The Duke of York's Theatre is a London West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. The Duke of York’s Theatre was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935.
The theatre opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding Eve. Designed by architect Walter Emden, the theatre became known as the Trafalgar Theatre in 1894 and the following year became the Duke of York's to honour the future King George V.
One of the earliest musical comedies, Go Bang, was a success at The Duke of York's in 1894. In 1900, Jerome K. Jerome's Miss Hobbs was staged as well as David Belasco's Madame Butterfly, which was seen by Puccini, who later turned it into the famous opera. This was also the theatre where J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up debuted on 27 December 1904. London's The Duke of Yorks Theatre has seen appearances by many famous British actors, including Basil Rathbone, who played Alfred de Mussett in Madame Sand in June 1920, returning in November 1932 as the Unknown Gentleman in Tonight or Never.
In the late 1970s the freehold of the Duke of York's Theatre was purchased by Capital Radio and it closed in 1979 for refurbishment. Reopening in February 1980, the first production under the patronage of Capital Radio was Rose, starring Glenda Jackson. The Ambassador Theatre Group bought the theatre in 1992 and this coincided with London's hottest show, The Royal Court's production of Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden. A host of successes followed including Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show and the hugely successful Royal Court Classics Season in 1995. Comedian Pat Condell also did comedy sketches which were later released onto DVD.
Today, the Duke Of Yorks Theatre is the London headquarters of the Ambassador Theatre Group, forming part of their portfolio of eight venues. It is also the producing offices of Sonia Friedman Productions, whose revival of In Celebration starring Hollywood leading man Orlando Bloom played until 15 September 2007.
The theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in September 1960.
Duke of York's Theatre: Recent Productions
After Mrs Rochester (22 July 2003 – 25 October 2003) by Polly Teale
Dirty Blonde (16 June 2004 – 28 August 2004) by Claudia Shear
Journey's End (5 October 2004 – 19 February 2005) by R.C. Sherriff
Embers (1 March 2006 – 24 June 2006) by Sandor Marai, adapted by Christopher Hampton, starring Jeremy Irons and Patrick Malahide
Rock 'n' Roll (22 July 2006 – 24 February 2007) by Tom Stoppard, starring David Calder, Emma Fielding, Dominic West, Rufus Sewell, and Nicola Bryant
Little Shop of Horrors (12 March 2007 – 23 June 2007) by Alan Menken, starring Sheridan Smith, Paul Keating and Alistair McGowan
In Celebration (5 July 2007 – 15 September 2007 ) by David Storey, starring Orlando Bloom, Tim Healy, Lynda Baron, Gareth Farr, Paul Hilton, Ciaran McIntyre and Dearblah Malloy
Rent Remixed (16 October 2007 – 2 February 2008), by Jonathan Larson, starring Denise Van Outen (succeeded 24 December 2007 by Jessie Wallace)
That Face (1 May 2008 – 5 July 2008) by Polly Stenham, starring Lindsay Duncan, Hannah Murray and Matt Smith
Under the Blue Sky (25 July 2008 – 20 September 2008) by David Eldridge, starring Catherine Tate, Francesca Annis and Dominic Rowan
No Man's Land) (7 October 2008 – 3 January 2009) by HaroldPinter, starring Michael Gambon, David Walliams, David Bradley and Nick Dunning
Arcadia (27 May 2009 – 12 September 2009) by Tom Stoppard
Speaking in Tongues (18 September 2009 – 12 December 2009) by Andrew Bovell starring John Simm
Journey's End (19 July 2011 – 3 September 2011) by RC Sherriff, directed by David Grindley
Backbeat (10 October 2011 – 18 February 2012), co-written by Iain Softley and Stephen Jeffreys
Jumpy (28 August 2012 – 3 November 2012) by April de Angelis, starring Tamsin Greig
Constellations (16 November 2012 – 5 January 2013) by Nick Payne
The Judas Kiss (17 January 2013 – 6 April 2013) by David Hare, starring Rupert Everett and Freddie Fox
The Duke of York's Theatre: Current Productions
Passion Play (7 May 2013 – 3 August 2013) by Peter Nichols, starring Zoë Wanamaker
A Doll's House (8 August 2013 – 26 October 2013)
Jeeves and Wooster: Perfect Nonsense (October 30th 2013-)