St. James Theatre in London's Victoria Opens In September

St. James Theatre in London’s Victoria Opens In September

February 13, 2012 By The Londoneer

Right next door to the building where I currently work is the first purpose-built theatre complex to be opened in London for 30 years – the St. James. Due to open its doors this September the building, which sits on a sidestreet just across from Buckingham Palace, occupies the same parcel of land as the Westminster Theatre which was sadly demolished in 2002 after a fire gutted 75% of the building.

When it opens in the autumn the St.James will have a 312 seat main auditorium, along with a studio space and a street-facing restaurant and bar. The building was designed by Foster Wilson Architects and the interior has been overseen by Lambart & Browne, with artist Mark Humphrey being responsible for a large installation in the main staircase which will be a focal point for the theatre. The first season of plays and shows for the new theatre are currently being worked on, with an announcement from Artistic Director David Gilmore expected in April – it is hoped that the theatre will host a broad range of productions, from musicals through to touring and regional productions. The studio space in the building will seat 100 or accommodate 150 standing, with the intention of using this part of the venue for live comedy, jazz and cabaret. Being a new theatre they’ve also incorporated as many new innovations as possible – for example there will be a multi-media broadcast facility which will allow shows to be broadcast and streamed live, without the need to park big TV vans outside!

I’m very pleased to see a theatre come back to this site, as visitors to Victoria will finally be able to see something other than a big West End musical on stage, which the other two theatres in the area always cater for. I wish the St. James Theatre the best of luck. You can keep an eye on developments on their website here as the opening date approaches.