Aldwych Theatre

Aldwych Theatre, London, three-tier theatre seating 1,100, was built for Seymour Hicks, who opened it in 1905 with himself and his wife Ellaline Terriss in a revival of their ‘dream fantasy’ Bluebell in Fairyland. The building was damaged during the First World War, but after restoration reopened and in 1923 had its first outstanding success with Tons of Money, a farce by Will Evans and Valentine. In the cast were Ralph Lynn and Tom Walls, and both actors stayed on to appear with Robertson Hare in a succession of ‘Aldwych farces’ written by Ben Travers. The series ended in 1933 with A Bit of a Test. There were notable productions of American plays: Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine (1943), Sherwood's There Shall Be No Night (1945), with the Lunts, Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire (1949), with Vivien Leigh, and Maxwell Anderson's The Bad Seed (1955). Edith Evans starred in Fry's The Dark Is Light Enough (1954).

In 1960, the Aldwych became the London home of the RSC. Extensive alterations were made to the interior, including the installation of a completely new lighting system and an apron stage, with a proscenium opening 31ft. wide; the seating capacity was slightly reduced, to 1,030. The first season opened with Peggy Ashcroft in Webster's The Duchess of Malfi, and the theatre subsequently housed new plays and revivals as well as productions transferred from Stratford. From 1964 to 1975 (except for 1974) the Aldwych also housed the annual World Theatre Season organized by Peter Daubeny. The first new work presented by the RSC was John Whiting's The Devils (1961), and in the same year Giraudoux's Ondine and Anouilh's Becket represented recent work from abroad, Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle following in 1962. Other Europeans whose work was staged included Dürrenmatt, Hochhuth, Peter Weiss, and Marguerite Duras, and there were two or more works from Pinter, Albee, and Peter Nichols. Notable revivals were Gogol's The Government Inspector (1965), Vanbrugh's The Relapse (1967), O'Casey's The Silver Tassie (1969), and Boucicault's London Assurance (1970). The virtual ‘discovery’ of Gorky in the English theatre was marked by five productions. The year 1980 was particularly successful, with a fine revival of O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock and two mammoth productions: The Greeks, a three-part adaptation by John Barton of 10 Greek plays, and David Edgar's eight-hour adaptation of Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby.

In 1982 the RSC transferred its London base to the Barbican Theatre and The Pit in the Barbican Centre. The Aldwych's subsequent productions have included Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) and Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge (1987), both transferred from the National Theatre, and Stoppard's Hapgood (1988).