The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on the Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Grade II listedEdwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J. B. Mulholland, who at the time was also owner of the King's Theatre in Hammersmith and had owned the Theatre Metropole in Camberwell in the 1890's.[2][1] Built on the site of a large house with spacious grounds, the theatre was designed by Cecil Aubrey Massey and Roy Young (possibly following a 1908 design by Frank H. Jones).[1] It seems to have been the only British theatre to have included a Victorian-style Turkish bath in the basement.[3] The theatre opened on 26 December 1910 with the pantomimeJack and Jill.
With several refurbishments, most notably in 1991 and 1998, the theatre retains its baroque and Adamesque internal features. The golden statue atop the dome is Laetitia, the Roman Goddess of Gaiety (although many refer to her as the theatre's "angel") and was an original fixture back in 1910. Laetitia is holding a laurel crown as a symbol of celebration. The statue was removed in World War II as it was thought to be a direction finding device for German bombers, and replaced in 1991.
The main auditorium is adjoined by the smaller black box space of the Time and Leisure Studio, a flexible space seating up to 80 people. It is often home to small drama and comedy productions, often prior to West End or Edinburgh Festival runs each summer. Up From Paradise, the only musical written by Arthur Miller, directed by Patrick Kennedy received its London premiere at the Studio in July 2014 following a successful year of musical programming.[5]
Recent history
Until 2001, the theatre was owned and operated by the Wimbledon Civic Theatre Trust, on behalf of the London Borough of Merton, who still own the freehold of the building. The trust was responsible for overseeing a multimillion-pound refurbishment in the late 1990s, incorporating a brand new backstage area, fly tower, and a complete re-seating of the orchestra stalls as well as redecoration of the interior. During this period, the theatre was closed for an entire year.
The venue fell into severe financial difficulties in 2003 and was forced to close. Following lengthy talks between leading producers, local councillors, and companies, in autumn 2003 a deal was agreed for the theatre to be managed by the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG).[6]
Following a name change to the New Wimbledon Theatre, the venue reopened in February 2004 with Matthew Bourne's production of The Nutcracker followed by a season of touring musicals, dance, and ballet, culminating in the London revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats.
The theatre has since played host to a large variety of major touring productions, plus the UK launch of Josef Weinberger's UK collection of Disney musicals available to amateur companies throughout the British Isles. In 2010, the national tour of Spamalot, the musical based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, opened at the New Wimbledon.
It has also been home to residencies of many Matthew Bourne productions including Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Edward Scissorhands, The Car Man, Highland Fling and The Red Shoes.
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