A theatre has stood on the site of the current Peacock Theatre since the 16th century and is notable for being the location of the earliest known performance by a female actor on a London stage in a 1660 production of Shakespeare’s Othello. The current Peacock Theatre was built in 1960 as the Royalty Theatre and was the first London theatre to be built in almost 30 years.
The venue spent many years being used as a cinema and TV studio before Sadler’s Wells moved its company to the theatre whilst its Clerkenwell HQ was rebuilt in 1996. Today, the Peacock Theatre is co-leased between Sadler’s Wells and the London School of Economics, who use the venue during the day for lectures and talks. The theatre regularly welcomes transfers of Sadler’s Wells productions, alongside touring musicals and experimental dance shows.
