London Palladium, Grade II listed theatre in Westminster, United Kingdom
The London Palladium is a theatre in the City of Westminster, designed by Frank Matcham in 1910 and offering a large auditorium with more than two thousand seats. The curved balconies rise in several tiers, while plasterwork and gilded ornaments line the walls throughout the interior.
The building opened in the early 20th century as a variety theatre, later shifting to musicals and large events. In the 1950s and 1960s, television broadcasts made the house known throughout Britain.
The name recalls Andrea Palladio, the Italian Renaissance architect whose classical principles influenced theatre design across Europe. Today the red velvet seats and gilded boxes welcome visitors to musicals and concerts, while the upper floor bar becomes a meeting point before the show.
The theatre sits near Oxford Street and is accessible from several tube stations, with the entrance on Argyll Street. Performances usually start in the evening, and it is wise to arrive before curtain time to find your seat and take in the surroundings.
On stage in 1963 stood a group of young musicians from Liverpool, whose appearance marked the start of a cultural phenomenon later known as Beatlemania. During the Second World War, a bomb hit the building but did not explode and had to be defused by a specialist team.
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