There is more good news as another venue is set to open to give even more choice to those wishing to take in a London show on their visit to the UK’s capital. The Westminster Theatre burnt down in 2002. Now, it is set to rise phoenix-like from the ashes after Westminster City Council approved plans for its redevelopment. The building work is expected to start as soon as next month with the new venue ready to open in summer 2010.

The regeneration is expected to cost £10 million. The new building will be eight storeys high and will incorporate a 314 seat theatre, a smaller cabaret stage, a restaurant and thirty five flats. The 250 year old building is located in Palace Street just across from the Victoria Palace, home of ‘Billy Elliot’.

The theatre was formerly the St James Picture House which opened in 1923. Its site was originally home to the Charlotte Chapel which was built in 1766. In 1931, the venue was changed into a theatre with seating for more than 1500 patrons. Despite the protests of the Save London Theatres Campaign, the council gave permission for developers to demolish the theatre in 2001 and the theatre closed in 2002, after which the structure was fairly well destroyed by fire.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 at 11:22 am and is filed under Theatre News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.