The Theatre Royal Haymarket dates back to 1720, but the current building is the result of a redesign by John Nash in 1821. It has been something of a trend-setter and was the first theatre to schedule a matinee performance, in 1873; others soon followed suit.
Over the years it has staged many great plays by the best writers, and performed by the biggest stars of the day, including the premiere of Oscar Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance in 1893. Some of the stars seen on the stage this century are Dame Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Ralph Fiennes, David Suchet and Ian McKellen.
There are 3 licensed bars in the building. The auditorium is air conditioned and seats 905 over 4 levels. The views from the back 3 rows of the stalls are affected by the overhang from the Dress Circle above. A safety barrier restricts the view from the first 3 rows in the Upper Circle. The highest level, the balcony, offers good value for money, but the seats are bench-style and they are not tiered. The front row view is affected by a metal bar.
There is a Sennheiser infra-red sound amplification system in the auditorium for the hard of hearing, with 20 headsets. Disabled access is through the EXIT doors on either side of the main entrance and there is one space in the auditorium for a wheelchair user. An adapted toilet can be found at the Stalls entrance on street level.
The nearest tube stations are Piccadilly Circus (150m) and Leicester Square (500m). There is a disabled parking spot in Suffolk Place. Other drivers can use the Westminster City Council car park at Whitcomb Street or the NCPs in Denman Street and Leicester Place.
In our travels around the web, we found these Haymarket, Theatre Royal web pages useful. Contact us at team@tubehotels.com to list your favourite Haymarket, Theatre Royal website here.