The Venue Leicester Square
Encyclopedia
The Leicester Square Theatre (formerly The Venue), is a 420-seat studio theatre
in Leicester Square
, in the City of Westminster
, London, which opened in 2002 with the premier of Boy George
's Taboo
. The building originated as the Notre Dame Hall in 1953, replacing an earlier building that had been destroyed by World War II
bombing. It was used as a French cultural centre, until the 1970s when the hall became a venue for punk music. This use for live music and as a dance hall, continued until it was converted to a theatre in 2001.
Prior to 1988 there was a cinema
known as The Leicester Square Theatre. This still exists and is now known as the Odeon West End
. In July 2008 Paul L Martin created a cabaret space in the basement of the theatre, The Basement, now alsoknown as The Lounge.
The theatre is open-plan with grandstand-style seating, flexible staging and is situated beneath the Notre Dame French Catholic Church.
Among its famous productions have included the world premiere of the Boy George musical Taboo
which played a highly successful run before transferring to Broadway, Round The Horne
and two seasons of the cult hit Australian comedy The Vegemite Tales
. The venue is a popular place for stand-up comedy and small musical productions as well as plays and comedies. American comedian Joan Rivers
made her acting debut in August 2008 with her new play, Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress which played a total of 75 performances to celebrate her birthday. Leicester Square Theatre is owned and run by Artistic director Martin Witts.
Doug Stanhope
Jerry Sadowitz
Stewart Lee
Rosanne Barr
Greg Davies
Bill Burr
Demetri Martin
Idiots of Ants
Sandra Bernhard
Joan Rivers
Get Happy
Burnt Oak
Joan Collins
Tom Stade
Reginald D Hunter
Roy Walker
Buddy Greco
Macy Gray
Funny Women
Fast Fringe
Bouncers
Michael Macintyre
Bill Bailey
Frankie Boyle
Stick Man
Studio Theatre
A studio theatre is a 20th-century term that describes a small theatre space. Studio theatres often have a flexible auditorium whose stage and seating may be re-arranged to suit the specific requirements of a production...
in Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
, in the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, London, which opened in 2002 with the premier of Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
's Taboo
Taboo (musical)
Taboo is a stage musical with a book by Mark Davies , lyrics by Boy George, and music by George and Kevan Frost....
. The building originated as the Notre Dame Hall in 1953, replacing an earlier building that had been destroyed by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
bombing. It was used as a French cultural centre, until the 1970s when the hall became a venue for punk music. This use for live music and as a dance hall, continued until it was converted to a theatre in 2001.
Prior to 1988 there was a cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
known as The Leicester Square Theatre. This still exists and is now known as the Odeon West End
Odeon West End
The Odeon West End is a cinema on the south side of Leicester Square, London. It contains two screens—screen 1 seats 500 and screen 2 seats 832 . Both house large screens in comfortable auditoria...
. In July 2008 Paul L Martin created a cabaret space in the basement of the theatre, The Basement, now alsoknown as The Lounge.
The theatre is open-plan with grandstand-style seating, flexible staging and is situated beneath the Notre Dame French Catholic Church.
Among its famous productions have included the world premiere of the Boy George musical Taboo
Taboo (musical)
Taboo is a stage musical with a book by Mark Davies , lyrics by Boy George, and music by George and Kevan Frost....
which played a highly successful run before transferring to Broadway, Round The Horne
Round the Horne
Round the Horne was a BBC Radio comedy programme, transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The series was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman - with others contributing to later series after Feldman returned to performing — and starred Kenneth Horne, with Kenneth...
and two seasons of the cult hit Australian comedy The Vegemite Tales
The Vegemite Tales
The Vegemite Tales is a comedy theatrical production written by Australian playwright Melanie Tait. The play revolves around the lives of a group of young antipodeans sharing a flat in London. It has been described as an Australian stage version of Friends...
. The venue is a popular place for stand-up comedy and small musical productions as well as plays and comedies. American comedian Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
made her acting debut in August 2008 with her new play, Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress which played a total of 75 performances to celebrate her birthday. Leicester Square Theatre is owned and run by Artistic director Martin Witts.
Productions
- Taboo (musical)Taboo (musical)Taboo is a stage musical with a book by Mark Davies , lyrics by Boy George, and music by George and Kevan Frost....
(2002) - Saucy Jack and the Space VixensSaucy Jack and the Space VixensSaucy Jack and the Space Vixens is a cult science fiction musical reminiscent of The Rocky Horror Show. The 2006 West End run starred Faye Tozer and was choreographed by Bruno Tonioli...
