The Q Theatre was a British

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

located near Kew Bridge in

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, west

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, which operated between 1924 and 1958. It was built on the site of the former Kew Bridge Studios. The theatre, seating 490 in 25 rows with a central aisle, was opened in 1924 by Jack and Beatie de Leon with the financial support of Jack's sister Delia. It was one of a number of small, committed, independent theatre companies which included the Hampstead Everyman, the Arts Theatre Club and the Gate Theatre Studio. These theatres took risks by producing new and experimental plays which, although often at first thought to be commercially unviable on the West-End stage, later went on to transfer successfully. Actors including

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Organ ...

, Joan Collins,

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gon ...

, Margaret Lockwood, Barry Morse, and Anthony Quayle started their theatrical careers here. Peter Brook, Tony Richardson, Charles Hawtrey and William Gaskell directed plays here and the theatre staged the first plays of Terence Rattigan and William Douglas-Home.

Opening night

The new enterprise was originally advertised as "A Bright, Cosy Theatre for the presentation of successful WEST END PLAYS". The opening night was scheduled for September 1924, but the doors finally opened to the public on Boxing Day, 26 December 1924 with a production of Gertrude Jenning's ''The Young Person in Pink''. But the occasion was marred by the over-selling of tickets, resulting in a number of disappointed and angry ticket-holders.

Local press retrospective

In April 1992, the theatre critic of the '' Richmond and Twickenham Times'' series of local newspapers, wrote the following retrospective to welcome

Kenneth Barrow Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a b ...

's history of the theatre:

References

;Citations ;Further reading * Chambers, Colin (ed.), ''Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre'', Continuum, London (2002) {{Theatres in London 1924 establishments in England 1958 disestablishments in England Brentford, London Former theatres in London Theatres completed in 1924