The Playhouse Theatre first opened on the 11th of March, 1882. Built by the architects F. H. Fowler and Hill under the direction of Sefton Henry Parry, it began it’s life calling itself by the name of the ‘Royal Avenue Theatre’. The first play to be shown there was ‘Madame Favart’ by Jacques Offenbach, the first success in a long line of great performances.
At first, the theatre concerned itself mainly with the lighthearted side of life, and specialised in opera buffa, burlesque theatre, and music hall comedy. Providing light relief for the masses was good work, but after a decade or so it began to branch out into more serious dramas. Indeed, this was the venue where the famous George Bernard Shaw chose to premier his piece ‘Arms and a Man’, the production of which was such a resounding success that he could become a full time dramatist.
However, the theatre was rebuilt at the beginning of the 1900’s, and opened in 1907 as ‘The Playhouse’, downsizing it’s auditorium and thus becoming more intimate. The first plays to be shows were ‘The Drums of Oudh’ and ‘Toddles’. During the first have of the 20th century it’s boards were trodden by such great acting names as Henry Daniell, Nigel Bruce and Alec Guinness.
The fifties saw it change hands to the BBC, becoming one of Auntie’s main live recording studios. Many of the shows that made the Beeb famous for it’s quality comedy were recorded here, such as ‘The Goon Show’, ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ and ‘Steptoe and Son’. Not restricted solely to Radio 4 programmes, the venue was also used as a temple of true rock and roll, giving a home to the mighty sounds of such bands as KISS, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones.
Since the BBC gave it up in the mid seventies, it has changed hands many times, through the possession of the notorious Jeffrey Archer, the famous Ray Cooney, and the banker Patrick Cole. It has performed many fantastic productions, including a version of Chekhov’s ‘The Three Sisters’ with Kristin Scott Thomas, R.C. Sherriff’s ‘Journey’s End’, Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, James M. Cain’s ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ with Val Kilmer, ‘As You Desire Me’ with Bob Hoskins, Alan Rickman and Katherine Vilner’s ‘My Name Is Rachel Corrie’, Richard O’Brien’s, ‘The Rocky Horror Show’, ‘Footloose – The Musical’, and Perry Henzel’s ‘The Harder They Come’.