____________________________________________________________________________________________

Prince Edward Theatre, Old Compton Street, Soho, London, W1

Formerly The London Casino / Casino Cinerama Theatre

Above - The Prince Edward Theatre in February 2008, during production of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical 'Jersey Boys' which Previews at this Theatre from the 28th of February 2008 and Opens on the 18th of March 2008 - Photo M.L.

The Prince Edward Theatre, named after the then Prince Of Wales, opened on the 3rd of April 1930 with a musical called 'Rio Rita' by Harry Tierney. The Theatre was designed by Edward A. Stone and built by Griggs & Son on a site which was formerly home to a one hundred year old business known as 'The Emporium' which was a large drapers shop. The Prince Edward Theatre was the first to be built in 1930 and the exterior was designed in the style of an Italian Palace, and the foyer; Art Deco. The auditorium was built on just two levels, Stalls and Dress Circle but could seat 1,650 in comfort. The Theatre was also equipped for showing films. The Theatre however was not a great success, Rio Rita' closed after only 59 performances, and later productions such as 'Nippy,' which ran for just 137 performances, and 'Fanfare' which ran for only three weeks, were not received well, even the famous Josephine Baker failed to make much impression in her London Debut at the Theatre, and in 1935, after 'Aladin' closed, the Theatre was bought by new owners for £25,000 and turned into a cabaret restaurant. This new venture saw the stage converted into a semi circular dance floor, the understage converted to Kitchens, and the auditorium altered so that the Dress Circle could be reached from the stalls by stairs, as is common in Theatre conversions today. The building reopened on the 2nd of April 1936 as The London Casino and was a great success.

The Theatre was 'Dark' for two years after the war began but in 1942 it became a 'Forces Theatre' and shows put on for Radio Broadcast were the regular fair, and very successful they were too.

Left - Pantomime Programme for 'Humpty Dumpty' at The London Casino in the 1940s.

Right - Programme for 'Latin Quarter' at The London Casino in 1951.

The war over, in 1946 the building was converted back to a Theatre again with some structural alterations and became home to mostly Variety productions including, in 1951, Robert Nesbit's 'Latin Quarter' and anual Christmas Pantomimes put on by Emile Littler, but in 1954 it was converted to a cinema, housing London's first Cinerama screen, a giant curved screen of 64 feet, and was renamed The Casino Cinerama Theatre.

In 1974 Bernard Delfont took over the Theatre and the London Casino was reborn again as a Theatre and Cinema, with a conventional screen, at a cost of £150,000. The new Theatre opened with a production of the Pantomime, 'Cinderella, at Christmas of the same year.

Left - Pantomime Programme for 'Cinderella' at The London Casino in the 1940s.

In 1978 the building had some refurbishment and was converted back to a Theatre proper again and renamed The Prince Edward Theatre. The first production at the newly opened Prince Edward was the phenomenally successful 'Evita,' which opened on the 21st of June and ran for nearly eight years.

Right - Pantomime Programme for 'Mother Goose' at The London Casino in the 1940s.

In 1990 The Prince Edward was given a total makeover when Bernard Delfont and Cameron Mackintosh spent over £3million refurbishing the Theatre, making the stage deeper and wider, altering the auditorium by adding side boxes, and improving the acoustics, lighting and stage facilities. It reopened on the 3rd of March 1993 with a successful production of 'Crazy for You.' This was followed by a five year run of the hit musical, 'Mama Mia' before it transferred to the Prince Of Wales Theatre. Currently the Prince Edward Theatre is home to another major success, 'Mary Poppins.'

Above - The Prince Edward Theatre during the run of 'Mary Poppins' in October 2006. - Photo M.L.

Above - The Prince Edward Theatre during the run of 'Mary Poppins' in October 2006. - Photo M.L.

The Theatre is currently owned and run by Delfont Mackintosh Theatres whose website can be found here...

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