Dates: 1892 – present
Address; 104 St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4BG
Arthur Earnshaw was a theatre electrician here when he founded Strand Electric with Phillip Sheridan in 1914.
Official website: http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/duke-of-yorks/
Owned by Ambassadors Theatre Group (ATG)
Originally called The Trafalgar Square Theatre, then The Trafalgar in 1894.
Floods
The theatre has twice suffered from flooding and had to cancel shows.
- January 2016 article (flood due to a burst water main adjacent to the theatre)
- April 29 2016 article
History (from official website)
The theatre, which opened on 10 September 1892 with Wedding Eve, was built for actors Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte. Initially called the Trafalgar Square, the name was shortened to Trafalgar in 1894 and the following year became the Duke of York’s to honour the future King George V. 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 what is probably his most famous opera; it was ultimately performed at the Duke of York’s in 1932 by the Carl Rosa Opera Company.
The 1930s brought a number of interesting seasons, amongst them, Grand Guignol, The Ballet Rambert and the notable appearances of Markova and Dolin which greatly helped to popularise ballet in England. In the late 1970s the freehold of the theatre was purchased by Capital Radio and it closed in 1979 for refurbishment. It reopened in February 1980 and the first production under the aegis of Capital Radio was Rose, starring Glenda Jackson. Other successes include Al Pacino’s award-winning performance in David Mamet’s American Buffalo, Richard Harris’ comedy Stepping Out, directed by Julia Mackenzie and Willy Russell’s Shirley Valentine.
Past Productions (some from http://www.dukeofyorkstheatre.co.uk, some from WhatsOnStage)
- The Pillowman (10 June 2023 – 2 September 2023) starring Lily Allen & Steve Pemberton
- Shirley Valentine (17 February 2023 – 3 June 2023) starring Sheridan Smith
- Up All Night (10 February 2023)
- Much Ado About Nothing (7 – 10 February 2023) National Youth Theatre
- Mother Goose (15 December 2022 – 29 January 2023) starring Ian McKellen & John Bishop
- The Doctor (29 September 2022 – 11 December 2022) starring Juliet Stevenson
- Gary Barlow – A Different Stage (30 August – 25 September 2022)
- The Glass Menagerie (previews from 23 May 2022, closed 28 August 2022) starring Amy Adams, directed by Jeremy Herrin
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane (23 October 2021 – 14 May 2022) by Neil Gaiman (National Theatre transfer)
- The Pillowman (24 July 2020 – 17 October 2020) starring Aaron Taylor Johnson and Steve Pemberton
- The Doctor (18 April 2020 – 18 July 2020)
- Blithe Spirit (5 March 2020 – 11 April 2020) starring Jennifer Saunders
- Touching the Void (9 November 2019 – 29 February 2020)
- The Son (24 August – 2 November 2019)
- The Girl the the Train (23 July – 17 August 2019)
- Rosmersholm (24 April – 20 July 2019) by Henrik Ibsen
- Home I’m Darling (February 2019 – April 2019)
- Summer and Smoke (10 November 2018 – 19 January 2019)
- King Lear (12 July 2018 – 3 November 2018) starring Ian McKellen
- The Moderate Soprano (April – June 2018)
- Mary Stuart (January – March 2018)
- Ink (September 2017 – January 2018)
- Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour (7 June 2017 – 2 September 2017)
- The Glass Menagerie (26 January – 29 April 2017)
- The Dresser (5 October 2016 – 14 January 2017) starring Ken Stott and Reece Shearsmith
- How the Other Half Loves (Wed 03 August 2016 – Sat 01 October 2016)
- Doctor Faustus (April – June 2016)
- The Father (March 2016)
- Goodnight Mister Tom (December 2015 – February 2016)
- Farinelli and the King (September – December 2015)
- Hetty Feather (August – September 2015)
- Hay Fever (May – August 2015)
- The Nether (January – April 2015)
- Neville’s Island (October 2014 – January 2015)
- Jeeves and Wooster: Perfect Nonsense (October 30th 2013 – 20 September 2014)
