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The Lyceum is a Grade II listed theatre in the heart of London with a capacity of over 2,000. The original theatre built on the site opened in 1772, but was razed to the ground by fire in 1830. It reopened in 1834, having been rebuilt with the now familiar porticoed frontage. It was renamed The Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, though generally it remained known simply as The Lyceum.

The theatre gained the reputation of being unlucky after a number of owners went bankrupt, but its fortunes changed after American ‘Colonel’ Bateman took over, assembling a new company headed by the great actor Henry Irving. Irving’s performance as Hamlet in 1874 ran over 200 nights, an unheard of success in its day.

Most of that theatre was eventually demolished due to lack of funding to implement new fire regulations, though the portico and façade were retained as part of the current theatre, which opened in 1904. Once again there was a notable performance of Hamlet on the premises, this time by Sir John Gielgud in 1939. In the same year plans for a road extension and roundabout threatened the future of the theatre, but they were eventually scrapped and after the Second World War the theatre became a dance hall and then a music venue. It now hosts large-scale musicals.

The ghostly figure of a woman has often been seen in the stalls area holding a man’s severed head. This is supposed to be the head of Henry Courtenay, the local landowner who was beheaded on the orders of Oliver Cromwell at the time of the Civil War.

The actor William Terris is also supposed to have been seen in the theatre (see page 58).

The Lyceum Theatre, 21 Wellington Street, London WC2E 7RQ; Tel: 0870 243 9000 (box office)