New Wimbledon Theatre
Encyclopedia
The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on The Broadway, Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...

, in the London Borough of Merton
London Borough of Merton
The London Borough of Merton is a borough in southwest London, England.The borough was formed under the London Government Act in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton and Morden Urban District, all formerly within Surrey...

. It is a Grade II listed Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J B Mullholland. Built on the site of a large house with spacious grounds the theatre was designed by Cecil Aubrey Massey
Cecil Massey
Cecil Aubrey Massey was an English theatre and cinema architect. Massey was a pupil of Bertie Crewe. His major works include the New Wimbledon Theatre, released in 1919 together with architect Roy Young, it is a Grade II listed Edwardian situated on The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London...

 and Roy Young (possibly following a 1908 design by Frank H Jones). The theatre opened its doors on 26 December 1910 with the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...

 Jack and Jill.

The theatre was very popular between the wars, with Gracie Fields
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...

, Sybil Thorndike
Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...

, Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...

, Markova and Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...

 all performing there. Lionel Bart's Oliver!
Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....

 received its world premiere at the theatre in 1960 before transferring to the West End's New Theatre
Noël Coward Theatre
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by...

. The theatre also hosted the world premiere of Half A Sixpence
Half a Sixpence
Half a Sixpence is a musical comedy written as a vehicle for British pop star Tommy Steele.It is based on H.G. Wells's novel Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul...

 starring Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele OBE , is an English entertainer. Steele is widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star.-Singer:...

 in 1963 prior to the West End.

The theatre was saved from redevelopment when the management was undertaken by the Ambassador Theatre Group
Ambassador Theatre Group
The Ambassador Theatre Group is an independent operator of theatres in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1992, by Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire,OBE, it acquired the Live Nation theatre group in November 2009.-List of theatres:...

 in 2004. With several refurbishments most notably in 1991 and 1998, it retains its baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 and Adamesque internal features.

The golden statue atop the dome is Laetitia
Laetitia
Laetitia was a minor Roman goddess of gaiety, her name deriving from the root word laeta, meaning happyLaetitia may refer to:- People :Laetitia is a girls' name that is quite popular in the south of France and is also used in Québec...

, the Roman Goddess of Gaiety (although many refer to her as the theatre's "angel") and was an original fixture back in 1910. Laetitia is holding a laurel crown as a symbol of celebration. The statue was removed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 as it was thought to be a direction finding device for German bombers, and replaced in 1991.

The theatre is close to Wimbledon rail, tube and tramlink station
Wimbledon station
Wimbledon station is a National Rail, London Underground, and Tramlink station located in Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton, and is the only London station that provides an interchange between rail, Underground, and Tramlink services...

, and a ten minute walk from South Wimbledon tube station
South Wimbledon tube station
South Wimbledon, originally South Wimbledon , is a London Underground station in South London. The station is on the Northern Line, situated between Colliers Wood and Morden stations. The station is the southernmost station on the London Underground network with platforms below ground. It is...

.

Venue statistics

As of 2008, the theatre has approximately 1,700 seats across three levels, making it the eighth largest theatre in London following the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...

's London Coliseum and the musical powerhouses of the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...

, Apollo Victoria
Apollo Victoria Theatre
The Apollo Victoria Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Wilton Road near Victoria station in the City of Westminster. Opened as a cinema and variety theatre, the Apollo Victoria became a venue for musical theatre, beginning with The Sound of Music in 1981, and including the long-running...

, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...

, Dominion
Dominion Theatre
The Dominion Theatre is a West End theatre on Tottenham Court Road close to St Giles Circus and Centre Point Tower, in the London Borough of Camden.-History:...

 and Lyceum
Lyceum Theatre (London)
The Lyceum Theatre is a 2,000-seat West End theatre located in the City of Westminster, on Wellington Street, just off the Strand. There has been a theatre with this name in the locality since 1765, and the present site opened on 14 July 1834 to a design by Samuel Beazley. The building was unique...

.

The main auditorium is adjoined by the smaller black box space of the New Wimbledon Studio, a flexible space seating up to 80 people. It is often home to small drama and comedy productions, often prior to West End or Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...

 runs each summer. The premiere of A Fans Club a new musical charting the formation of AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon is a professional English football club that traces its origins to Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton. Based at Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, the club are members of Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football....

 premiered in the Studio in 2005.

