The Other Palace is a theatre in London's Off West End which opened on 18 September 2012 as the St. James Theatre. It features a 312-seat main theatre and a 120-seat studio theatre. It was built on the site of the former Westminster Theatre, which was damaged by a fire in 2002 and subsequently demolished. It was owned by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

's Really Useful Theatres Group from 2016 to 2021, which gave it its current name. Described as "the first newly built theatre complex in central London for 30 years", the building was designed by Foster Wilson Architects. The theatre began its debut season in September 2012 with the London premiere of

Sandi Toksvig Sandra Birgitte Toksvig (; ; born 3 May 1958) is a Danish-British broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the Women's Equality Party in 2015. She ha ...

's '' Bully Boy''. After its acquisition by Really Useful Theatres Group, Paul Taylor Mills was appointed as the new artistic director, with a programme intended to develop new musicals. The name change became official in February 2017. In June 2018, Chris Harper stepped into the role of Director of Programming. In May 2021, Lloyd Webber announced he was putting the theatre up for sale, calling the decision "heart-wrenching" and adding that he hoped "the future owners will love it as much as I have." In October 2021, it was announced the theatre had been sold to

Bill Kenwright William Kenwright (4 September 1945 – 23 October 2023) was an English theatre and film producer. He was also the chairman of Everton Football Club for nearly two decades, from 2004 until his death in 2023. Early life Kenwright was born in ...

. Kenwright had previously produced musicals including ''Heathers'' and ''Be More Chill'' at The Other Palace.

Notable productions

* ''La Strada'' – London transfer following UK tour, directed by Sally Cookson, starring Audrey Brisson * '' The Last Five Years'' (2016) – starring

Jonathan Bailey Jonathan Stuart Bailey (born 25 April 1988) is an English actor known for his dramatic, comedic, and musical roles on List of Jonathan Bailey performances, stage and screen. List of awards and nominations received by Jonathan Bailey, His accola ...

and

Samantha Barks Samantha Jane Barks (born 2 October 1990) is a British actress and singer who rose to fame after placing third in the BBC talent show-themed television series '' I'd Do Anything'' in 2008. She has released three studio albums: ''Looking in Y ...

* ''The Wild Party'' (2017) – starring Frances Ruffelle and

John Owen-Jones John Owen-Jones (born 5 May 1971) is a Welsh musical theatre actor and singer, best known for his portrayals of Jean Valjean in Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's ''Les Misérables'' and The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''The Ph ...

* ''

Big Fish ''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy drama film directed by Tim Burton. It is based on the 1998 novel '' Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions'' by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange ...

'' (2017) – UK premiere starring

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained fame for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984–1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993–2004, and again F ...

, directed by Nigel Harman * ''

Eugenius! ''Eugenius!'' is an original musical comedy featuring book, music and lyrics by Ben Adams and Chris Wilkins. Production history London Palladium concert (2016) After two years of extensive workshops with the writers and original creatives, t ...

'' (2018) – World premiere (following concert at

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

in 2016) * '' Heathers The Musical'' (2018 – 2023) – UK premiere (following workshop in the studio in 2017) before transferring to the

Theatre Royal Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

, starring

Carrie Hope Fletcher Carrie Hope Fletcher (born 22 October 1992) is an English West End theatre actress and singer. Her performances include the roles of Éponine and Fantine in ''Les Misérables'', starring as Veronica Sawyer in the original West End production ...

* ''The Messiah'' (2018) – London transfer following UK tour, written and directed by

Patrick Barlow Evan George Patrick Barlow (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor, comedian and playwright. His comedic alter ego, ''Desmond Olivier Dingle'', is the founder, artistic director and chief executive of the two-man National Theatre of Brent, whic ...

, starring

Hugh Dennis Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and writer. He was a panellist in every episode of the comedy show ''Mock the Week'' (2005–2022) and is one half ...

Martin Marquez Martin Joseph Marquez (born 8 October 1964) is an English actor. He is best known on television for his role as Gino Primirola, the head barman, in the British television comedy drama '' Hotel Babylon''. He also played Danny Pearce in ''The Bi ...

and

Lesley Garrett Lesley Garrett, CBE (born 10 April 1955) is an English soprano singer, musician, broadcaster and media personality who is noted for being at home in opera and "crossover music". Early life Garrett was born in the town of Thorne, near Doncas ...

* ''

Falsettos ''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical theatre, musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of ''March of the Falsettos'' (1981) and ''Falsettoland'' (1990), the last two installment ...

'' (2019) – UK premiere starring

Daniel Boys Daniel Boys (born 26 March 1979) is an English actor. He starred in the West End productions of the musicals ''Rent'' and ''Grease'' before being a 2007 contestant on the BBC talent series '' Any Dream Will Do''. Boys went on to star in many ...

, Joel Montague,

Laura Pitt-Pulford Laura Pitt-Pulford is a British actress, best known for her work in musical theatre and for playing Carol Butler in ''Emmerdale''. Early life Pitt-Pulford grew up in Rugby, joined a local youth operatic group at age 12, and trained in drama at ...

, Oliver Savile. Natasha J Barnes, Gemma Knight-Jones * ''

Amélie ''Amélie'' (, , ) is a 2001 French-language romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Written by Jeunet with Guillaume Laurant, the film is a whimsical depiction of contemporary Parisian life, set in Montmartre. It tells the story ...

'' (2019) – UK premiere (London transfer following UK tour), starring Audrey Brisson * '' Be More Chill'' (2020) – UK premiere (cut short due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

) * '' Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical'' (2024) – UK premiere * ''The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical'' (2024) – UK premiere * ''50 First Dates: The Musical'' (2025) – World premiere

External links

Official website

References

Theatres in the City of Westminster Theatres completed in 2012 2012 establishments in England {{UK-theat-stub