Trafalgar Studios in London, formerly The Whitehall Theatre until 2004, is awest end theatre situated in Whitehall near Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster. The theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in 1996.
The theatre is also known as Trafalgar Studios at the Whitehall Theatre in honour of its former incarnation and the building consists of two intimate theatres designed by architects Tim Foster and John Muir. Studio 1, the larger of the two spaces with 380 seats, opened on June 3rd, 2004 with the production of the RSC's Othello. while Trafalgar Studio 2, with 100 seats, opened in October 2005 with the play Cyprus.
The original Whitehall Theatre, was built on the site of the 17th century Ye Old Ship Tavern and was designed by Edward A. Stone, with interiors in the Art Deco style by Marc-Henri and Laverdet. The theatre opened on September 29th, 1930 with The way To Treat A Woman by Walter Hackett who was the theatre's licensee.
In November 1933 Henry Daniell appeared there as Portman in Afterwards. Hackett presented several other plays of his own before leaving in 1934, and the theatre built its reputation for modern comedies throughout the rest of that decade. During World War II the theatre housed mainly revues which had become commonplace entertainment throughout the west end. In 1942 The Whitehall Follies, featuring Phillis Dixey, the first stripper ever to perform in the theatre district, opened with great fanfare and became an immediate success. Dixey leased the theatre and remained in it for the next five years.
A series of farces presented under the umbrella title The Whitehall Farces by producer Lord Brian Rix were staged over the next twenty-two years, with many of them shown on TV.
In 1969 a nude revue called Pyjama Tops took over the venue and remained for five years, after which the building was shuttered. After considerable refurbishment that retained most of its Art Deco features, and it reopened on March 5th, 1986 with a successful revival of J.B. Priestley's When We Are Married with Subsequent productions of When I Was A Girl I Used To Scream And Shout, The Foreigner, and The Importance Of Being Earnest
Between 1997 and 1999, the theatre was converted into a television and radio studio and used primarily to broadcast BBC Radio 4's Live From London and the Jack Docherty's talk show.
It returned to theatrical use, with such productions asThree Sisters, Art, The Puppetry Of Penis, Rat Pack Confidential before its owner, the Ambassador Theatre Group announced the building would be reconfigured and reopen under a new name.
Past productions at Trafalgar Studios includeSweeney Todd, The Old Country by Alan Bennett, Bent and Jane Eyre.
Theatre tickets at for all performances atTrafalgar Studios in London are available to book securely through this website..
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