The Duke of York's Theatre in London is a west end theatre located in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. The Duke Of York's Theatre opened on 10th September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with a production of Wedding Eve
The theatre, designed by architect Walter Emen became known as the Trafalgar Theatre in 1894 and the following year became the Duke of York's to honour the future King George V.
One of the earliest musical somedy shows to be staged at the Duke Of York's was Go Bang which was was a success at the theatre in 1894. In 1900, Jerome K Jerome's Miss Hobbs was staged as well as David balasco's Madame Butterfly which was seen by Puccini who later turned it into the famous opera. The Duke Of York's was also the theatre where J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan debuted on 27th December 1904. Many famous British actors have appeared on stage here, including Basil Rathbone, who played Alfred de Musset in Madame Sand in June 1920, returning in November 1932 as the Unknown Gentleman in Tonight Or Never.
The Duke Of York's Theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in September 1960. In the late 1970s the freehold of the theatre was purchased by Capital Radio and it closed in for refurbishment in 1979.. It reopened in February 1980 and the first production under the patronage of Capital Radio was Rose, starring Glenda Jackson. The theatre was bought by the Ambassadors Theatre Group in 1992 and this coincided with London's hottest show, The Royal Court's production of Ariel Dorfman's Death And The Maiden. A host of successes followed including Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show (celebrating its 21st Birthday) and the hugely successful Royal Court Classics Season in 1995.
Today, the Duke Of York's Theatre is the London headquarters of the Ambassador Theatre Group, forming part of their portfolio of eight venues. It is also the producing offices of Sonja Friedman Productions, whose revival of In Celebration starring Hollywood leading man Orlando Bloom played until 15th September 2007
Theatre tickets to all productions at the Duke Of York's Theatre can be purchased securely through this website.
;){kind=link}