Trafalgar Theatre

Trafalgar Theatre history

From the outside

Noticeable for its three surprisingly high arches, the Trafalgar Theatre (formerly known as Trafalgar Studios) was built in 1930 and fully reinstated in 2020 with a new, larger auditorium and stage.

Trafalgar Theatre architecture and history

The Trafalgar Theatre looks new. But looks are deceptive. There was a pub on the site from 1650 and while the theatre only opened in its current form in 2004, the original building dates back to 1930. Named the Whitehall Theatre, it was designed by Edward Stone with Art Deco interiors by Marc-Henri and Laverdet.

The Trafalgar Studios are tiny, as was the original Whitehall Theatre, which showed fringe productions and during World War Two, in 1942, actually hosted strippers, followed by a suite of popular comedies, the so-called Whitehall Farces, between 1950 and the late ‘60s. They even staged a nude show in 1969, which while highly controversial was also very popular!

In the 1970s the theatre failed and was replaced by a museum, set up without permission. In 1986 the theatre was refurbished and re-opened as a television and radio recording studio in the late 1990s, hosting the occasional play and concert.

The theatre was Grade 2 listed in 1996, mainly for the auditorium’s ‘decorative cohesion and prettiness’, with the ‘best surviving original fabric of this type of theatre’.

In the early 2000s the venue struck lucky, with a radical transformation that turned the building from a standard 700 seater into two delightfully intimate auditoriums with 380 and 100 seats respectively, designed by the architects Tim Foster and John Muir.

Until 2020, as Trafalgar Studios 1 and 2, it was a popular venue for intimate, small scale stage productions, and is owned by the Ambassador Theatre Group.

Past shows at the Trafalgar Theatre

Past hits at the Trafalgar Studios theatre, in its original form, include Three Sisters, Puppetry of the Penis, Rat Pack Confidential, and Sing-a-Long-a-ABBA. Sweeney Todd, Alan Bennett's The Old Country, Jane Eyre and Bent have also been staged there, as has Educating Rita, Confessions of a Dancewhore and State Fair.

Trafalgar Theatre access

The Trafalgar Theatre is accessible to wheelchairs. The main entrance is on Whitehall. If you can transfer to seating, you’re welcome to do so. Guide dogs are welcome in the auditoria, or staff can dog-sit if you prefer.

Trafalgar Theatre tickets

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