91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Plaque

St James's Theatre - SWET

Inscription

Theatreland - heart of the performing arts in London.
St James's Theatre
On this site stood the St James's Theatre, demolished in 1957 despite an epic campaign of protest led by Vivien Leigh and Sir Laurence Olivier. George Alexander, manager from 1890 - 1918, staged both Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windermere's Fan" and "The Importance of Being Earnest" for the first time.
A joint venture by the City of Westminster and the Society of West End Theatre.

Site: St James's Theatre (3 memorials)

SW1, King Street, 23-24

The passageway between the pub and the modern building houses the SWET plaque and the Olivier relief. The other 3 reliefs are at the far end of the passageway.

We believe the reliefs used to adorn the balconies of the first building to replace the theatre, now demolished.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
St James's Theatre - SWET

Subjects commemorated i

St James's Theatre

FineArtAmerica have a photo.

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Sir George Alexander

Actor-manager. Ran the St James's Theatre from about 1891 until his death in ...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Vivien Leigh

Born Darjeeling, India.  She and her husband Laurence Olivier, managed the St...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Laurence Olivier, Baron Olivier

Born Dorking, Surrey, as Laurence Kerr Olivier. With his wife Vivien Leigh, h...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Oscar Wilde

Born in Dublin as Oscar Fingal O'Flaherty Wills Wilde. 'Importance of Being E...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
St James's Theatre - SWET

Created by i

Society of West End Theatre/London Theatre

1908 Formed as West End Theatre Managers. 1976 By now it is called Society o...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Westminster City Council

The ancient parish of St Margaret's was divided into St Margaret's and St Joh...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
St James's Theatre - SWET

Also at this site i

St James's Theatre - 3 reliefs

St James's Theatre - 3 reliefs

The four bas-relief panels by Edward Bainbridge Copnall depict the heads of G...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

St James's Theatre - Olivier relief

St James's Theatre - Olivier relief

We choose this as our featured memorial in March 2007 since this year sees th...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Nearby Memorials

Elisabeth Welch

Elisabeth Welch

SW3, Ovington Gardens, Ovington Court

Plaque unveiled by author Bonnie Greer.

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Elizabeth Barrett Browning plaque

Elizabeth Barrett Browning plaque

W1, Wimpole Street, 50

'Barrett Barrett' was indeed her maiden name (ensuring one's inheritance sometimes required abnormal naming commitments). The text and se...

1 subject commemorated
Karl Ghattas

Karl Ghattas

W1, Harley Street, 57

'The artist is dead long live the poet', sounds like a quotation, but we cannot find any reference to it.

1 subject commemorated
Johan Zoffany

Johan Zoffany

W4, Strand on the Green, 65

The plaque adds an extra 'n' to his first name, although several biographies refer to him as John.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Russell Henderson

Russell Henderson

W10, Tavistock Road, 69 & 70

A 'pan artist' plays the traditional West Indian steel drums.

2 subjects commemorated, 3 creators