Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 2021

Theatre Royal Drury Lane is one of the world’s most important theatres, in operation since 1663. This project, for LW Theatres, has involved seven years of painstaking research, analysis, design and craftsmanship to bring London’s grandest venue back to life. A central part of the project vision was to reveal and restore the 1812 foyers and staircases and to democratise the previously segregated circulation into the auditorium. A new lift, along with fully accessible circulation at each level, has ensured that every audience member can now experience the grandeur of the architecture. New bars, retail space and furniture enable the theatre to operate viably throughout the day and evening. Wyatt’s multi-tiered, enveloping auditorium was replaced entirely in the 1920s when a more disengaged, cinematic style of seating arrangement was fashionable, so a crucial aspect of our work has been to bring the audience into a closer and more direct relationship with the stage. The redecorated auditorium has been fully re-seated and technically refitted so that for the first time it will be possible to arrange the theatre in unconventional formats for specific productions. With major technical renewal of the stagehouse, greatly increased restroom provision and full refurbishment of the dressing rooms, the entire building has been restored and upgraded.

“The wait, and the investment, has been worth it. Staggeringly beautiful, the Lane – as it is affectionately referred to – is a gift to Theatreland and to future generations of theatregoers” The Stage