 New Players Theatre
The Arches, Villiers Street , London , WC2N 6NG .
What's on at New Players Theatre
Nearest underground:
Embankment (District Line, Circle Line, Northern Line, Bakerloo Line)
Nearest rail:
Charing Cross
This tiny off-West End theatre, tucked underneath the railway arches of Charing Cross station has certainly had a colourful past. Existing as a Victorian music hall, it was variously known as the Arches, the Hungerford, Gatti’s, and Charing Cross Music Hall . After the popularity of the genre waned, the space was used as a boxing venue, and cinema and an auxiliary fire station during World War II. Enter theatre group the Players, who had occupied various spaces in the West End since they formed in 1927. The Players rekindled the flame of music hall and pantomime and had many successes, such as the pastiche musical The Boy Friend (1953) which began here and later transferred to Broadway, and all around the world.
Unfortunately money spats and landlord squabbles meant that the Players lost control of the Villiers Street arch in 2002. The theatre went through a couple of ‘dark’ patches until finally it was let to another theatre company who named it the New Players Theatre (although unconnected to the original Players company). Recent refurbishment has breathed a new lease of life into the theatre, and it has broadened its scope by playing host to top popular musical acts, including Dido, Keane, Westlife and Ronan Keating.
What's on at New Players Theatre
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