PIN Novello Theatre

Great Theatre on the Aldwych

The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on the Aldwych, Westminster. It is part of a group of London Theatres owned by Cameron Mackintosh, one of the world’s most successful producers, who has spent over £40 million refurbishing his theatres for a 21st century audience.

History

Built by W.G.R. Sprague as a pair alongside the Aldwych Theatre, the building originally opened as the Waldorf Theatre in 1905, before being renamed the Strand Theatre in 1909 and later the Whitney Theatre 1911, before reverting back to the Strand Theatre once more in 1913. In 2005, Delfont Mackintosh renamed the venue the Novello Theatre, in honour of Ivor Novello, who lived above the theatre for almost forty years.

Early productions included Lights Out (1905), starring Harry Irving, followed by Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard (1909), Aren’t Men Beasts (1936) and Spotted Dick (1939). Throughout the 1940's the theatre hosted comedies such as Arsenic and Old Lace which ran for 1,337 performances, Sailor Beware! (1955), which ran for 1,231 performances and Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1963-1965).

1971 saw Michael Crawford star in No Sex Please, We’re British!, which ran at the Novello Theatre for ten years before transferring to the Garrick Theatre to continue its run. Following productions included The Real Thing(1982-1985), Cabaret (1986-1987), Someone Like You (1990), Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love (1993), Buddy (1995-2002) and The Rat Pack: Live from Las Vegas (2003-2005).

After several successful shows, the Royal Shakespeare Company arrived at the venue in 2005 and remained until 2007, with a brief interlude of Footloose - the Musical (2006), starring Cheryl Baker. RSC productions included Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Anthony and Cleopatraand The Tempest.

A brief interlude of musicals followed, including The Drowsy Chaperone(2007), Desperately Seeking Susan - A New Musical (2007), featuring music by Blondie and Deborah Harry and starring Emma Williams and Kelly Price. After receiving less than rave reviews, the musical lasted for only eight weeks and was replaced with Shadowlands (2007-2008), which transferred from Wyndham's Theatre.

The RSC returned once more between 2008-2009, presenting Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Taming of the Shrew. A revival of the Broadway musical Spring Awakening (2009) followed, as well as An Inspector Calls (2009), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2009-2010), Tap Dogs(2010), Betty Blue Eyes (2011), Crazy for You (2011-2012) and a new production of Noises Off (2012), starring Celia Imrie, followed by a brief Derren Brown show.

Since 2012, the Novello Theatre has made its name hosting worldwide ABBA sensation Mamma Mia!, which transferred to the venue from the Prince of Wales Theatre.

TripTide Thoughts

Great venue with extremely attentive staff. We loved it

Owner

Lucy TripTide

Lucy is a TripTide stalwart and has been with the company since inception. She is a font of knowledge of all things in our metropolis but she has a special penchant for London's historical past. She says:"London is a multi-layered confection of hi...