Palace Theatre

Saw the commitments. Enjoyed the show — nice theatre, great location
I enjoy the theatre and have been to my fair share of shows and this was no different. We had what would be considered great seats and were on the 3^rd row. This was a little too close for my liking so I would suggest somewhere around row 5 if possible. The audience was very involved with singing along to the music, and some seemed as if they had seen the show on many occasions. If in London and the show is still there I say go for it

What a stunning theatre! It’s absolutely beautiful inside and a real gem in London. Someone told me is the highest theatre in London so if you’re afraid of heights maybe don’t go for tickets in the top circle!
We were here to see Derren Brown and were fortunate enough to have front row seats. I went to the toilet alt 15mins before the start and was surprised that I didn’t have to queue. This might be a good sign that there are plenty of toilets at this theatre, unless I just timed it right!
The seats seemed well staggered and from the front row we didn’t feel like we were crooking our necks upwards to see.
If you get the chance to see something at the Palace Theatre, I’d highly recommend it. Easy to get to and well located to grab a bite to eat beforehand, pleasant staff and beautiful interior.

Lovely theatre. Beautiful interior — the carved detailing in the wood was amazing. You really feel special going in there, even down to the so called «cheap seats» in the stalls (where we still had a fabulous view of the show may I say)!
The Commitments is playing here and it was a really great show: funny, great staging and scenery work, and of course amazing singing and acting.
As far as I know, this is only one of three musicals in London that does matinees on a Sunday!

Went to see Derren Brown when was in London. It was great show and theatre is just beautiful. Had a great time and would love to go see another show

Great fun!
My brother and I went after getting the day seats from the box office that morning (£25 for £50 seats!) Got there for the matinée, were seated quickly, and the show started. Before that though, the entire experience of being in the Palace Theatre was great. The staff were helpful, the bathrooms were clean (though they could use more of them), and there were plenty of opportunities to buy drinks/​snacks/​merchandise. As for the actual show… This musical is a classic and they do it justice! If you’re sitting in the front few rows, you WILL get wet. When they do the «Singin’ in the Rain» number, Don kicks up quite a bit of water (on purpose) on the crowd, so be prepared for that. Overall, the cast was great and the entire experience was great fun.
Visited March 2013

In yo’ face? In my face!:)
You might think I’m strange for saying this, but I really enjoyed having water splashed in my face for this show!
No seats could have been more fun for me than sitting in the front for that face soaking. I was a few rows back though so it was a lot safer than the first row, which I believe is handed out macs sometimes.
This show has a real sense of fun to it and I really enjoyed feeling like I was interacting with it. I already knew the story because I’ve seen the movie (which is most excellent). I know no one can really dance like Gene Kelly, but the cast really put on a spirited show and it was very funny and loads of fun. I really enjoyed it and had a great night. The actress who played Lina Lamont was hilarious and I liked how they managed the movie scenes which were even funnier. The iconic dancing in the rain scene was pretty great too.
The Palace Theatre itself is beautiful and I always love walking by and seeing all the umbrellas adorning the entrance. I have also been here when there was a massive shiny high heel on the entrance for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Priscilla was pretty fun. We had front row seats for that which I think are a bit of an eyeful with ping pong balls flying at you from places you’d rather not look. It was good fun though and I enjoyed that too.
Definitely love this theatre and would love to come back!

There is something totally awesome about the Theatre in the West End of London. I am a proud American, and love Broadway, but I now understand what the theatre experience in London is! I saw Singing’ in the Rain. There was no Gene Kelly, and the dance routines were not stunning. Still there was something about the colors, and the raw power of the Palace Theatre. It seems nothing in old London was made for someone who is tall. Yet, I totally loved the play. I am glad I did not sit in the front rows where everyone was soaked. It did seem to be too much, but the crowd loved it. There is something about rain in London that permeates their culture. Oh how I love London and long to return!

Singing in the Rain was simply fabulous, and the Palace Theatre was perfect stage for this musical. Our seats were J4&5 and we were able to see the performance perfectly. I also loved the fact that balcony section offers its own souvenir stand, not to mention, a bar for your drink order during intermission, plus bathroom facilities on the same floor!!! Can you imagine, as a woman, being able to do all this and actually end up having so much time left to really enjoy a drink before curtain call for second half?! Seriously, lines to the ladies’ is always a problem, but not at the Palace Theatre. Super convenient. Would go back here anytime.

