PLAYHOUSE THEATRE SOLD!

PLAYHOUSE THEATRE SOLD!

The Playhouse Theatre at Charing Cross, has been been bought by Ted Tulchin, the London and Broadway Producer, and his brother Norman.

The Theatre was dark for most of last year as it struggled to attract producers to put on shows there because it is tucked behind Charing Cross Station, with many punters unable to find it. It is now hoped that the new owners will be successful in re-instating the venue as a major host of high-profile productions.

The 800-seat Playhouse will be programmed by West End producer Kevin Wallace, the Tulchins UK representative, with whom the Tulchins (based in New York and Los Angeles) produced Gregory Burke's "Gagarin Way" and Eugene O'Brien's "Eden" at the West End's Arts Theatre last year.

Wallace says the brothers primary interest remains in presenting high-quality productions, particularly of new writing, which they will continue to do both at the Playhouse and elsewhere. They also aim to use the venue to support smaller subsisised houses, taking options on commercial transfers of interestingand notable productions.

The Playhouse Theatre on Northumberland Ave, was built in 1882 and was originally known as the Royal Avenue, until 1907 when it reopened under its current name.

The new owners recognise the benefit to the Theatre from the new pedestrianised Hungerford Bridge. The Bridge, which connects Northumberland Avenue directly with the South Bank and the Millennium Wheel, has dramatically increased foot traffic past the theatre and is driving a major refurbishment of the area together with the pedestrian improvements for Trafalgar Square and its environs.