It is a 2100-seat West End theatre located in
the City of Westminster, on Wellington Street. It was built in 1765. From 1794 to 1809 the building hosted a variety of
entertainments including a circus, a chapel, and the first London exhibition of
wax figures shown by Madame Tussaud. From 1816 to 1830, it served as the
English Opera House. After a fire, the house was rebuilt and reopened on 14
July 1834 to a design by Samuel Beazley. It was a unique building, which you
can see in the balcony overhanging the dress circle, and designs like that. The
theatre then played opera, adaptions of Charles Dickens novels and James
Planché’s ‘fairy extravaganzas’, among other works.
The building closed
in 1939 and was set to be demolished, but it was saved and converted into a
Mecca Ballroom in 1951, called the Lyceum Ballroom, where many well-known bands
played. The Lyceum was closed in 1986 but restored to theatrical use in 1996 by
Holohan Architects. Since 1999, the theatre has hosted The Lion King.
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