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Richard Findlay - FotoFling Scotland

@richardfindlay.bsky.social

Edinburgh-based photo enthusiast. Arts patron, BAFTA member and retired entertainment lawyer. Photography, theatre, film, architecture, heritage, travel and Scottish culture. 🏳️‍🌈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇦🇪🇺 https://about.me/richardfindlay

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Richard Findlay - FotoFling Scotland@richardfindlay.bsky.social · last wk.

New Light on the West End - Nouvel éclairage sur le West End #london #theatre #architecture #sohoplace @soholace #flickr https://flic.kr/p/2r9dSdF

New Light on the West End - Nouvel éclairage sur le West End

Bold, sleek, and unapologetically modern, @sohoplace slices into London’s theatrical skyline like a glass shard of reinvention. Rising beside Tottenham Court Road station, this is the first purpose-built West End theatre in half a century. With its wraparound LED screens, elegant façade, and fully flexible auditorium, it reflects a new era for playhouses—one that’s daring enough to reflect the city back at itself. Avec sa silhouette vitrée et ses lignes tranchantes, @sohoplace bouscule l’allure classique des théâtres londoniens. Premier théâtre construit spécialement pour le West End depuis cinquante ans, il incarne un virage contemporain—ouvert sur la ville, adaptable, et résolument connecté à son époque. ⸻ Historical / Architectural Background: @sohoplace opened in October 2022, marking a milestone in London theatre history as the first new West End theatre built from the ground up in over 50 years. It forms part of the vast regeneration project above the Elizabeth line’s Tottenham Court Road station, integrated into the Outernet London complex. It was commissioned and is operated by Nimax Theatres, led by Nica Burns. The theatre was designed by architects AHMM (Allford Hall Monaghan Morris) with a mission to balance cutting-edge functionality and a welcoming public face. Its striking glass exterior and vibrant digital signage make it instantly recognisable—a high-tech beacon in an area once choked by traffic. Inside, the auditorium seats 602 people, with a thrust stage configuration and flexible performance spaces designed for intimacy, innovation, and immersion. The venue also boasts a retractable roof, state-of-the-art acoustics, and multiple rehearsal, green, and education rooms—signalling its ambition not just as a venue, but as a hub for modern theatrical life. Its inaugural production, Marvellous, set the tone for a venue unafraid to be inclusive, uplifting, and unashamedly new. ⸻

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Richard Findlay - FotoFling Scotland@richardfindlay.bsky.social · last wk.

Rising on Charing Cross Road: The Phoenix Theatre - Renaissance sur Charing Cross Road : Le Théâ… #flickr #london #theatre #PhoenixTheatre #architecture https://flic.kr/p/2rbfLHT

Rising on Charing Cross Road: The Phoenix Theatre - Renaissance sur Charing Cross Road : Le Théâtre Phoenix

Bold, brick, and brimming with drama, the Phoenix Theatre continues to blaze a trail in London’s West End. Once home to Noël Coward’s wit and now staging supernatural thrills, its legacy is as varied as its productions. — Audacieux, en briques et débordant de drame, le Phoenix Theatre illumine toujours le West End. Jadis royaume de l’esprit de Noël Coward, il abrite aujourd’hui des frissons surnaturels : une scène au passé aussi riche que ses spectacles. ⸻ Historical/Architectural Background: The Phoenix Theatre, located on Charing Cross Road in London, opened its doors in 1930 and was designed by the esteemed theatre architects Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Bertie Crewe, and Cecil Massey. Though modest in scale, the interior boasts a richly decorated Art Deco design by director-theatre designer Theodore Komisarjevsky, blending Italianate elegance with vibrant modernism. Its debut performance was Noël Coward’s Private Lives starring Coward himself alongside Gertrude Lawrence and Laurence Olivier—setting a high bar for decades of theatrical excellence. The theatre’s name, Phoenix, symbolised resilience and rebirth, as the site had previously been home to music halls lost to time. With a capacity of around 1,000, the Phoenix continues to adapt to the tastes of each generation. In recent years, it hosted the long-running Blood Brothers and more recently the immersive stage adaptation of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, proving that this bird of fire still soars high in London’s ever-burning theatrical sky.

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Richard Findlay - FotoFling Scotland@richardfindlay.bsky.social · last wk.

