Vaudeville Theatre

Time Out says

Wed Jun 20 2012

Initially constructed behind a pair of houses on the Strand, the original Vaudeville was expanded in 1889 with the demolition of its two neighbours. In 1891, it hosted the first English performances of Ibsen’s ‘Rosmersholm’ and ‘Hedda Gabler’ and continued to run successfully with a programme of revivals and comedies until it closed for refurbishment in 1925, when it assumed its current form. It housed a huge hit in 1952 with the musical ‘Salad Days’, which ran for over 2,000 performances, as well as one of the earliest incidences of full-frontal male nudity on the theatrical stage when Alistair Sim appeared in ‘A Private Matter’. Since then, a mix of drama and entertainment has been offered here, including plays by Shelagh Stephenson and Neil LaBute as well as the long-running dance-drumming show ‘Stomp’ and the current ‘Flying Karamazov Brothers’. Since 2005, the theatre has been owned by American producer Max Weitzenhoffer and Nica Burns as part of the Nimax Theatre portfolio.