Palace Theatre
Exterior view of the Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, 1890. This photograph by Bedford Lemere & Co Ltd. was taken during the construction of the building.
By Tim Devitt
Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue
The Palace Theatre was built by T E Collcutt and G H Holloway for Richard D'Oyly Carte, but financial failure soon forced its closure. In 1892 it reopened as the Palace Theatre of Varieties, a music hall where Anna Pavlova made her London debut in 1910. Subsequently in 1911 it became the Palace Theatre, but from 1919 to 1923 it was used mainly as a cinema. In 1924 it reopened as a theatre for musicals, for which it is known today.