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Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced that the New London Theatre is to be renamed in honour of the trailblazing choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne.
The theatre will be formally recognized as the Gillian Lynne Theatre later this year and will be the first West End theatre to be named after a woman.
Dame Gillian has made a wide contribution to the arts world; from classical ballet to featured dance performance in theatre, film and television.
She has worked closely with Andrew Lloyd Webber on some of his most famous creations, and her work on the staging and choreography for Cats means she is widely recognised as a leading choreographer of her generation.
Andrew Lloyd Webber commented: “I am delighted to be able to announce that the New London Theatre is to be renamed as the Gillian Lynne Theatre.
“Gillian has been a pioneer of British musical theatre and dance. Gillie’s ground-breaking work on Cats inspired and launched countless careers in dance. It is only fitting that the theatre in which she created Cats is named in her honour.”
Gillian Lynne said: “The minute I heard Andrew’s music I fell in love with his ability to channel deep emotion into a single musical note. He continues to inspire generation after generation with his passion for musical theatre and Great Britain has benefitted enormously from his brilliance and his generosity.”
Over the course of her career, Gillian has directed more than sixty productions in the West End and Broadway as well as working on eleven feature films and hundreds of television productions as producer, director, choreographer or performer.
The New London Theatre welcomes around 450,000 people through its doors every year and is famous for being the home of the original production of Cats. Running from 11th May 1981 to 11th May 2002, this was the West End’s longest running show at the time.
Group bookings are available at the New London Theatre.
For more information, and a full programme of upcoming productions, visit reallyusefultheatres.co.uk.
