An Epitome Of Glory Queens Theatre

A West End theatre, Queens Theatre opened on 8th October 1907

. The theatre was built as a twin to the Geiguld Theatre and is currently located in the Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster London. A grade II listed theatre by the English Heritage; it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague. Initial plans were to name the theatre as Central Theatre but later it was decided to be named as Queens Theatre after Queen Alexandria.

Its walls and roofs were in hue of gold and white while the shade chosen for carpets, hangings and upholstery was green. Curtains were marvellous in velvet. The entrance - hall had a lot of space and passages on its either side took audiences to stalls. Marble staircase ascended to the dress circle that ran over pits. There existed a well spacious and elegantly placed saloon at the top. The second tier of the house was designed in Italian style reminding of the Renaissance architecture. Electricity was used to light the auditorium and ample space was left for refreshment and accommodation.

It was the site for German bombing that was dropped here on September 1940. The incident left the facade and lobby areas completely destroyed. Daphne du Maurier's production Rebecca was running here at the time. It starred Celia Johnson, Owen Neres and Margaret Rutherford. The house was closed for coming twenty years following the incident. Westwood Sons & Partners accomplished the restoration work of the theatre that cost its owners 250,000. The original Edwardian decors of the auditorium were left intact while lobbies and exterior were built in modern style. Following the reconstruction, the theater opened on 8th July 1959. John Gielguds solo appearance in Shakespeare speeches and sonnets, Ages of Man were the performances that ran on its opening day.

The structure was extensively redesigned towards the second half of 2009 and public areas along with the seating capacity were improved during the process. New boxes in the dress circle were reinstated as well and currently the house has a seating capacity of 1099 including its all three levels.

Les Miserables has been running at the theatre since April 2004 and the piece has currently been acclaimed as the longest running musical of the world. Prior to the transfer here, the show ran for eighteen years at the neighbouring Palace Theatre. On 8th October 2005 the musical celebrates its 20th anniversary and broke the previous record created by Cats a year later on 8th October 2006 becoming the longest running musical. Les Miserables theatrical adaptations are from the book of the same title written by Victor Hugo. Often attributed as Hugos masterpiece, the musical transport audiences to 19th century France. There amid a revolution lies the struggle for the betterment of the human beings. It is a heart pondering saga of devastated dreams, unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption.

Performances of the show includes mesmerizing melodies like I Dreamed A Dream, Bring Him Home, One Day More and On My Own. Revolving around the live of ex-convict Jean Valjean, the musical is a celebration of existence of human race.

by: Leena Shane

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