Duke of York's Theatre

Duke of York's Theatre, West End theatre, situated in St Martin’s Lane, London. It opened in 1892 and was originally called the Trafalgar Square Theatre, becoming the Duke of York’s Theatre three years later. Productions at the Duke of York’s included a successful musical in 1896 and premieres of The Admirable Crichton (1902) and Peter Pan (1904), both by J. M. Barrie. The American theatre manager Charles Frohman attempted to establish a repertory company at the theatre in 1910, but despite a strong repertoire of contemporary plays, the attempt was ultimately unsuccessful. Later productions included The Killing Of Sister George (1965) by Frank Marcus and Relatively Speaking (1967) by Alan Ayckbourn, the latter's first big West End success. The theatre was acquired and refitted by London’s Capital Radio, reopening in 1980 with an inbuilt broadcasting studio. Richard Harris' comedy Stepping Out was a hit in 1984, and the controversial David Mamet play Oleanna transferred from the Royal Court in 1993; The Last Yankee (1993) and Broken Glass (1994), both by Arthur Miller, were also staged at the Duke of York's. Subsequent productions have included the Olivier Award-winning plays The Weir (1998) by Conor McPherson and Stones in His Pockets (2000) by Marie Jones. At one time, the retiring room of the Royal Box at the Duke of York’s Theatre had interior decoration designed by Sir Cecil Beaton, although the room has since been altered.