Broadway’s biggest theatre owner has planted its flag in the heart of London by taking a half share in the huge new 1,575 seater venue due to open at Olympia next year.
Shubert Organization, which owns 17 Broadway and two off-Broadway venues, including some of the most famous names in New York, has teamed up with Britain’s second biggest theatre owner Trafalgar Entertainment in a deal giving the US firm 50% ownership and operation.
It is the first investment in London on this scale by the Shubert Organization for more than a century. It previously ran the Waldorf Theatre in the West End, from 1905 to 1909.
Shubert Organization chairman and chief executive Robert E Wankel described the move as "an extraordinary opportunity for Shubert to be part of shaping the future of London’s cultural landscape".
The two organisations will jointly hold the 70-year lease for the 1,575-seat Olympia Theatre, the biggest new playhouse to open in London since the National Theatre on the South Bank in 1976.
It forms part of the £1.3 billion redevelopment of exhibition and events venue Olympia in west London, with plans also including a concert hall, conference spaces, hotels and offices as well as a school.
Shubert Organization president Jeff Daniel told The Stage news website: "Theatre making is an increasingly global endeavour and the connection between Broadway and London has never been stronger. Our investment in the Olympia Theatre reflects Shubert’s deep commitment to world-class storytelling, wherever it takes place."
Trafalgar Entertainment was founded by Sir Howard Panter and Dame Rosemary Squire in 2017 .
Panter, who is joint chief executive and creative director said: "For Trafalgar Entertainment to have such an important company as the Shubert Organization with us operating the exceptional new Olympia Theatre creates an appropriately global and exciting partnership."
He added: "With the scale and the quality of the exceptional new Olympia Theatre it’s a real boost for UK theatre to have such an important company as Shubert partnering on it 50/50 with Trafalgar," he said.
The new Olympia Theatre will become Trafalgar’s 21st venue across London, the UK and Australia. It has been designed by a team led by architectural studio Haworth Tompkins.
