Duke of York’s Theatre

I must confess that I fell in love with the beauty and intimacy of this theatre. I was lucky enough to get a great seat last minute to see ‘Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense’ starring Robert Webb, Mark Heap and Mark Hadfield. It was such an incredibly delightful play. Easily my favorite show I saw while in Lodnon I was extremely pleased that my ticket was so affordable considering the actors are pretty popular. Even better, I was smack dab in the center and could actually see every single emotive expression on the actors faces. I probably should mention that I bought a discounted ticket through Time Out London.
One thing that’s great about this theatre is the fact it’s so easy to find, close to a Tube station, surrounded by great restaurants and other theatres. The staff was very friendly, polite and helpful. The bar on the second floor has a pretty good assortment of wine at standard London prices. The ladies room was very small on both floors and long queues would form which caused everyone some nervousness about missing the second act. Luckily they give a good amount of time before it begins since an empty glass should be pitied, an empty glass should be filled!

The Duke of York’s Theatre in St Martin’s Lane was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. It opened in 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre. The theatre was designed by architect Walter Emden became known as the Trafalgar Theatre in 1894 and changed to its current name ‘The Duke of York’ the following year to honour the future King George V.
I’ve seen many productions here over the years. It almost feels like the West End branch of Sloane Square’s Royal Court theatre, as so many of the successful productions there have transferred her. This includes the latest play ‘The Nether’, which transferred after a sell-​out season at the Royal Court, with numerous 5 star reviews. This is the production I went to see.
It is obvious that a lot of effort has been put into renovating the theatre. The Ambassador Theatre Group, who are the owners of this theatre, also have their HQ here. The foyer is quiet small. In fact it is quite a small compact theatre all together. This works great, as I was seated the centre of the Royal Circle, and the production still felt quiet intimate.
The Royal Circle also boasts a smashing bar. The Terrace Bar, could work well as a stand-​alone bar. It felt more than just a theatre bar. Even the prices were good. A bottle of Prosecco was priced at £20.50. A spirit with mixer was £4.50, with an additional £1 option for a double.
A really nice theatre, with a lot of effort put in by the owners to make it a pleasurable experience for theatre goers. The only downer I have (as with many theatres in the West End), is the toilets. I was in the Royal Circle, and had to go down to the foyer, and then down into the basement before I could find a gents.