The Hope playhouse - which doubled as a theatre and bear-baiting pit - has also received legal protection as a historic site. Close to both the Globe and Rose theatres when it was first built, the venue was where Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair was first performed. It is thought to have been the last Elizabethan playhouse built in London, while the Theatre is considered to be the first.
Theatrical Note - Sir Elton John is to co-host this year's Evening Standard Theatre Awards. The singer will break from the European leg of his latest tour to attend the awards on 13 November at London's Old Vic. He will co-host the event with the Standard's proprietor Evgeny Lebedev. "I think we produce some of the best theatre in the world here and I feel passionately that we must support it," said Sir Elton.
West End Girls - Stepping Out has confirmed West End dates at the Vaudeville Theatre, following its previously announced national tour. The play, which begins its tour next month, stars Amanda Holden, Angela Griffin, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Tamzin Outhwaite and Nicola Stephenson. It will include dates in Bath, Richmond, Cambridge and Chichester, before transferring to the West End where it will begin previews at the Vaudeville on 1 March. Design is by Robert Jones, lighting by Peter Mumford and sound by Gregory Clarke, while the show's orchestrations are by Christopher Walker.
Privileged Few - David Walliams has become the latest high-profile figure to criticise the cost of ticket prices in the West End, warning the industry could become a pastime for "a privileged few". The actor and writer was speaking as he launched the West End production of Gangsta Granny, which opens in London next year. He highlighted how his last stage appearance, in A Midsummer Night's Dream alongside Sheridan Smith, had tickets for £10. "It's really important, as otherwise it will become a thing for a very certain audience, an older audience," he said. The actor added that he had recently paid £100 to see Aladdin in London. "It was brilliant, but it's a lot of money," he said, warning that theatre risked excluding people who cannot afford to pay that amount.
Fabric Campaign - A campaign to fund a legal battle to fight the closure of nightclub Fabric has raised more than £200,000 in under a week. Using the hashtag #saveourculture, the crowdfunding drive hopes to challenge the decision to revoke its licence. The influential club had to shut after Islington Council in London found it had a "culture of drug use" which staff were "incapable of controlling".
(Jim Evans)
