Savoy Theatre

Savoy Theatre's dazzling 1929 art deco interior is embellished with blindingly bright panels of gold and silver, and boasts theatre seats decked out in jazzy abstract patterns. It's like no other theatre in London both for its substantial interior design flair, and because it's tucked away in the basement under famous hostelry The Savoy. 

Today, Savoy Theatre is all quintessential Jazz Age glitz, but it's not quite as authentic as it looks. In 1990, the entire theatre was gutted by a fire, and had to be painstakingly restored to its original glories by experts who studied old photographs and fragments gleaned from the ashes. In an unexpected silver lining, the reconstruction also allowed the architects to add a swimming pool on the floor right above the stage, where hotel guests swim oblivious to the musical spectaculars unfolding below. 

The present day Savoy Theatre stands on the site of an older venue of the same name. In the late 19th century, this Savoy became synonymous with Gilbert & Sullivan, the composing duo who unleashed (very silly) operetta after operetta onto its stage. These productions were masterminded by D'Oyly Carte, the theatre manager, who bought the theatre in 1880. Under his regime, it became the first theatre in London to be lit by electric lighting, and audiences flocked to the so called 'Savoy Operas'. His legacy was continued first by his son, then by his granddaughter Bridget, who died in 1985 and finally brought an operatic dynasty to an end.  

Savoy Theatre has 1,158 seats, and welcomes audiences in with a programme that flits between the light opera that originally made its name and musical theatre, including recent hit 'Dream Girls'.