Recent history

Until 2001, the theatre was owned and operated by the Wimbledon Civic Theatre Trust, on behalf of the London Borough of Merton, who still own the freehold of the building. The trust was responsible for overseeing a multi-million pound refurbishment in the late 1990s, incorporating a brand new backstage area, fly tower and a complete re-seating of the orchestra stalls as well as redecoration of the interior. During this period, the theatre was closed for an entire year. The venue is frequently hired out to television production, with many famous TV series having been shot on site, including The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...

, The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry...

, De-Lovely
De-Lovely
De-Lovely is a 2004 musical biopic directed by Irwin Winkler. The screenplay by Jay Cocks is based on the life and career of Cole Porter, from his first meeting with Linda Lee Thomas until his death...

, Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...

, Extras
Extras (TV series)
Extras is a British sitcom about extras working on TV and film sets and in theatre. The series was co-produced by the BBC and HBO, and is created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom also star in it...

 (the Aladdin pantomime episode with Les Dennis
Les Dennis
Les Dennis is an English comedian, television presenter and actor best known as the host of Family Fortunes for 15 years.-Early life:...

) and We Are Most Amused
We Are Most Amused
We Are Most Amused was a gala event held at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 12 November 2008 in honour of the 60th birthday of Charles, Prince of Wales, in aid of The Prince's Trust. Prince Charles attended the event with his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and youngest son Prince Harry.The show...

, a comedy gala performance to celebrate the 60th birthday of HRH The Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

, in aid of The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales to help young people. They run a range of training programmes, provide mentoring support and offer financial grants to build the confidence and motivation of disadvantaged young people...

.

Notably, the venue was the home of annual televised Christmas pantomime, including:
  • Aladdin (BBC 1971) - starring Cilla Black
    Cilla Black
    Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...

    , Alfred Marks
    Alfred Marks
    Alfred Edward Marks OBE was a comic actor and comedian.-Biography:Marks was born as Ruchel Kutchinsky in Holborn, London. He left Bell Lane School at 14 and started in entertainment at the Windmill Theatre. He then served in the RAF as a Flight Sergeant in the Middle East where he arranged...

    , Roy Castle
    Roy Castle
    Roy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...

     and Norman Vaughan
    Norman Vaughan (comedian)
    Norman Vaughan was an English comedian who led a long and successful career in the television and theatre, appearing occasionally in the cinema.-Early life:...

  • Dick Whittington and His Cat
    Dick Whittington and His Cat
    Dick Whittington and His Cat is an English folk tale that has often been used as the basis for stage pantomimes and other adaptations. It tells of a poor boy in the 14th century who becomes a wealthy merchant and eventually the Lord Mayor of London because of the ratting abilities of his cat...

     (BBC 1972) - starring Dick Emery
    Dick Emery
    Richard Gilbert "Dick" Emery was an English comedian and actor. Beginning on radio in the 1950s, an eponymous television series ran from 1963 to 1981. He was the brother of Ann Emery.-Life and career:...

    , Peter Noone
    Peter Noone
    Peter Noone is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor, best known as "Herman" of the successful 1960s rock group Herman's Hermits.-Early life:...

    , Michael Aspel
    Michael Aspel
    Michael Terence Aspel, OBE is an English television presenter, known for his reserved demeanour and rich speaking voice. He has been a high-profile TV personality in the United Kingdom since the 1960s, presenting programmes such as Crackerjack, Aspel and Company, This is Your Life, Strange But...

    , Gemma Craven
    Gemma Craven
    Gemma Craven is an award-winning Irish actress.She is possibly best known for her role in the Irish TV drama The Clinic as Dr...

    , Robert Dorning
    Robert Dorning
    Robert Dorning was a musician, dance band vocalist, ballet dancer, and actor. He is known to have performed in at least seventy-seven television and film productions between 1940 and 1988....

     and Stratford Johns
    Stratford Johns
    Stratford Johns, born Alan Edgar Stratford-Johns, was a popular British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the innovative and long-running BBC police series Z-Cars, created by Troy Kennedy-Martin.-Early life:Johns...

  • Robin Hood (BBC 1973) - starring Terry Scott
    Terry Scott
    Owen John "Terry" Scott was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven Carry On films. He also appeared in BBC1's popular domestic sitcom Terry and June with June Whitfield...

    , Hugh Lloyd
    Hugh Lloyd
    Hugh Lewis Lloyd, MBE was an English actor who made his name in television and film comedy from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was best known for appearances in Hugh and I and other sitcoms of the 1960s.-Life:...

    , Anita Harris
    Anita Harris
    Anita Harris is an English actress, singer and entertainer....

    , Billy Dainty
    Billy Dainty
    William Hooper Frank John Dainty was a British comedian, dancer, physical comedian and pantomime and television star....