- A Doll’s House (8 August 2013 – 26 October 2013)
- Passion Play (7 May 2013 – 3 August 2013) by Peter Nichols, starring Zoë Wanamaker
- The Judas Kiss (17 January 2013 – 6 April 2013) by David Hare, starring Rupert Everett and Freddie Fox
- Constellations (16 November 2012 – 5 January 2013) by Nick Payne
- Jumpy (28 August 2012 – 3 November 2012) by April de Angelis, starring Tamsin Greig
- Posh (May – August 2012)
- All New People (February – April 2012)
- Backbeat (10 October 2011 – 18 February 2012), co-written by Iain Softley and Stephen Jeffreys
- Journey’s End (19 July 2011 – 3 September 2011) by RC Sherriff, directed by David Grindley
- Ghost Stories (June 2010 – July 2011)
- Speaking in Tongues (18 September 2009 – 12 December 2009) by Andrew Bovell starring John Simm
- Arcadia (27 May 2009 – 12 September 2009) by Tom Stoppard
- A View From The Bridge (February – May 2009)
- No Man’s Land (7 October 2008 – 3 January 2009) by HaroldPinter, starring Michael Gambon, David Walliams, David Bradley and Nick Dunning
- Under the Blue Sky (25 July 2008 – 20 September 2008) by David Eldridge, starring Catherine Tate, Francesca Annis and Dominic Rowan
- That Face (1 May 2008 – 5 July 2008) by Polly Stenham, starring Lindsay Duncan, Hannah Murray and Matt Smith
- The Magic Flute (February 2008 – April 2008)
- Rent Remixed (16 October 2007 – 2 February 2008), by Jonathan Larson, starring Denise Van Outen (succeeded 24 December 2007 by Jessie Wallace)
- 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
- Little Shop of Horrors (12 March 2007 – 23 June 2007) by Alan Menken, starring Sheridan Smith, Paul Keating and Alistair McGowan
- Rock ‘n’ Roll (22 July 2006 – 24 February 2007) by Tom Stoppard, starring David Calder, Emma Fielding, Dominic West, Rufus Sewell, and Nicola Bryant
- Embers (1 March 2006 – 24 June 2006) by Sandor Marai, adapted by Christopher Hampton, starring Jeremy Irons and Patrick Malahide
- Hedda Gabler (23 May 2005 – ?) starring Eve Best
- The Dresser (28 February 2005 – ?) starring Nicholas Lyndhurst and Julian Glover
- Journey’s End (5 October 2004 – 19 February 2005) by R.C. Sherriff
- Dirty Blonde (16 June 2004 – 28 August 2004) by Claudia Shear
- The Holy Terror (8 April 2004 – 8 May 2004) by Simon Gray, starring Simon Callow
- Calico (Previews 20 February 2004, Opened 6 March 2004, Closed 3 April 2004)
- Sweet Panic (November 2003 – 7 February 2004) starring Jane Horrocks, Victoria Hamilton, John Gordon Sinclair. Written & Directed by Stephen Poliakoff
- After Mrs Rochester (22 July 2003 – 25 October 2003) by Polly Teale – Shared Experience production
- Stones In His Pockets (2001)
- The Weir – ran for 2 years & won 1999 Olivier Award for Best New Play. By Conor McPherson, directed by Ian Rickson.
- Shirley Valentine (1989/1990 – transfer from the Vaudeville Theatre)
- Stepping Out (24 September 1984 – 1 July 1987)
- American Buffalo (1984) starring Al Pacino
- The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthasar B (30 September 1981 – ?)
- An Evening with Quentin Crisp (14 – 28 August 1981)
- With A Little Help From My Friends (31 July – 8 August 1981) Beatles compilation
- Duet for One (23 September 1980 – 25 July 1981) transfer from Bush (15 Feb 1980)
- Grand Guignol (1930s) [second series July 1932, featuring The Vigil]
- Wedding Eve (10 September 1892)
Equipment
1971 (from The Stage Guide)
Electrics: Strand Grand Master on SL perch. Dimmers – 73 (32 x 1.5kW, 26 x 1kW, 12 x 750W, 3 x 300W all +/- 1/3). Circuits – FOH 10 (on Circle); Flies 44 (with patch to FOH boxes); Stage dips 12 (with additional 7 in the floats). Socket type – 15A BESA. Total capacity available – 500A on 3 phases. Special effects supply – 2 x 60A on 1 phase. Follow spots – none. Footlights cannot be covered.
Sound: Console position SL. 3 amplifiers installed in the theatre, but all other equipment has to be hired for each production. Mic sockets – 1 in floats. Loudspeakers – 2 FOH.
The Theatres Trust
Duke of Yorks Theatre on the Theatres Trust Database
