The Grade II-listed Garrick Theatre, named after the renowned 18th-century stage actor DAvid Garrick, has 718 seats over three levels.
Financed by W S Gilbert, of the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas, the Garrick was designed by Walter Emden, with C J Phipps brought in as a consultant to help with the planning on the difficult site, which included an underground river. It opened on 24 April 1889 with a production of Arthur Wing Pinero's The Profligate.
Historically, the theatre has mostly been associated with comedies or comedy-dramas, but recent musicals have included Chicago, Rock of Ages and The Scottsboro Boys.
In 1986, the Garrick was acquired by the Stoll Moss Group, and, in 2000, it became a Really Useful Theatre when Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group and Bridgepoint Capital purchased Stoll Moss Theatres Ltd. In October 2005, Nica Burns and Max Weitzenhoffer purchased the Garrick Theatre, and it became one of five playhouses operating under their company name of Nimax Theatres Ltd, alongside the Lyric Theatre, Apollo Theatre, Vaudeville Theatre and Duchess Theatre.
(Sources: Wikipedia and theatre website)
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