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Adelphi Theatre London
Sweeney Todd Tickets
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Sweeney Todd Tickets
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| The Adelphi Theatre London has 4 Bars, Licensed for alcohol. Also available are snacks; ice-cream and confectionery. The Royal Retiring Room, Vivien Ellis Bar, Jessie Matthews Bar and the Dress Circle Bar. |
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| The main entrance has one 15cm step. A ramp is available. 2 sets of double swing doors. Box Office counter to the right inside the entrance. No steps to Stalls from foyer. 41 steps up to the Dress Circle. 79 to the Upper Circle. Most staircases are highlighted and have handrails. The theatre opens 45 minutes before the performance. Disabled Access. Contact the Theatre Manager on arrival. No steps to Stalls from foyer. 2 spaces for wheelchair users at the back - view slightly restricted. Transfer seating available to any stalls aisle seat. Provisions for 4 wheelchair/scooter transferees, please check when booking. Adapted toilet by the entrance to the Stalls. Guide Dogs Allowed (max 4 per performance). Some signed and audio described performances. Sennheiser infra-red system with 7 headsets. Collect from Box Office. Induction loop at Box Office A7-9, A28-30, BB10, 11, 25, 26, and C31 in the Stalls have the most legroom. |
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| Close to The Adelphi Theatre is an NCP car park in Drury Lane and also in Upper St Martin's Lane. There is a Master Park at Trafalgar Square (24 hour), entrance through Whitcomb Street. The daily congestion charge London applies from 7.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. Single yellow lines and meters behind theatre on Maiden Lane. Masterpark offer up to 50% discount on parking. |
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| Covent Garden (Piccadilly Line), Charing Cross, Embankment and Leicester Square (District, Circle, Northern and Bakerloo Lines) are close to The Adelphi Theatre. |
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| Charing Cross is the National Rail station closest to The Adelphi Theatre. |
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| Bus Routes: 6, 9, 11,13, 15, 23, 77A, 176 |
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| The Adelphi Theatre London The
Strand, London, WC2R 0NS
Click here for Adelphi Theatre Map |
Theatre |
Adelphi Theatre History The theatre was founded in 1806 by merchant John Scott and his daughter Jane. The original name was Sans Pareil (French for 'unique' or 'without comparison') Jane was a performer, playwright and British theatre manager at the time. They formed a theatrical company and by 1809 the theatre was licensed for musical entertainments, pantomime, and Burletta (is a musical term generally denoting a short comic Italian (and later English) opera. She wrote more than fifty stage pieces in various genres: melodramas, pantomimes, farces, comic operettas, historical dramas, and adaptations. Jane Scott retired to Surrey in 1819, marrying John Davies Middleton (1790-1867). On 18th October, 1819 the theatre reopened under its present name, which was adopted from the Adelphi Buildings opposite. In its early years, the theatre was known for melodrama, called Adelphi Screamers. Many of Charles Dickens stories were adapted for the stage here, including John Baldwin Buckstone's The Christening, a comic burletta, which opened on 13th October, 1834, based on the story The Bloomsbury Christening. This is thought to be the first Dickens adaption performed. Subsequent classics included; The Pickwick Papers, Nicholas Nickleby and The Old Curiosity Shop. With considerable improvements to the building required, the old theatre was demolished, and on 26th December 1858 The New Adelphi was opened. The new theatre could seat 1,500 people, with standing room for another 500. The interior was lighted by a Stroud's Patent Sun Lamp, a brilliant array of gas mantles passed through a chandelier of cut-glass. During the mid 1800s, John Lawrence Toole established his reputation for comedies at the Adelphi. Also in the mid-1800s, the Adelphi hosted a number of French operettas including La belle H'l'n. In 1867, the Adelphi hosted the first public performance of Arthur Sullivan's first opera, Cox and Box. William Terriss, an actor who performed regularly at the Adelphi was stabbed to death on 16th December, 1897 as recorded on a plaque on the wall by the stage door. Richard Archer Prince (also known as William Archer Flint) a bit-part actor committed the murder. It is alleged that Terriss' ghost haunts the theatre. Terriss' daughter was Ellaline Terriss, a famous actress, and her husband, actor-manager Seymour Hicks managed the Adelphi for some years at the end of the 19th century. The theatre re-opened on 11th September, 1901 as the Century Theatre, although the name reverted to the Adlephi in 1904. This theatre was built by Frank Kirk to the design of Ernest Runtz. George Edwardes, the dean of London musical theatre, took over the management of the theatre in 1908. In the early part of the 20th century, the Adelphi was home to a number of musical comedies. The present Adelphi opened on 3rd December, 1930 being re-designed in the Art Deco style by Ernest Schaufelberg. It was named the 'Royal Adelphi Theatre' and re-opened with the hit musical Ever Green, by Hart and Rogers. In 1940 the theatre's name reverted to The Adelphi. The theatre continued to host comedy and musicals. A proposed redevelopment of Covent Garden by the GLC (Greater London Council) in 1968 saw the theatre under threat, together with the Vaudeville, Garrick, Lyceum and Duchess theatre. An active campaign by Equity the Musicians' Union and theatre owners under the auspices of the Save London Theatres Campaign thankfully led to the scheme being abandoned. In 1993, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group purchased the theatre and completely refurbished it prior to the opening of his adaptation of Sunset Boulevard. In November 1997, the Adelphi became home to the London production of the musical Chicago which was the venue's longest ever running production during its eight-and-a-half year run, which also made it the longest running American musical in West End history. In April 2006, Chicago transferred to the Cambridge Theatre. Since then, the theatre has hosted Evita, Pet Sounds and Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, with the lead part (Lee Mead) being cast by the BBC's show Any Dream Will Do. |