Criterion Theatre

Criterion Theatre, London, in Piccadilly Circus. Originally an adjunct to Spiers and Pond's Criterion restaurant, this theatre was built entirely underground. A three-tier auditorium seating 675, it opened in 1874 and had its first outstanding success with Pink Dominoes (1877), adapted by James Albery from a French farce. In the cast was Charles Wyndham who took over the theatre in 1879. In 1883 the theatre was found to be unsafe and was reconstructed, electricity being installed at the same time. Many of Henry Arthur Jones's plays were first produced at the Criterion, including The Case of Rebellious Susan (1894), The Physician, and The Liar (both 1897). Wyndham left in 1899 to open Wyndham's Theatre, but remained lessee of the Criterion until his death. In 1902 the theatre was remodelled, reopening in 1903. One of the greatest successes of the First World War, Walter Ellis's A Little Bit of Fluff, began its run here in 1915. Between the wars came Ronald Mackenzie's Musical Chairs (1932) with John Gielgud and Rattigan's French without Tears (1936). During the Second World War the theatre became a BBC studio, reopening in 1945 with a revival of Sheridan's The Rivals starring Edith Evans. The post-war years brought a run of successes, including Warren Chetham-Strode's The Guinea Pig (1946), the revue Intimacy at 8.30 (1954), Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (1955), and Anouilh's Waltz of the Toreadors (1956). In 1963 A Severed Head, adapted by J. B. Priestley and Iris Murdoch from the latter's novel, began a long run. Simon Gray's Butley (1971) with Alan Bates, Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular (1973), Ray Cooney and John Chapman's There Goes the Bride (1974), and Fo's Can't Pay? Won't Pay! (1981) were also popular. The theatre was closed 1989–92 because of building work on the surrounding site, its production of Ray Cooney's long-running comedy Run for Your Wife! moving to another theatre.