Theatre
Portrayed beautifully through literature, theatre was once the main staple of cultural entertainment. Subsequently there are now so many beautiful theatres up and down England that you can catch a popular West End show or a historic Shakespearian play whenever the fancy takes you!
The Old Vic. (London)
One of oldest theatres started life as the Royal Coburg in 1818, promising the nobility and the gentry 'entirely new entertainment... on a scale of magnitude and great expense'. After a number of years as a receiving house, The Old Vic's Chief Executive Sally Greene, Artistic Director Kevin Spacey and Producer David Liddiment, launched The Old Vic Theatre Company in 2004, with the aim of revitalising the Theatre and making it a destination as a producing house once again.
The Old Vic (www.oldvictheatre.com/index.php)
The National Theatre (London)
The Royal National Theatre was designed by Denys Lasdun and opened by the Queen in 1976. It has three theatres; The Olivier which is the biggest of the three, with a capacity of 1,160, The Lyttelton with a capacity of 890, and the small Cottesloe with a capacity of 400. All shows are usually in repertoire, which means you can see many productions in a week. The National show has a varied amount of productions, musicals, classics and new plays.
The Royal Opera House (Covent Garden London)
The Royal Opera House is one of the world's great theatres. Opened in 1728, it is now home to The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera. It is a centre of international excellence and a focal point of European artistic life. It's a place where past, present and future collide and mingle and where anything can happen. You can also get a backstage tour of the Royal Opera House offering a unique glimpse behind the scenes of one of the busiest international opera and ballet theatres in the world.
The Royal Opera House (www.royalopera.org/)
More info about Covent Garden, London
More info about London
RSC: The Swan and The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (Stratford-upon-Avon)
Royal Shakespeare Theatre: Originally opened in 1932, the RST is one of the most famous theatre spaces in the world and many leading actors from Britain and around the globe perform on its proscenium arch stage.
Swan Theatre: Opened in 1986 it is based on an Elizabethan playhouse. It is built inside the shell of the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, which was destroyed by fire in 1926.
Royal Shakespeare Theatre (www.rsc.org.uk/newsandevents/events/default.aspx)
More info on Stratford-upon-Avon
York Theatre Royal (York, Yorkshire)
Built on the ruins of the medieval St. Leonard’s Hospital in 1744, it was given a Royal Patent and the theatre was renamed the Theatre Royal. As a regional theatre, they try to provide something for everyone, from local to tourist and young to old.
York Theatre Royal (www.theatre-royal-york.co.uk/)
More info about York
The Bristol Old Vic (Bristol)
In 1766, over one hundred philanthropic merchants, lawyers and politicians clubbed together to open an illegal, back-street theatre, down an alley and through a courtyard off King Street in the Bristol docks’ district. It incorporates the eighteenth-century Coopers' Hall as its foyer and the Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually operating theatre in England.
The Bristol Old Vic (www.bristol-old-vic.co.uk/)
More info on Bristol
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