Note that, unless they are familiar with US usage, people in the U.K. Will not understand 'on Old Compton and Dean'. We don't truncate names, and we don't use the intersections as a grid reference (a quick look at the twisty street map will explain why). We would say 'on Old Compton St, near to Dean St'.
Mary Poppins
Running Time: 2 hours 40 minutes (with an interval)
Box Office Contacts
| Box Office: | 0844 482 5151 |
| Access Booking: | 0844 482 5137 |
| Group Booking: | 0844 482 5151 |
| Stage Door: | 020 7440 3020 |
| Visit the official website | |
History
1942 saw the venue become the Queensberry All Services Club, where shows would be broadcast for the BBC. Following this, the building was reverted back to a casino in 1954, including a Cinerama. Films shown included the premieres of Search for Paradise (1961) and How the West Was Won (1962). In 1969, the venue premiered Ben-Hur, which continued until 1970.
In 1978, the venue reopened as the Prince Edward Theatre, with the world premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita, starring Elaine Paige and David Essex. Evita ran for eight years before being replaced with Tim Rice musical Chess, which also starred Elaine Paige.
Elaine Paige also took to the stage in Anything Goes (1989-1990), with subsequent productions at the venue including Children of Eden (1991), The Hunting of the Snark (1991), Some Like It Hot (1992), starring Tommy Steele, Crazy for You (1993-1996), starring Ruthie Henshall, and Martin Guerre (1996-1998). Further productions included Show Boat (1998) and West Side Story (1998-1999).
Mamma Mia! received its West End debut at the Prince Edward Theatre, opening in 1999 and continuing until 2004, before transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre. This was followed by Mary Poppins (2004-2008) and the West End premiere of Broadway’s Jersey Boys, which ran from 2008 to 2014, before transferring to the Piccadilly Theatre.
In 2014, the Prince Edward Theatre became the home of Cameron Mackintosh’s revival of Miss Saigon, starring newcomer Eva Noblezada. The show continued until 2016, when Broadway’s glittering musical Aladdin made its way into the theatre.
Aladdin - Disney's New Musical played at the theatre until June 2019, where it was followed by the return of Disney's Mary Poppins in the autumn. Zizi Strallen and Charlie Stemp star as Mary and Bert.
Past Shows
Aladdin - Disney's New Musical
(closed 24 Aug 2019)
Jersey Boys
(closed 9 Mar 2014)
Prince Edward Theatre
Old Compton Street
London
W1D 4HS
Travel by train: Charing Cross. Nearest tube: Leicester Square/Tottenham Court Road
The Prince Edward Theatre is a London West End theatre on Old Compton Street, north of Leicester Square.
The Prince Edward Theatre London: Venue and History
Old Compton Brasserie London
The Prince Edward Theatre was designed by Edward A. Stone, also an architect for the Piccadilly theatre, in 1928. With interior decoration by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet, the building itself was a success. A spacious art deco foyer greeted audiences, with staircases leading off to the stall and dress circle. Themes of fuchsia and gold made the interior warm and welcoming. It opened on April 3, 1930 with a performance of the musical Rio Rita. Unfortunately it had checkered success with shows, forcing it to change hands and venue uses repeatedly. The Prince Edward 1935 it was converted to a dance and cabaret hall, being renamed the 'London Casino', and renamed again as the 'Queensberry All Services Club' in 1942. After the war it became the London Casino once again and in 1954 was converted to a cinema, reopening as 'Castino Cinerama Theatre'.
Old Compton Street London
In 1978 it was converted back to a theatre and returned to its original name, reopening with the world premiere of the musical Evita. Then just prior to the opening of Mary Poppins in December, 2004, The Prince Edward Theatre underwent some refurbishment to improve the bar areas, font of house facilities, and the dressing rooms.
With a capacity of 1,618, The Prince Edward is currently showing Jersey Boys and awaiting the much-anticipated return of Miss Saigon.
The Prince Edward Theatre: Productions
Crystal Casino Compton
Evita (January 21, 1978 - February 8, 1986)
Chess (May 14, 1986 - April 8, 1989)
Anything Goes (July 4, 1989 - August 25, 1990)
Crazy For You (March 3, 1993 - February 24, 1996)
Martin Guerre (July 10, 1996 - February 28, 1998)
Mamma Mia (April 6, 1999 - May 27, 2004)
Mary Poppins (December 15, 2004 - January 12, 2008)
Jersey Boys (18 March, 2008 - 9 March, 2014)
Miss Saigon (21 March, 2012) One Night Only Production
Miss Saigon (May 2014- )