I’ll try to write a review just about the theater and not about how frickin amazing Singin in the Rain was! (Oh by the way… I’d give Singin in the Rain 5 stars but that’s neither here nor there… well… maybe a little bit here)
Anyway, I had studied abroad in London for a few months a couple of years ago. I went to a bunch of different theaters but never made it to this one. I was able to go back to London just for a couple of nights so I decided I should see a show (as you should most definitely do if you’re in London)!
I decided the show I absolutely needed to see was Singin in the Rain and it happened to be at this theater. I was a little hesitant at first because I saw Chicago around this area and it was an absolute disaster, so my hopes weren’t particular high, but I was keeping an opened mind none the less.
My my my. I really thought the theater was great! You walk in, and as I’m sure you’ve seen on other reviews, the theater really does take you back and makes you feel like you’re in a really rustic and old fashioned theater. The lobby is small but it’s quaint. I don’t really need a whole lot and frankly sometimes lobbies can be overwhelming giant.
All the ushers were friendly and each time I saw another usher, they were making sure I was going the right direction. I honestly just wanted to get to my seat and enjoy the frickin show so I don’t really know what else to say about it.
Acoustically I thought it was fine… really no complaints there. I really liked the seating where I was because you were raised just enough where even if you did have some 6’4 dude in front of you, you wouldn’t have been completely blocked so that was good.
When all’s said and done, I thought it was a perfectly fine theater. People friendly and very beautiful. Perhaps depending on the show and obviously where you sit, you might have a different say on it. I had a fairly awesome seat and I was lucky to have helpful people around. Go see a show here… and maybe pay for the big bucks if you can (cough especially if it’s singin in the rain cough).

Fabulous theatre in the Westend and Singing in the Rain was simply fabulous. Would go back here anytime.

This review will be solely based on the theatre itself.
Upon entering, it is super nice and old glam-​neas going on. Brings you back to a different era. Which I love!
Going up and up those stairs, you have women selling you Cadbury chocolates but all I want to do is get to my seat!
This may be because of me: my girlfriend and I went to see «Singing in the Rain» and I didn’t want to spend soooo much money so we sat in the bleachers. BAD mistake. We thought it’d be like a sports stadium where the chairs go up on a diagonal and we can see everything just further away, lol, but alas, we could only see half the stage and the person in front of me was situated PERFECTLY in my view. What idiot decided to make the seating behind each other rather than staggered?! And the guy next to me was fidgeting and tall but kept hitting me and couldn’t see either. My girlfriend continued to do the same because she had to sit next to a tall guy, a nice at that, too.
And the site never said anything about «obscuring views» Warnings as far as I know. Which is ridiculous because we paid 56 pounds, equivalent to 100 plus dollars and they were absolutely not worth it.
Nor did they provide us with a free playbill. Which is very common in the states and brand new to us. So since we had a shitty experience that was the leeway they could do.
Especially after going to the toilets and 1. No working flushing and 2. No running water to wash your hands because it was all used in the production. Hence singing in the rain.
I honestly will not recommend this location. Go elsewhere for your theatre entertainment. Unless you buy expensive tickets and your first class loo’s come with running water and working toilets then be my guest!

Oh my goodness. Absolutely fabulous in every way imaginable!
I was at the Harrod’s ticket counter finishing my purchase for Wicked with a young female staff member. I casually mentioned that I had seen Wicked several times already and just love musicals that leave you smiling. She immediately cancelled my transaction, haha… o_​O …enthusiastically telling me that I absolutely MUST see Priscilla. That not only is the production outrageously styled, it’s funny, heartwarming, pretty much perfect, and her «favourite show on the planet». Well of course I HAD to say yes to her after a suggestion like that!
Actually, she was the third person to mention Priscilla to me, in less than a week. So it was meant to be, hehehe. I realized later that I could have gotten the tickets much cheaper (there is a promotion on Last Minute for £15 tickets), but the £75 per ticket for the orchestra section was entirely worth it, and after seeing the production, I would pay it again happily.
I took my best friend to experience it with me, and let me tell you, the audience is 80% women, most celebrating something or other. Priscilla truly is a celebration (of friends, family, and being yourself) so it seems fitting. I definitely recommend this show for your next birthday, hen night, or just a girls’ night out. Palace Theatre even sells hot pink feather boas, to the excitement of several ladies’ groups, as well as several bejeweled tees.
The show itself is unbelievable! It outdoes the movie on every level. The costumes are magnificent, the effects are mindblowing, the colors are magical. When I wasn’t laughing, my mouth was wide open in true disbelief.

This review is for the actual theatre itself not the show that I saw tonight. This was the single worst theatre going experience of my life. I paid more for two other shows so we wanted to get more bargain seats for singing’ in the rain. It was a huge mistake. I’m a theatre snob yes… but this balcony is totally not worth even the £25 ticket price.
The seats aren’t staggered enough so you are sitting squarely behind someone. The first row had to lean forward and put their arms on the railing to see and the problem just continues back. We were in thee 5^th row and I had maybe 5% visibility on each side of the stage on either far side. Useless. Every single person from the second row back was craning around the person in front of them. For the majority of the show I had my head on my friends shoulder or was pressed literally cheek to cheek with the stranger on my left… who thank goodness was really nice. I am 5’6″ and my knees were literally pressed against the back of the chair in front of me. My new friend… cheek guy… was taller and thus had to split apart his legs thus taking about a quarter of my legroom. I couldn’t be mad about it… what else was there to do.
By intermission I was thrilled to get up and move. My head had been sideways or my neck had been diagonal for over an hour. Unfortunately there was absolutely no running water in the restroom… yes that means no hand washing and (yay!) no flushing!!! Hooray!!! Could this get any worse? This isn’t okay. I lived in NYC for 5 years and have never experienced anything like this.
The show itself was fun and excellent but if the whole balcony can’t see the front of the stage maybe the show shouldn’t have quite so much happening up there. Just saying. Total waste of money. Such disappointment. And such a beautiful theater to behold. To bad you have to sit down!

