Savoy Theatre in London is a west end theatre located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre first opened on 10th October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas by Gilbert and Sullivan which later became known as the Savoy Operas as a result.
The Savoy Theatre was the first theatre, and indeed the first public building in the world, to be lit entirely by electricity In 1889, Richard D'Oyly Carte built the Savoy Hotel next to the theatre. For many years, the Savoy was the home of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, and it was run by the Carte family for over a century. Rupert D'Oyly Carte, Richard's son rebuilt and modernised the theatre in 1929, and it was rebuilt again in 1993 following a fire. It is a Grade II listed building.
Apart from Gilbert and Sullivan premières such as The Mikado the theatre has hosted such notable premières asBlithe Spirit by Noel Coward in 1941. In recent years it has presented opera,Shakespeare and other plays as well as musicals including revivals of both Fiddler On The Roof and Carousel as well as newer productions such as Never Forget and the current show Legally Blonde.
While the theatre was being renovated in February 1990, a fire gutted the entire building, except for the stage and backstage areas. Tugwell's and Ionides's designs had been preserved, however, allowing the accurate restoration of the theatre under the direction of the architect Sir William Whitfield, Sir Hugh Wontner and the theatre's manager, Kevin Chapple, the Savoy Theatre reopened on 19th July 1993. The present theatre has a capacity of 1,158. During the period of renovation, an extra storey was added above the theatre that includes a health club for the hotel and a swimming pool above the stage. The reopened theatre was the venue for the World Chess Championships in 1993, won by Garry Kasperov.
In 1993, Relative Values by Noel Coward played at the theatre, having premièred there in 1951. Tom Stoppard's Travestiesstarring Anthony Sher.was next, and in 1994 the musical She Loves Me featured starring Ruthie Henshaw and John Gordon Sinclair These were followed by Dead Funny by Terry Johnson and Alan Aykbourne's Communicating Doors.
In 1997, a group led by Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen was given management of the Savoy Theatre by The Savoy Group. The productions that followed included The Importance Of Being Oscar starring Simon Callow and the Pet Shop Boys in concert.
In 2000, the briefly reconstituted D'Oyly Carte Opera Company produced H.M.S. Pinafore at the theatre which was followed by Enigmatic Variations starring Donald Sutherland which was then followed by a second D'Oyly Carte season, featuring The Pirates Of Penzance and then Antarctica by David Young. In 2002, a season of Return Of The Forbidden Planet was followed by the D'Oyly Carte productions of Iolanthe, The Mikado and The Yeoman Of The Guard and in 2003, the company revived Pinafore.
The Savoy Hotel group, which included the theatre, was sold in 2004 to Quinlan Private which, in turn, sold the theatre in 2005 to current owners the Ambassador Theatre Group.
Theatre tickets to all performances at the Savoy Theatre in London can be purchased securely through this website.
