'For beauty and size Wimbledon Theatre would not disgrace Shaftesbury Avenue'The Times
Having stood proudly on Wimbledon’s Broadway since 1910, Wimbledon Theatre (as it was originally named) has gone from strength to strength and garnered a glittering reputation as a premier theatrical venue in South West London.
The Grade II listed building consists of a beautiful Edwardian auditorium decorated in both Georgian and Italian renaissance styles across three levels of seating. With a capacity of over 1,500 (making it one of the largest theatres in London) the venue continues to play host to numerous touring productions of musicals, ballets, operas and plays, as well as an annual pantomime each Christmas.
As one of the few surviving and refurbished Theatres of architectural merit on the very edge of London, New Wimbledon Theatre has a glittering history of previous star performers such as Marlene Dietrich, Laurel and Hardy, Dirk Bogarde and Gracie Fields, as well as boasting world premieres of such famous productions as Lionel Bart’s ‘Oliver!’ and ‘Half a Sixpence’ which starred Tommy Steele. In 2008 it was chosen as the venue for HRH the Prince of Wales’ 60th Birthday Gala ‘We are Most Amused’ which saw Robin Williams, John Cleese and Joan Rivers on our stage and joined by a host of home-grown and international comedic talent in aid of The Princes Trust.
New Wimbledon Theatre is also hugely proud of its reputation as ‘the Home of London Pantomime’ and each year stages full-scale traditional productions which have included star performances from John Barrowman, Henry ‘The Fonz’ Winkler, Joanna Page, Gareth Gates and Ross Kemp, Brian Blessed, Ruby Wax, Anita Dobson, Paul O’Grady, Louie Spence and Baywatch stars Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff in their much publicised pantomime debuts.
