The Duke of York’s Theatre is one of the West End’s best-loved and most successful playhouses. Renamed in 1894 for King George V, it was originally called the Trafalgar Square Theatre. The first to be built on St. Martin’s Lane, it backs onto the Garrick Theatre in adjacent Charing Cross Road.
The theatre’s gilded auditorium was constructed on three levels with several spacious boxes on each. The Duke of York’s was noteworthy in that it also had real fire places in its auditorium.
The first production of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan opened here in 1904 and was revived every Christmas for the next ten years. A quirky mix of dramatic and comedic plays have ensued since, attracting some of acting’s most critically acclaimed talent to its stage.