Shaftesbury Theatre

The Shaftesbury Theatre, located at the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and High Holborn in Camden, was built in 1911 by architect Bertie Crewe. This theatre features an elaborate Renaissance style, constructed from terracotta, stone, and brick, and has a rectangular plan. The building stands three storeys high with four bays on each side, and the entrance bay is curved. The ground floor is rusticated and has a continuous plain canopy above it. The first floor is also rusticated, with much of the window openings covered by hoarding. The second floor features Diocletian windows and oculi in alternate bays, with the entrance showcasing rectangular windows that have enriched architraves, all supported by large consoles beneath a cornice and an elaborate parapet. Above the entrance, there is a cupola.

Inside, the foyer and booking hall are decorated with delicate plasterwork. The auditorium is richly designed, featuring two cantilevered balconies with varied forms and decorations. The ceiling is rectangular with an enriched cove and cornice, topped by a circular flat-domed centre. The proscenium arch is segmental and adorned with figure reliefs in the spandrels above. Bow-fronted boxes are arranged in two tiers, framed by giant Ionic columns that rise from heavy console brackets, supporting an entablature with figures. This composition is crowned by a semicircular arch and a heavily moulded eaves cornice, with sculptural groups set over each upper box in the arch tympanum. Balustraded balcony terraces run laterally along the walls towards the boxes, and there is a balustraded front to the filled orchestra pit.

Historically, the theatre was designed as a melodrama house.