    , Dana
    Dana Rosemary Scallon
    Dana Rosemary Scallon , known in her singing career simply as Dana, is an Irish singer and former Member of the European Parliament ....

    , Freddie Davies
    Freddie Davies
    Freddie Davies is a British comedian and actor. He is the grandson of Music Hall comedian Jack Herbert.Freddie Davies was born in Brixton, London. At the start of World War II Davies was evacuated in 1939 to Seend in Wiltshire and subsequently to Torquay in Devon and then to Salford, Manchester...

     and Alan Curtis
    Alan Curtis (British actor)
    -Background:He was born in Coulsdon, Surrey and he has led a long career in the cinema, television and theatre.He has also acted for the MCC as an announcer at Lord's Cricket Ground.Alan now lives in West London.-Cinema appearances:...

  • Jack and the Beanstalk (ITV 1998) - starring Julie Walters
    Julie Walters
    Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...

    , Neil Morrissey
    Neil Morrissey
    Neil Anthony Morrissey is an English actor, media personality and businessman. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly....

    , Denise van Outen
    Denise van Outen
    Denise van Outen is an English actress, singer and television presenter. Her most notable roles to date are as a presenter on The Big Breakfast, and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on both the West End and on Broadway.- Early life :Born Denise Kathleen Outen in Basildon, Essex, she is the...

    , Adrian Edmondson
    Adrian Edmondson
    Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...

    , Griff Rhys Jones
    Griff Rhys Jones
    Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...

    , Paul Merton
    Paul Merton
    Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...

    , Morwenna Banks
    Morwenna Banks
    Morwenna Banks is a British comedy actress, writer and producer.Banks is perhaps best known in the UK as a cast member of the British Channel 4 comedy series Absolutely, where her best-known character was a schoolgirl who sat on the edge of a desk.She appeared as the Keeper of the Rules in the...

     and Julian Clary
    Julian Clary
    Julian Peter McDonald Clary is an English comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.-Early life and education:...

    .
  • Aladdin (ITV 2000) - starring Ed Byrne
    Ed Byrne
    Ed Byrne is a Perrier Award-nominated, Irish stand-up comedian, voice over artist and actor. He has presented television shows Uncut! Best Unseen Ads and Just for Laughs, and is a regular guest on various television panel games...

    , Patsy Kensit
    Patsy Kensit
    Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...

    , John Savident
    John Savident
    John Savident is a British actor, best known for playing the part of Fred Elliott in the soap opera Coronation Street from 1994 to 2006. And also was a frequent guest on Soccer AM alongside fellow actor Jack 'The Rigger' Spooner....

    , Griff Rhys Jones, Martin Clunes
    Martin Clunes
    Alexander Martin Clunes is an English actor and comedian. Clunes is perhaps best known for his roles as Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly, Doctor Martin Ellingham in Doc Martin and the title character in Reggie Perrin....

    , Ralf Little
    Ralf Little
    Ralf Alistair J. B. Little is an English actor, writer and semi-professional footballer, working mainly in television comedy. He is best known for playing Antony Royle in The Royle Family and Jonny Keogh in the first six series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.-Early life and work...

    , Paul Merton, Julian Clary, Billy Murray
    Billy Murray (actor)
    Billy Murray is an English actor, best known for playing Don Beech in The Bill from 1995 to 2004, Johnny Allen in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2005 to 2006, Captain John Price in the video games Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare...

    , Lisa Riley
    Lisa Riley
    Lisa Riley is a British television presenter and actress probably best known for playing the role of Mandy Dingle in the television soap opera Emmerdale and succeeding Jeremy Beadle on You've Been Framed.-Career:...

    , Meera Syal
    Meera Syal
    Meera Syal MBE is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No...

    , Trisha Goddard
    Trisha Goddard
    Patricia "Trisha" Goddard is a British television presenter and actress best known for her morning talk show, Trisha Goddard, which is broadcast on a mid morning slot on Channel 5 in the UK. In Australia she is known as a long time presenter of Play School.-Background:Goddard was born in London,...

    , Leslie Phillips
    Leslie Phillips
    Leslie Samuel Phillips, CBE is an English actor with a highly recognisable upper class accent. Originally known for his work as a comedy actor, Phillips subsequently made the transition to character roles.-Early life:...

     and S Club 7
    S Club 7
    S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, were a pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, consisting of members Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, de facto lead singer Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt and Rachel Stevens. The group rose to fame by starring in their...

