, directed by Craig Revel Horwood.
Too Close to the Sun (24 July - 8 August 2009), world premiere of a new musical about Ernest Hemingway.
Prick Up Your Ears (30 September - 6 December 2009) by Simon Bent, starring Matt Lucas and Chris New
La Bête (8 July - 4 September 2010) by David Hirson, starring Mark Rylance David Hyde Pierce and Joanna Lumley.
Birdsong (28 September 2010 - 15 January 2011) based on the book by Sebastian Faulk starring Ben Barnes.
The Children's Hour (22 January - 30 April 2011), Lillian Hellman’s play, starring Keira Knightley
Harold Pinter's Betrayal (currently showing until 20 August 2011), starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Douglas Henshall and Ben Miles.
From 8th of September 2011, The Comedy Theatre would be renamed as The Harold Pinter Theatre.
Current shows at Harold Pinter Theatre
News items for productions at Harold Pinter Theatre
Archive shows at Harold Pinter Theatre
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