Sondheim Theatre

The Sondheim Theatre (formerly The Queen’s Theatre) opened on 8 October 1907. Its inaugural play, a comedy entitled Sugar Bowl, closed after 36 performances and follow-up shows faired equally poorly. The theatre changed hands in 1909 and finally had a big hit in 1914 with Potash and Perlmutter. The 1920’s brought controversial productions of The Fanatics and The Trial of Mary Dugan (where the theatre was altered to look like a courthouse), as well as John Mills’ West End debut playing Hamlet. The theatre continued to put on successful productions (including a season of plays presented by John Gielgud in 1937) until it received a direct hit during a German bombing raid in 1940. The lobby areas were completely destroyed, and the theater remained closed until its restoration 20 years later. The 1960’s and 1970’s brought many memorable productions, including A Suite of Three Keys (Noel Coward’s final stage appearance), the first European production of The Odd Couple, The Card, The Old Country and The Dresser. 1982 brought the transfer of Another Country, which featured a cast that included (at various points in its run) Kenneth Branagh, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, and Rupert Everett. The theatre has hosted Les Miserable since 2004, after it transferred from the Palace Theatre following an 18-year run. In 2019, Les Miserables moved a few doors down to the Gielgud Theatre in an all-star concert version so that renovations on the theatre could be carried out. At that time it was announced by Delfont Mackintosh (the theatre's owners) that the theatre would be re-named the Sondheim Theatre in honour of legendary Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim). An all-new production of Les Miserables opened in December 2019 replacing Trevor Nunn and John Caird's award-winning original RSC production.