    .
  • Dick Whittington (ITV 2002) - starring Richard Wilson, Harry Hill
    Harry Hill
    Harry Hill , is a Perrier Award–winning English comedian, author and television presenter. A former medical doctor , Hill began his career in comedy with the popular radio show Harry Hill's Fruit Corner.-Personal life:Hill was born in Woking,...

    , James Fleet
    James Fleet
    James Edward Fleet is an English actor. He is most famous for his roles as the bumbling and well-meaning Tom in the 1994 British romantic comedy film Four Weddings and a Funeral, and the dim-witted Hugo Horton in the BBC situation comedy television series The Vicar of Dibley.-Personal life:Fleet...

    , Amanda Barrie
    Amanda Barrie
    Amanda Barrie is an English actress.-Career:Born as Shirley Anne Broadbent, Barrie attended St Anne's College, St Anne's on Sea. She then trained at the Arts Educational School in London and later at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School...

    , Sanjeev Bhaskar
    Sanjeev Bhaskar
    Sanjeev Bhaskar, OBE is a British Indian comedian, actor and broadcaster, best known for his work in the BBC Two comedy series Goodness Gracious Me and as host of The Kumars at No. 42...

    , Kevin Bishop
    Kevin Bishop
    Kevin Bishop is an English actor and comedian, best known for his own programme, The Kevin Bishop Show, which he co-writes with Lee Hupfield, and the role of Jim Hawkins in Muppet Treasure Island.-Life and career:...

    , Julian Clary, Vanessa Feltz
    Vanessa Feltz
    Vanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster and journalist. She currently presents an early morning radio show on BBC Radio 2, a mid morning phone-in show on BBC London 94.9. In 2011, she started hosting The Vanessa Show on Channel 5. The first series ended on June 24th...

    , Lee Mack
    Lee Mack
    Lee Gordon McKillop is an English stand-up comedian and actor, known by the stage name Lee Mack. He is well known in the United Kingdom for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out, for being a team captain on Would I Lie to You? and for hosting Lee Mack's All Star Cast.-Personal life:Mack...

    , Tina O'Brien
    Tina O'Brien
    Tina O'Brien is an English actress. She is best known for playing the role of Sarah-Louise Platt in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.-Acting career:...

    , Paul Merton, Debra Stephenson
    Debra Stephenson
    Debra Stephenson is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer.-Career:At the age of fourteen Stephenson appeared on BBC TV's Opportunity Knocks, winning her way through to the All-Winners' Final, broadcast live from the London Palladium...

    , Jessica Stevenson
    Jessica Stevenson
    Jessica Hynes is an English actress and writer. She was known professionally as Jessica Stevenson until 2007.She is possibly best known as one of the creators, writers and stars of the British sitcom Spaced....

    , Mark Williams
    Mark Williams (actor)
    Mark Williams is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and presenter. He is best known as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show The Fast Show, as well as for his role as Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter films....

     and Hear'Say
    Hear'Say
    Hear'Say were a British manufactured pop group created in February 2001 from the winners of Popstars, an ITV reality TV show based on a New Zealand show of the same name. They enjoyed huge success with their debut single "Pure and Simple", helped by the publicity surrounding Popstars, the first of...

    .


Unfortunately, the venue fell into severe financial difficulties in 2003 and was forced to close indefintely. However, following lengthy talks between leading producers, local councillors and companies, in autumn 2003 Wimbledon Theatre was bought out by the Ambassador Theatre Group, the largest theatre owner in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 and second largest in the regions.

Following a name change to the New Wimbledon Theatre, the venue reopened in February 2004 with Matthew Bourne
Matthew Bourne
Matthew Bourne OBE is a British classical and contemporary ballet and dance choreographer.-Biography:Matthew Bourne was born in Hackney, London in 1960. He went to William Fitt and Sir George Monoux School in Walthamstow, London...

's production of The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...

, and following this, the theatre has gone from strength to strength, with major productions in 2004 and 2005 including Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...

, Blood Brothers, Footloose
Footloose (musical)
Footloose is a 1998 musical based on the 1984 film of the same name. The music is by Tom Snow , the lyrics by Dean Pitchford , and the book by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie.-Act 1:...

, Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...

, Fame
Fame (musical)
A stage musical based on the 1980 musical film Fame has been staged under two titles. The first, 'Fame – The Musical' conceived and developed by David De Silva, is a musical with a book by Jose Fernandez, music by Steve Margoshes and lyrics by Jacques Levy. The musical premiered in 1988 in Miami,...

, Jekyll & Hyde
Jekyll & Hyde (musical)
Jekyll & Hyde is a musical based on the novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The original stage conception was by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn. The music is by Wildhorn and the lyrics and book are by Leslie Bricusse.The musical ran on Broadway for 1,543...

 and the London revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...

's Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...

.

It has since played host to a large variety of touring productions, plus the UK launch of Josef Weinberger's UK collection of Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

 musicals available to amateur companies throughout the British Isles.

Most recently saw the launch of a brand new UK pantomime company formed from a collaboration between Howard Panter
Howard Panter
Howard Hugh Panter is a multi-award winning British theatre impresario and theatre operator. He is a Founder, Co-Owner, Joint Chief Executive and Creative Director of The Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd and Chairman of Rambert Dance Company.In 2009, together...

 of the Ambassador Theatre Group
Ambassador Theatre Group
The Ambassador Theatre Group is an independent operator of theatres in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1992, by Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire,OBE, it acquired the Live Nation theatre group in November 2009.-List of theatres:...

 and David Ian
David Ian
David Ian Lane , is a former actor and now a theatre producer who The Stage has called "the most powerful man in UK theatre".-Biography:...

 of Live Nation
Live Nation
Live Nation is a live-events company based in Beverly Hills, California, focused on concert promotions. Live Nation formed in 2005 as a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications, which then merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 to become Live Nation Entertainment....

 Theatrical and called First Family Entertainment
First Family Entertainment
First Family Entertainment is an entertainment group specialising in pantomime and other family theatre entertainment, announced the formation in January 2005 as a joint venture between the producers David Ian for Live Nation and Howard Panter for the Ambassador Theatre Group...

. The company produced eight pantos across the UK for 2005-6, with their flagship production being Cinderella at New Wimbledon, starring Susan Hampshire
Susan Hampshire
Susan Hampshire, Lady Kulukundis, OBE is an English actress, best-known for her many television and film roles.-Early life:Susan Hampshire was born in Kensington, London, the youngest of four children. She had two sisters and one brother...

, Richard Wilson, John Barrowman
John Barrowman
John Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...

, Naomi Wilkinson
Naomi Wilkinson
Naomi Valerie Wilkinson is an English television presenter, actress and producer.Wilkinson, a trained dancer, was the senior continuity presenter of Milkshake!, the early-morning programming block for young children on Channel 5...

, Peter Duncan
Peter Duncan (actor)
Peter Duncan is a British actor and television presenter, best known as a former presenter of Blue Peter and for his later family travel documentaries.-Education:...

 and Tim Vine
Tim Vine
Timothy "Tim" Mark Vine is an English actor, writer and comedian. He has released a number of DVDs of his stand-up comedy, as well as starring in the successful series Not Going Out with Lee Mack on the BBC...

. For 2006, First Family present the premiere of Peter Pan starring Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....

 Henry Winkler
Henry Winkler
Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...

, Bobby Davro
Bobby Davro
Bobby Davro is a British actor and comedian. He is mainly known for his work as an impressionist...

 and Sarah Jane Honeywell.

In 2010 the national tour of Spamalot, the 'Holy Grail' based Monty Python Musical (indeed!) opened here.

Notable productions

Among the many touring shows to visit Wimbledon are:

Cats, Starlight Express
Starlight Express
Starlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates...

, The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...

, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (musical)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, also known as Chitty the Musical, is a stage musical based on the 1968 film produced by Cubby Broccoli. The music and lyrics were written by Richard and Robert Sherman with book by Jeremy Sams.-Productions:...

, Monty Python's Spamalot, Beauty and the Beast, West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...

, Fame - The Musical, Never Forget, Cabaret, Blood Brothers, Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever (musical)
This is an article about the stage musical. For the article on the 1977 film, see Saturday Night FeverSaturday Night Fever is a musical with a book by Nan Knighton and music and lyrics by the Bee Gees.Based on Nik Cohn's 1975 New York Magazine article "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night" and...

, Carousel, Footloose - The Musical, Grease, Anything Goes, Matthew Bourne
Matthew Bourne
Matthew Bourne OBE is a British classical and contemporary ballet and dance choreographer.-Biography:Matthew Bourne was born in Hackney, London in 1960. He went to William Fitt and Sir George Monoux School in Walthamstow, London...

's Swan Lake, Our House, Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story, Carousel, Tap Dogs
Tap Dogs
"Tap Dogs" is a tap dance show, created by Australian dancer and choreographer, Dein Perry. The original production of the show had its world premiere in January 1995 at the Sydney Theatre Festival in Australia....

, Taboo, Flashdance - The Musical, Annie, Annie Get Your Gun, The Rat Pack - Live from Las Vegas, Dancing in the Streets.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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