The Theatres Trust, the national advice and advocacy body for the UK’s theatres, has objected to plans submitted for the redevelopment of the historic West End venue the Saville Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in London.
The former theatre and cinema is set to be transformed into the first permanent UK home for Cirque du Soleil.
The Theatres Trust said in a statement that, “the plans, if permitted, would see the theatre space reduced and relocated to subterranean levels with the majority of the Grade II listed building converted to hotel use. Theatres Trust has objected to similar schemes for this site in the past and despite engaging proactively with the applicant, the current plans do not sufficiently overcome our concerns nor provide the best use of the building.”
The Trust said that the Saville Theatre is “vitally important as it offers the last remaining opportunity for a large-scale theatre in the world-renowned area known as ‘Theatreland’, which is a hugely important part of London’s cultural offer, a key driver of tourism, and a generator of significant local and national economic benefits.”
The Theatres Trust is also questioning whether other, more suitable operators could be found for the venue, saying: “We firmly believe that a dedicated theatre scheme with larger-scale offer is clearly the optimal use for the Saville, and crucially would be a better long-term opportunity for cultural and economic growth in the West End. It would be a welcome addition to both the local area and the UK’s theatre eco-system. We are confident that there are established theatre operators and producers who would be keen to take on an 800-1,000 seat venue and that this could be created without the additional non-cultural development and harm to the historic building required to create the proposed scheme. If the scheme goes ahead in its current form, it is a missed opportunity to revitalise an important theatre with tangible economic and cultural placemaking benefits.”
You can read the full response from the Theatres Trust to the new plans, here.
In March 2020 the Theatres Trust revealed that the Grade II listed Saville Theatre had been saved from redevelopment. Part of their justification for maintaining the building as an entertainment venue was that there is need and demand for additional large-scale theatre space within the West End, for which the Saville provides the last realistic opportunity to deliver due to its size, internal volume, access and its existing cultural use.
Earlier this month, we reported on how the redevelopment may take up to three years to complete. Kier, the contractor leading the project, has outlined a 38-month construction timeline in a newly submitted management plan as part of updated proposals to Camden Council. The redevelopment will see the former Odeon Covent Garden cinema at 135-149 Shaftesbury Avenue completely reimagined into a state-of-the-art performance space.
Architects SPPARC have already reworked their initial proposals to transform the Grade II-listed former theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue into a new venue since plans were submitted in March 2023, and Camden Council is now considering the new plans.
Commissioned by Olympia developer Yoo Capital, the ambitious plans aim to restore and enhance the site’s existing Grade II-listed features while integrating a theatre and a luxury hotel operated by Citizen M within a rooftop extension. Recent revisions to the design have scaled down the rooftop addition from seven-and-a-half storeys to five, while expanding the theatre’s seating capacity to over 600.
The project brings together a high-profile team, including architect SPPARC, planning and heritage consultants Montagu Evans, structural engineer Elliot Wood, sustainability expert Hoare Lea, landscape designer RPS Group, quantity surveyor Gardiner & Theobald, and transport consultant Momentum.
The venue was recently a four-screen Odeon cinema.
Previous designs for the redeveloped venue (c) SPPARC
News of the scheme with Cirque du Soleil was first announced in September 2023, with Yoo acquiring the building way back in November 2021. In January this year, developers were asked to justify current plans by Camden Council, which cautioned against designing it purely with Cirque du Soleil in mind, and asked why the proposed new theatre cannot be in the existing theatre building, rather than a vast “excavated basement”.
The theatre was originally designed by TP Bennett and Son with input from notable theatre architect Bertie Crewe and opened in 1931 with the play “For the Love of Mike”. The building was originally very opulent, and features a large, 40m frieze that runs across the entire front by Gilbert Bayes, depicting ‘Drama Through the Ages’, and is considered to be one of the most important works of public sculpture of the 1930s. The venue was originally one of the West End’s largest theatres with a capacity of 1,530 seats.
It has also been the venue for a series of famous concerts in the 60’s and 70’s including the Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Chuck Berry; and a West End theatre – with Cameron Mackintosh staging a revival of Anything Goes at the venue in November 1969 (sadly it only ran for 15 performances, with Marian Montgomery as Reno Sweeney, James Kenney as Billy Crocker and Michael Segal as Moonface Martin).
More Cirque du Soleil tickets at Royal Albert Hall
UPDATES (17 March 2025): Corrected the reference to the Saville Theatre being Cirque du Soleil’s first permanent European home. This will be in Berlin, Germany for ALIZÉ, opening in November 2025.
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