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The Palace Theatre, Cambridge Circus, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1

Formerly The Royal English Opera House.

Above - The Palace Theatre during the run of 'Spamalot' in October 2006

The Palace Theatre was built in 1891 for Richard D’Oyly Carte as The Royal English Opera House on an island site at the end of London's Shaftsbury Avenue, dominating the view from Cambridge Circus.

This magnificent building was designed by Richard D’Oyly Carte himself with G H Holloway providing the drawings and J G Buckle as consultant. The architect was T E Colcutt.

The Royal English Opera House was unfortunately a major failure and the building was quickly converted, only a year later, in 1892, to a Variety Theatre by Walter Emden, and renamed The Palace Theatre of Varieties.

In 1908 Emblin Walker reconstructed the amphitheatre and in 1989 the exterior was restored to its former glory. In 2004, after the Theatre's longest run, 'Les Misserables,' the interior was given a major restoration too, consequently The Palace Theatre still remains much in its original form over a hundred years later in 2006.

Above - The Place Theatre in its Heyday - From a Postcard.

The Palace Theatre has two Special Features on this site where you can find much more information, and many more pictures, and original Programmes.

Click here for The First Palace Theatre Feature.

Click here for The Second Palace Theatre Feature.

London's West End Theatres

Adelphi Aldwych Apollo Apollo Victoria Arts Cambridge Comedy Criterion Dominion Drury Lane Duchess Duke Of Yorks Fortune Garrick Gielgud Haymarket Her Majesty's London Coliseum London Palladium Lyceum Lyric New Ambassadors New London Noel Coward / Albery Novello Old Vic Palace Peacock Phoenix Piccadilly Playhouse Prince Edward Prince of Wales Queen's Royal Opera House Savoy Shaftesbury St. Martin's Trafalgar Studios / Whitehall Vaudeville Victoria Palace Wyndham's