Saw Singing in the Rain here and thoroughly enjoyed it! The singing, dancing, costumes, sets… everything was amazing! I will never know how the actors manage to find the energy to dance and sing for 2 hours straight. The 3 main actors had a great chemistry together.
The actual theatre is gorgeous. It’s quite big, but when you’re in the auditorium it feels intimate. There was a short queue for the ladies during intermission and the line at the bar went quickly as well.

This was the best musical ever!
Although I had cheap seats up
in the Gods way back, I loved
every minute. It is so infectious,
so professional, so funny & a great theatrical venue. Wow!

#Yelp #Yelp365 27 — A good friend resides in London and had experienced this show earlier. While passing the show, I had a clue this was on the agenda for later in the week. The show was a good adaptation of the movie, with some very entertaining scenes, especially the saggy bar patron and her g — string.
The bus opening and closing, LED lights being painted, was a very cool display.
When one things of the movie, one must think about shoes, and this show lets the shoe shine it all of it’s glory. The theatre was convenient with many food options available pre and post show. Transit was also very close to the show.

See this one! The one in New York is very different! This one’s more like the movie.
We laughed ’til tears streamed down, even tho the poor dear in front of us was way deep in her cups by the end of the play…
Come and laugh, it’s a hoot! Enjoy!

You can’t detract from the quality of the productions here, but this review is for the theatre. And that quality is extremely suspect.
I paid £50 for the £70 from Tkts booth for stalls seats — being dragged along to Priscilla with my wife & daughter — and I was appalled by the total lack of space for a person of reasonably average height. Vision was OK, acoustics were fine, but no way could the experience be described as good. Plus, I know I should be inured to West End Theatre drinks prices by now, but really!
The show itself was as expected, a throughly professionally staged production of a nonentity of a musical. Nothing to hate, lots to enjoy, but my life would not have been measurably poorer had I not seen it — my pocket certainly would have been richer.

FABULOUS MUSICAL
We saw Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre. It was fabulous. The story line is touching, but the music and costumes were just divine.
When in London, you must see Priscilla!

We also went to see Spamalot here (for which, see separate review in due course!), so this review covers the theatre.
The Palace Theatre is well known for its imposing red brick façade on Charing Cross Road, at Cambridge Circus. A grade II* listed building, it was conceived by Richard D’Oyly Carte in the 1880s to be the home of English Opera, as a counterpoint to his highly successful light opera — the famous repertoire by Gilbert & Sullivan — already established at the Savoy Theatre.
The foundation stone was laid in 1888 (just to the right of the main entrance) and the first production was ‘Ivanhoe’ by Arthur Sullivan. This was a great success and ran for 160 performances, but D’Oyly Carte had nothing planned to follow it. The building was sold a year later, becoming a popular music hall. It was renamed ‘The Palace of Musical Varieties’, before changing its name again to the Palace Theatre in 1911. The building incorporated many innovations, including the extensive use of concrete to provide fire-​proof structures for the staircases and other key elements.
Over the years, it has hosted some spectacular successes, including ‘No, no Nanette’ in the 1920s, and more recently ‘Jesus Christ, Superstar’, and ‘Les Miserables’, which ran here for 18 years from 1985 until 2004. The theatre is now owned, alongside 6 others in London, by the Really Useful Group.
The interior is typical of the sumptuous style of Victorian theatres: the Stalls Bar is decorated in a faux Louis XIV scheme, with elaborate ceiling mouldings and large decorative mirrors, and the theatre interior is festooned with cherubs and garlands, incorporated in both woodwork and plasterwork.
As a performance venue, the main drawbacks are the familiar ones for Victorian London theatres: the stage is relatively narrow (although a lot deeper than many), the seating is rather cramped, and there are stairs everywhere. The theatre seats 1,400 people, in the stalls, grand circle, dress circle, balcony and boxes. Just over 100 seats (including all the boxes) have a restricted view. One aspect which is better than many London venues is that the lavatories are larger than average, doing away with the long waits at the interval!
Wheelchairs can be accommodated, however, booked in advance, with a discount for both the wheelchair user and a helper (although the location is at the back of the stalls at seat W27 — not the best view). Access is via a side door with one 3 cm step. Alternatively, transfer seating to any seat in the stalls can be arranged, with wheelchairs stored at the back. There are disabled toilet facilities, and a dedicated host for disabled customers.
The bar is also very spacious, and interval drinks can be ordered in advance. Bar prices are — of course — more expensive than you’ll pay in a pub — £5.50 for a single Gin & tonic, with the House Gin. There’s also a shop on the first floor, selling programmes and souvenirs for the relevant show.
The venue also hires out its VIP suite and bar as a meeting and small conference venue.
The theatre is close to Leicester Square underground station as well as bus routes 14, 19, 24, 29, 38 and 176.