Cinema in the London, former theatre
ODEON Covent Garden
is a four-screen cinema in the heart of London's West End. Formerly known as The
Saville Theatre
, a former
West End theatre
at 135
Shaftesbury Avenue
in the
London Borough of Camden
. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s. In 1970 it became the two cinemas
ABC1 Shaftesbury Avenue
and
ABC2 Shaftesbury Avenue
, which in 2001 were converted to the four-screen cinema
Odeon Covent Garden
.
History
[
edit
]
Theatre years
[
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]
The theatre was designed by the architect
Sir Thomas Bennett
, in consultation with
Bertie Crewe
, and opened on 8 October 1931, with a play with music by
H.F. Maltby
,
For The Love Of Mike
.
[1]
The theatre benefited from a capacity of 1,426 on three levels and a stage that was 31.5 feet (9.6 m) wide, with a depth of 30.5 feet (9.3 m). The interior was opulent,
The Stage
reviewed the new theatre on its opening
The stalls bar and saloon lounge adjoining, will please the public, special care has been exercised in their equipment and decoration. The bar, which has mural paintings by Mr A. R. Thompson, is 18 ft by 54 ft in front of the counters, while the lounge, which is also decorated by the same artist, is 42 ft by 40 ft. There is a sort of shopping arcade in and about the lounge, as in the up-to-date hotels, and it is quite big enough for tea dances or concerts. So comfortable, indeed, are the lounge and the bar at the Saville, that it is to be feared that something more than a warning bell will be necessary to clear them
[1]
The theatre was damaged in
the Blitz
in 1941, but reopened quickly allowing a revised version of the
revue
Up and Doing
to complete a run of 332 performances.
[2]
An American comedy,
Junior Miss
, opened in March 1943 and ran for 518 performances.
[3]
In April 1946 the revue
Here Come the Boys
, starring
Bobby Howes
and
Jack Hulbert
, started a run of 336 performances.
[4]
Ivor Novello
's musical
Gay's the Word
ran for 502 performances from February 1951.
[5]
In 1952
Love from Judy
, a musical adaption of
Daddy-Long-Legs
, opened in September and ran for 594 performances.
[6]
In 1955 the interior of the theatre was completely refurbished by Laurence Irving, and John Collins created a new mural for the stalls bar.
[1]
In 1958 the musical
Expresso Bongo
began a 315-performance run.
[5]
In 1962
Peter Ustinov
starred in his own play
Photo Finish
, which ran for 253 performances,
[7]
and
Laurence Olivier
appeared in
David Turner's
Semi-Detached
, which ran for 133 performances.
[8]
The following year
Pickwick
, a musical adaption of
The Pickwick Papers
, premiered on 4 July, featuring
Harry Secombe
in the title role. It was a success, running for 694 performances.
[9]
Epstein years
[
edit
]
Brian Epstein
, manager of
The Beatles
, leased the theatre in 1965, presenting both drama (including works by
Arnold Wesker
)
[10]
and
rock and roll
shows.
Plays in 1965 included
The Solid Gold Cadillac
with
Sid James
and
Margaret Rutherford
, which ran for 142 performances.
[11]
The
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
played two ten-week London seasons at the Saville, from 6 December 1965 to 12 February 1966 and 18 December 1967 to 24 February 1968, presenting eleven
Savoy Operas
in each season.
[12]
The venue saw appearances of
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
in January 1967 when they opened for
The Who
, and again in August 1967.
The Move
and
Procol Harum
also appeared on the bill. Acts including
Chuck Berry
, The Beatles,
Jimi Hendrix
,
Pink Floyd
,
Elton John
,
Nirvana
,
Cream
,
Fairport Convention
, the
Incredible String Band
and
The Bee Gees
also appeared there.
[1]
[13]
The theatre was sold in 1969, and returned to presenting theatrical productions and under the new management it presented the London premiere of
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
, a production that brought
Leonard Rossiter
to public attention.
[14]
Cameron Mackintosh
's revival of
Anything Goes
was a flop that year, playing for only two weeks,
[15]
and the last play to be performed at the theatre was
Enemy
by
Robin Maugham
, opening for a run of 58 performances in December 1969.
[16]
Cinema years
[
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]
The Saville was taken over by
ABC Theatres
(owned by EMI) in 1970 and converted to a two screen cinema. The conversion was undertaken by William Ryder and Associates. It opened on 22 December 1970 with ABC1 seating 616, and ABC2 581. The stage area became administration offices and little of the original theatre internal structure remains.
[1]
In 2001, the building was taken over by the
Odeon cinema
group and is now the four screen Odeon Covent Garden cinema.
The exterior of the theatre retains many of the original 1930s details, although the wrought iron arch window on the frontage has been replaced by glass blocks. A sculptured frieze by British sculptor
Gilbert Bayes
, which runs across the building for nearly 130 feet (40 m), remains and represents 'Drama Through The Ages'.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Saville Theatre history at Arthur Lloyd
accessed 28 Aug 2008
- ^
Gaye, p. 1539
- ^
Gaye, p. 1533
- ^
Gaye, p. 1532
- ^
a
b
Gaye, p. 1531
- ^
Gaye, p. 1534
- ^
Gaye, p. 1536
- ^
Wearing, p. 130
- ^
Wearing, p. 159
- ^
Wearing, p. 256
- ^
Wearing, p. 241
- ^
Rollins and Witts, Supplements, pp. 7 and 14
- ^
September 1967
(Marmalade Skies, British psychedelia)
- ^
Wearing, p. 417
- ^
Wearing, p. 432
- ^
Wearing, p. 436
Sources
[
edit
]
- Gaye, Freda, ed. (1967).
Who's Who in the Theatre
(fourteenth ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons.
OCLC
5997224
.
- Rollins, Cyril; R. John Witts (1962).
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas: A Record of Productions, 1875–1961
. London: Michael Joseph.
With four supplements, privately printed.
OCLC
504581419
- Wearing, J. P. (2021).
The London Stage 1960?1980: A Calendar of Dramatic Productions
. London: Word Press.
(no ISBN or OCLC)
External links
[
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]