L'outil de recherche des professionnels
Olympia Theatre
Théâtre à l'italienne
The entrance was at 12 Crampton Court, an old-world courtyard of coffee and antique shops. For seventeen years under Dan, his sons & grandsons, The Star played host to all the great names in international vaudeville.
In June 1897, Lowrey's was closed and remodelled and in August of that year it reopened as The Empire Palace Theatre of Varieties. So it happens that the theatre we now call The Olympia, this beautiful Rococo building, is almost precisely as it was on that August day in 1897. The new entrance from Dame Street actually runs under Lowrey’s old stage.
Barney Armstrong took over the reigns of direction in The Empire in 1915. On February 5th, 1923, the name changed again, this time to The Olympia Theatre. Stanley Illsely and Leo McCabe took over in 1952 and were in management for twelve years.
In the early 1960’s a group of London Irish businessmen bought the building and land. Dr. Brendan Smith made contact with the owners and secured a lease on the building. He formed a new company called Olympia Productions Ltd. and was elected chairman.
On November 5th, 1974, during a rehearsal break on the opening night of West Side Story, the Proscenium Arch of the theatre collapsed and sadly the theatre remained closed until March 14th 1977. It was due to the generosity of Dublin City Council, Corporation and, indeed, the Dublin people and members of the Irish Theatre Community, but especially the tenacious efforts of the Board of Olympia Productions and the staff, that the theatre was re-opened on March 14th 1977.
When the theatre opened its doors again in 1977, Gerry Sinnott took over the lease & the running of The Olympia and enjoyed an 18 year reign until 1995, when Gaiety Investments took the helm. The Gaiety Investments group have consistently brought the patrons of The Olympia to their feet with world class events including live music concerts as well as seated theatre shows.
The stellar reputation of the theatre is proved time & time again when world famous acts request intimate shows here for their Irish fans. In recent years we’ve had big names such as: REM, Radiohead, David Bowie, Morrissey, Muse, Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Blur, Kings Of Leon, Michael Buble, Alicia Keys, The Killers, The Prodigy, Snow Patrol, Interpol, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, The Script, Faith No More, The Pixies, The Specials, Florence & The Machine, Bryan Adams, Mumford & Sons, Beady Eye, Adele, Queens Of The Stone Age & Noel Gallagher, all of whom chose the relatively small venue to host shows here when they could have sold out large arenas.
The ornate doors of The Olympia Theatre have been open & welcoming patrons for the last 114 years, and we look forward to welcoming many future generations to our venue.
