The Fortune Theatre Reveals Celebration Plans for 100th Birthday

The Fortune Theatre has announced plans to celebrate its centenary year. On the afternoon of Friday 8th November, the theatre will open its doors to the public for a free event to mark its birthday, displaying an impressive archive of its theatrical memorabilia from performances throughout the years, with drinks, canapés and speeches from the theatre’s General Manager, Robbie Powell, and ATG Entertainment’s London Business Director, Andrew Rawlinson.   

Designed by Ernest Schaufelberg on the site of the former ‘Albion Hotel’ tavern, The Fortune Theatre was the first theatre built in London after the First World War. It opened on Saturday 8th November 1924 with the play ‘Sinners’ by Laurence Cowen with a maximum seating capacity of 442 audience members. The Fortune Theatre was named after the original Fortune Playhouse in Cripplegate, where Shakespeare performed, which burnt down in 1621. During World War II the venue was used by the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), providing entertainment to the British forces. The theatre is most closely associated with housing one of the West End’s longest running productions – The Woman in Black which ran for 33 years before closing in March 2023. 

Not only has the Fortune Theatre hosted notable productions, but it has also had its boards tread by some of the biggest names in the arts. In 1960, Alan Bennett, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore performed together in Beyond The Fringe ahead of its transfer to Broadway. In 1967, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen took to the Fortune Theatre stage together in The Promise. There have been a staggering 200+ productions staged at the theatre, which has allowed the venue to welcome millions of audience members throughout its 100 years. 

Robbie Powell, General Manager of the Fortune Theatre says, “It is a very special moment to be celebrating the 100th birthday of this wonderful and historic West End Venue. There is so much history contained within this building, and we thought, “what better way to celebrate that history than letting people to delve into the archives?” We have a collection of fascinating programmes, posters and artefacts from the shows that have performed here over the past 100 years and we wanted to give people the opportunity to have a look through. 

I think with great fondness to the millions of people this venue has welcomed through its doors and the memories that have been created over the years. We hope this celebration of our 100th birthday marks the start of the next 100 years of stories and memories made in this venue as we welcome audiences in. 

It’s an honour to be leading this great venue into the next chapter. I look forward to being part of the team creating unforgettable experiences for our audience.”

Colin Hewitt, Deputy Ticketing and Sales Manager at The Fortune, who has worked in the theatre’s box office since 2009, says, “The Fortune is one of the West End’s smallest venues and as such is quite unique. It is very special as it is relatively unchanged in 100 years. For 32 years of its life until 2023, it featured the second longest running play in the UK, the Woman in Black. I was very proud to be part of that special achievement and saw the play 5 times myself. Each time was as exciting and nail-biting as the previous occasion. The play was finally brought to a close and replaced by the new, Olivier and multi-awarding winning, musical comedy, Operation Mincemeat which is filling the house with many happy patrons and is all set to be with us for many years to come! The Fortune has also successfully presented children’s musicals, comedians, podcast recordings, showcases and business presentations and has a solid foundation in the West End. Hopefully I will also be part of its legacy for years to come.”

The Fortune’s 100th birthday party will be hosted at the theatre on Friday 8th November from 2pm - 5pm and is a non-ticketed, free event open to all. The team at the Fortune Theatre look forward to welcoming the public to join them in celebrating their centenary year.  

 

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