The Victoria Palace Theatre in London is located on Victoria Street and has been the site of a theatre for almost 200 years.

In 1832 the theatre was known as Moy's Music Hall.

The theatre went through several changes and incarnations over the years, finally being rebuilt in its current form in 1911.

The Victoria Palace was designed by Frank Matcham and no expense was spared; the cost of construction was £12,000 which was quite a large sum for the day.

The current decor is very like its original design, with its foyer of grey marble and gold mosaic. The pillars of white Sicilian marble are just as they were when the theatre opened.

The owner of the theatre at the time of its construction was Alfred Butt, and he had a gilded statue of the dancer Anna Pavlova installed at the top of the cupola of the building in tribute to her. Oddly, Pavlova actually hated the statue, and refused to look at it whenever she passed by the theatre.

The statue was removed in 1939 for safety concerns and it then went missing. A reproduction of the original statue was installed on the cupola in 2006, so visitors can once again see the golden ballerina towering over London.

For the first 20 years after it was built the Victoria Palace Theatre was known for its popular variety and Christmas shows.

The theatre began showing revues and theatrical productions in the 1930s; one of its biggest hits was the musical "Me and My Girl" which opened in 1937 and continued at the theatre until the outbreak of World War II.

From the 1940s to the 1960s, the Victoria Palace specialized in comedy revues given by groups such as The Crazy Gang and they even had a long running production of "The Black and White Minstrel Show". In more recent years, the theatre has hosted productions of musicals like "Annie", "Grease", and "Billy Elliot".

The Victoria Palace Theatre in London is a delightful place to see a show.

Visiting Victoria Palace Theatre

Victoria Palace Theatre, Victoria Street, Pimlico, SW1E 5EA

Telephone: 020 7834 1317

Email mailorder@victoriapalace.co.uk

Photo courtesy: AndyRob

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