The Prince Edward Theatre is a
West End theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...
situated on
Old Compton Street
Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London.
History
The street was named after Henry Compton who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686. Th ...
, just north of
Leicester Square, in the
City of Westminster, London.
History
The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet.
[Earl and Sell (2000) pp. 132] Named after
Prince Edward (at the time Prince of Wales, briefly Edward VIII and later Duke of Windsor), it opened on 3 April 1930 with a performance of the musical ''
Rio Rita''.
[ Other notable events in its opening years included the London debut of famed cabaret artiste ]Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...
, who performed her famous 'Bananas Dance'.
In 1935, Stone converted the theatre to a dance and cabaret hall, being renamed the "London Casino".
As the London Casino, it was badly damaged and all its windows lost on 10 May 1941, in London's worst air raid of the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. All neighbouring buildings directly across Greek Street were destroyed.
Stage alterations were undertaken by Thomas Braddock in 1942, and that year the building re-opened as the "Queensberry All Services Club"—a club for servicemen where the shows were broadcast on the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. After the war, the architects T. and E. Braddock restored the building to theatrical use, becoming the "London Casino"