(Winter 2005-6) - Pete & Dud: Come Again
- The Vegemite TalesThe Vegemite TalesThe Vegemite Tales is a comedy theatrical production written by Australian playwright Melanie Tait. The play revolves around the lives of a group of young antipodeans sharing a flat in London. It has been described as an Australian stage version of Friends...
(Summer/Autumn 2006) by Melanie Tait, starring Patrick HarveyPatrick HarveyPatrick Harvey is an Irish/Australian actor. He played Northern Irish immigrant Connor O'Neill on the television soap opera Neighbours. His first appearance on the soap was in April 2002...
and Blair McDonoughBlair McDonoughBlair McDonough is an actor who is best known for playing the role of Stuart Parker in the Australian TV soap opera Neighbours. He first shot to fame in 2001, when he finished runner-up in the inaugural season of the reality TV series Big Brother Australia... - Icons in London (Spring 2007), starring Greg LondonGreg LondonGreg London is an American singer, entertainer and impressionist. After a solo hit show in London's West End, he enjoyed a lengthy residency in Reno, Nevada before announcing his move to the Las Vegas Strip in mid 2010.-Early life:...
- Side by Side by SondheimSide By Side By SondheimSide by Side by Sondheim is a musical revue featuring the songs of Broadway and film composer Stephen Sondheim. Its title is derived from the song "Side by Side by Side" from Company.-History:...
(April - June 2007) by Stephen SondheimStephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, starring Christopher CazenoveChristopher CazenoveChristopher Cazenove was an English cinema, television and stage actor.-Early life and career:He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, the son of Arnold de Lerisson Cazenove and Elizabeth Laura in Winchester, Hampshire, but was brought up in Bowlish, Somerset...
, Angela RipponAngela RipponAngela M. Rippon, OBE, born 12 October 1944, Plymouth, Devon, England, is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and television news programmes in South West England before moving to BBC One's Nine O'Clock News, becoming a regular presenter in 1975...
, Les DennisLes DennisLes Dennis is an English comedian, television presenter and actor best known as the host of Family Fortunes for 15 years.-Early life:...
and Barry CryerBarry CryerBarry Charles Cryer OBE is a British writer and comedian. Cryer has written for many noted performers, including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory Bremner, George Burns, Jasper Carrott, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Kenny Everett, Bruce Forsyth, David Frost, Bob Hope, Frankie... - The Vegemite TalesThe Vegemite TalesThe Vegemite Tales is a comedy theatrical production written by Australian playwright Melanie Tait. The play revolves around the lives of a group of young antipodeans sharing a flat in London. It has been described as an Australian stage version of Friends...
(26 July 2007 - 27 October 2007) by Melanie Tait - DARK (28 October 2007 - 28 August 2008)
- Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in ProgressJoan RiversJoan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
(29 August 2008 - 18 September 2008) by Joan RiversJoan RiversJoan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries... - AlexAlex (comic strip)Alex is a British cartoon strip by Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor. It first appeared in the short-lived London Daily News in 1987. It moved to The Independent later that year and then to the Daily Telegraph in 1992....
(25 November 2008 - 20 December 2008) by Charles PeattieCharles PeattieCharles Peattie is a British cartoonist, best known as half of the team that creates the comic strip Alex. He has two daughters and two sons...
and Russell TaylorRussell TaylorRussell Taylor MBE is a British writer, journalist and composer. He is best known as half of the team that created the comic strip Alex. He studied at St Anne's College, Oxford...
, starring Robert BathurstRobert BathurstRobert Guy Bathurst is an English actor. Bathurst was born in the Gold Coast in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. His family moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1959 and Bathurst was enrolled at an Anglican boarding school... - Cheese 'n' Crackers (July - December 2008) produced by Paul L Martin
- Frisky & Mannish's School of PopFrisky and MannishFrisky & Mannish is a musical comedy cabaret double act based in London, England.Formed in March 2008 by writers and performers Laura Corcoran and Matthew Floyd Jones, the duo is best known for a style of pop culture parody that consists of the musical and dramatic rearrangement of well-known pop...
(February - July 2009; Basement)
Doug Stanhope
Jerry Sadowitz
Stewart Lee
Rosanne Barr
Greg Davies
Bill Burr
Demetri Martin
Idiots of Ants
Sandra Bernhard
Joan Rivers
Get Happy
Burnt Oak
Joan Collins
Tom Stade
Reginald D Hunter
Roy Walker
Buddy Greco
Macy Gray
Funny Women
Fast Fringe
Bouncers
Michael Macintyre
Bill Bailey
Frankie Boyle
Stick Man