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Prince of Wales
Proscenium arch
The well-known actor-manager of his day, Edgar Bruce, commissioned the first theatre
on this site, initially called the Prince's Theatre, it was renamed The Prince of
Wales Theatre in 1886. Bruce had made a handsome profit from a burlesque called
The Colonel and decided to build his own theatre using this money. The Prince's was
flowery in style by comparison with today's theatre. The facade matched the hotel and
restaurant next door (now the Thistle Hotel) and the interior boasted a Moorish foyer with
a fountain playing and a 'smoking fernery' and 'grotto', complete with ornamental rocks,
beneath. It was a traditional three-tier theatre, decorated in white, cream and gold that
seated just over 1,000 people. Stronger burnt orange and terracotta colours were used for
the drapes and seats - a theme that we see reutilised in the newly refurbished theatre.
The Prince of Wales Theatre is owned and managed by Delfont
Mackintosh Theatres Limited who have undertaken the £7.5 million refurbishment
programme to give the West End one of its most stylish, spacious and
comfortable theatres.