Stereophonic Sound at the Duke’s Door - Le Théâtre du Duc en Mode Stéréo #flickr #london #theatre #dukeofyorkstheatre #Architecture https://flic.kr/p/2r9fNXY

Stereophonic Sound at the Duke’s Door - Le Théâtre du Duc en Mode Stéréo

Built in 1892 and still commanding St Martin’s Lane with elegance and restraint, the Duke of York’s Theatre is currently vibrating with Stereophonic, the award-winning Broadway-to-West-End transfer written by David Adjmi, with original songs by Will Butler of Arcade Fire. Behind this classic façade lies one of London’s most acoustically intimate playhouses—perhaps the perfect space to stage a love letter to the chaos, creativity, and crack-up of a 1970s rock band recording their magnum opus. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Érigé en 1892 et toujours aussi élégant sur St Martin’s Lane, le Duke of York’s Theatre accueille actuellement Stereophonic, la sensation venue de Broadway signée David Adjmi, avec des chansons originales de Will Butler (Arcade Fire). Derrière cette façade classique se cache l’une des salles les plus intimes de Londres – un écrin parfait pour cette ode électrique au processus créatif d’un groupe de rock des années 70 au bord de la rupture (et du génie). ⸻ Historical & Architectural Background: The Duke of York’s Theatre opened in 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre and was renamed in 1895 in honour of the future King George V, then Duke of York. It was designed by architect Walter Emden, with a restrained classical façade and an interior that boasts subtle Edwardian embellishments. The theatre has a capacity of 640, making it one of the smaller but most atmospheric playhouses in the West End. Throughout its history, the venue has been associated with premieres and performances of literary and dramatic note: J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan debuted here in 1904, and in later decades, it has seen a range of critically acclaimed productions spanning drama, comedy, and contemporary work. Now owned by Ambassador Theatre Group, it maintains a carefully curated programme of bold new writing and prestigious revivals. ⸻

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Richard Findlay - FotoFling Scotland@richardfindlay.bsky.social · last wk.

The Salisbury – Etched Elegance, Secret Histories #flickr https://flic.kr/p/2rfmeQf

The Salisbury – Etched Elegance, Secret Histories

Tucked into the theatrical bustle of St Martin’s Lane, The Salisbury stands as one of London’s finest surviving examples of late Victorian pub design. Built around 1899, this Grade II listed gem replaced an earlier establishment and was originally named The Salisbury Stores—hence the “SS” motif still seen in the etched glass and mirrorwork. Inside, it dazzles with Art Nouveau bronze nymphs, carved wood panelling, and intricate glasswork that places it on CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. Named after Lord Salisbury (three-time Prime Minister and head of the influential Cecil family), the building still belongs to the Cecils, their coat of arms flanked by two angels above the corner entrance. Beyond the bar’s architectural bravado lies a more intimate legacy: The Salisbury was a rare gay-friendly pub from Oscar Wilde’s era into the 1980s, and it featured prominently in the landmark 1961 film Victim—the first English-language film to use the word “homosexual.” Not all chapters are happy ones: in 1979, serial killer Dennis Nilsen met a would-be victim here, who escaped, though others tragically did not. It remains today a striking cultural landmark—equal parts stained-glass splendour and layered social memory. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 🇫🇷 Situé au cœur de St Martin’s Lane, The Salisbury est l’un des plus beaux témoignages de l’architecture des pubs victoriens tardifs à Londres. Construit vers 1899 sur le site d’un ancien établissement, ce pub classé Grade II fut à l’origine baptisé The Salisbury Stores – d’où le motif « SS » que l’on retrouve dans ses vitres finement gravées. Son intérieur, orné de nymphes en bronze Art Nouveau, de boiseries sculptées et de miroirs opulents, figure sur l’inventaire national de CAMRA pour ses intérieurs historiques. Le pub tire son nom de Lord Salisbury, trois fois Premier ministre, dont la famille Cecil possède toujours le bâtiment. Au-dessus de l’entrée d’angle, son blason est soutenu par deux anges, une touche noble à ce coin de Covent Garden. Mais derrière l’élégance se cache une histoire plus personnelle : The Salisbury fut l’un des rares pubs londoniens accueillants envers les homosexuels dès l’époque d’Oscar Wilde jusqu’aux années 1980. Il apparaît dans le film Victim (1961), pionnier en son genre, et fut lié à une tentative de meurtre échappée du tueur en série Dennis Nilsen. Un lieu où patrimoine architectural et mémoire sociale se rencontrent, entre splendeur gravée et récits enfouis.

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