Criterion Theatre
Criterion Theatre accessibility information
Access phone number: 020 7839 8811
Access email address: [email protected]
Accessible toilets situated: Upper Circle
Number of Wheelchair spaces: Upper Circle x2
Sound amplification: Sennheiser Infrared
Access from street to foyer: N/A
Access from theatre foyer to seats (number = stairs): 32 to Stalls, 54 to Dress Circle, 23 to Upper Circle
Level access: To Upper Circle via Jermyn St
What date did the Criterion Theatre open?
21 March 1874
Who designed the Criterion Theatre?
Thomas Verity
What was the first production at the Criterion Theatre?
An American Lady by Henry J. Byron and Topsyturveydom by W.S.Gilbert and Alfred Cellier
At the tail end of the 19th century, London was undergoing major changes with slum clearances allowing the development of sewage and power networks, better highways and, as a result, there was a building boom of theatres and live entertainment spaces.
With the creation of Shaftesbury Avenue and the widening of Piccadilly Circus, the Australian caterers Felix William Spiers and Christopher Pond acquired the site of the old White Bear coaching inn on the south side of Piccadilly Circus, with the idea of creating an entertainment complex and attached restaurant and bar.
Thomas Verity won a competition, from 15 submissions, to build the Criterion restaurant with a bar and gallery, a large concert hall underneath and a ballroom above. During construction, plans were altered and the concert hall became a smaller, more glamorous theatre. The tile designs on the main access staircase with the names of classical composers still reflect the original intention to create a music venue.
The theatre opened on 21 March 1874 under the management of H J Byron who also wrote and acted in the opening production of An American Lady, presented with a short piece by W S Gilbert called Topsyturvydom.
The theatre was lit by gas which, being entirely underground, meant an air circulation system was required to avoid asphyxiating audiences, making The Criterion one of the earliest air-conditioned buildings in London.
After only a year, the management was taken over by Charles Wyndham who found great success presenting adaptations of French farces with the more risqué elements toned down for British sensibilities. Wyndham’s initials still form part of the auditorium decoration.
Mary Moore first appeared on The Criterion stage in 1886 and soon established herself as Wyndham’s leading lady and in 1916 they were married. Wyndham left to manage his own theatre on St Martin’s Lane in 1899 leaving the management to Mary who remained in charge until her death in 1931 when control of the venue passed to her son, Sir Bronson Albery.
There were alterations at ground floor level in 1905 adding new doors to Piccadilly Circus and the distinctive glass canopy was added to the front of the building in 1908.
With 588 seats over three levels the auditorium made a perfect space for intimate plays and comedies and, over the years, has hosted many great performances and long runs including the farce A Little Bit of Fluff from 1915 to 1918. In the 1920s Sybil Thorndike and Marie Tempest headlined productions and in the following decade John Gielgud and Ivor Novello had successes, and Terence Rattigan’s French Without Tears ran for 1039 performances.
During the second world war its underground location made it a perfectly safe recording and
broadcasting studio for the BBC radio service. Theatrical performances began again in 1945 when Dame Edith Evans opened in The Rivals. In 1955 Sir Peter Hall directed two avant-garde productions transferred from the Arts Theatre with the original production of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Anouilh’s The Waltz of the Toreadors.
The theatre was threatened by destruction in 1958 when plans were announced to redevelop Piccadilly with elevated promenades and shopping malls built over major highways at ground level. The Save London’s Theatres campaign and major protests led by John Gielgud, Edward Woodward, Diana Rigg, Robert Morley and Prunella Scales thankfully put an end to the plans. Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey was playing on stage at the time.
Iris Murdoch’s A Severed Head achieved 1043 performances in the 1960s followed by the
comedies Loot by Joe Orton and Tom Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound and a personal triumph for Roy Dotrice with his one-man show Brief Lives.
A rich variety of product was provided through the 1970s including Alan Bates in Simon Gray’s Butley, Alan Ayckbourn’s Absurd Person Singular, two seasons of Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett, Ian McKellen and Tom Bell in Bent, the Tom Lehrer revue Tomfoolery and Dario Fo’s anarchic comedy Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!
In March 1978 Ian Albery took over the theatre management from his father Sir Donald Albery who, in turn, had previously succeeded his own father.
The Maybox Group acquired the theatre in 1984. 1983 saw the start of another long run with Ray Cooney’s Run for Your Wife giving in excess of 1600 performances only surpassed by the residencies of The Reduced Shakespeare Company which ran for 9 years from March 1996 and The 39 Steps which also ran for 9 years from September 2005.
The theatre was forced to close in 1989 for three years while the surrounding office block across the whole south side of Piccadilly Circus was developed around it. It re-opened in 1992 when Robert Bourne and Sally Greene acquired the lease and established The Criterion Theatre Trust. The surrounding development by Renton Howard Wood Levin allowed the creation of larger modern front of house and stage facilities and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen was appointed as design consultant for the auditorium decoration. The theatre is today still run by the independent charitable trust.
The most recent long runner was Mischief Theatre’s The Comedy About a Bank Robbery which opened in 2016, closing with the pandemic forced closure of theatres on the 16th March 2020. The Criterion re-opened post-Covid with the musical Amélie, followed by Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of), 2:22 A Ghost Story and The Unfriend.
Past shows that have played at the Criterion Theatre include:
I Wish You Well: The Gwyneth Paltrow Ski-Trial Musical
Sondheim Theatre
Garrick Theatre
Lyceum Theatre
Lyric Theatre
Cambridge Theatre
Playhouse Theatre (Kit Kat Club)
