The Dominion Theatre cannot be missed once you arrive at Tottenham Court Road underground! When you exit the station, it stands at the point where Charing Cross Road, Oxford street and Tottenham court road all meet. Its grand facade which presently displays the huge statue of Freddy Mercury (for the current hit west end musical We Will Rock You), is outstandingly eye catching, and once inside the Dominion, you are overwhelmed by the enormity of the theatre.
The current musical of We Will Rock You has been staged since 2002, and will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year. The production is based on the songs of Queen, and was created by 3 incredibly talented people - the bands guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and comedian Ben Elton. It has won various awards over the years, and most recently in March 2011, it received the ‘BBC Radio 2 Audience Award’ at the star studded Lawrence Olivier awards.
The theatre was designed by W and TR Milburn, and was built in 1928-29 on part of the demolished site of Muex Horse Shoe Brewery. It has had several transitions to help it recover through a few years of faltering business. The theatre started to show a wide range of productions in the 1980’s, including music concerts. In particular Dolly Parton, had her concert filmed there in 1983 and the television special ‘Dolly in London’ was released. It was also around this time that the theatre was then extensively renovated to cater for stage effects, amongst other things, in order to enable the venue to excel in hosting future musical/concerts/events.
Something to think about!! - Staff and audience members over the years have reported much poltergeist activity inside the Dominion theatre including sightings of a brewery worker! as well as hearing a child giggling (after the brewery was demolished, the site was briefly home to O’Brien’s Fun Fair). Maybe an idea to show Ghost The Musical there?!
In the early 90’s the Dominion Theatre was host to not only the Royal Variety performance, but also to hit musicals such as Grease, Scrooge: The Musical, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
The current production of We Will Rock you is now the longest ever running musical at the theatre. It is hugely popular among Queen and rock and roll fans. As the songs are internationally recognised, it proves to be a famous hit musical among many tourists and groups visiting the city.
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Dominion theatre is centrally located so that you can easily visit all attractions and the sights of London, so make a visit soon!