The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was designed for the Melville Brothers by Bertie Crewe and opened on 26 December 1911 with a production of The Three Musketeers. It was originally named the New Prince's Theatre, becoming the Prince's Theatre in 1914. The original capacity of the auditorium is unknown, but with standing room in the Stalls it is possible that over 3000 people were able to attend performances. The current capacity is between 1300 and 1400. The Prince's was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue, and is located on the junction between Shaftesbury Avenue and High Holborn. During the First World War, the Prince's advertised itself as ‘The Laughter House where you can forget the War.’ In September 1919, the theatre had considerable success with a season of Gilbert and Sullivan operas, presented by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. The success of these revivals led to a number of similar seasons over the next few decades, with the Theatre selling out every time. Other productions during this time included The Return of Sherlock Holmes starring Eille Norwood and a season of classical plays, including Medea and Macbeth, starring Sybil Thorndike. In 1928, Fred and Adele Astaire starred in Funny Face with Leslie Henson. The musical was a great success, but was cut short by a gas explosion on High Holborn outside the theatre. Despite heavy bombing in the West End, and several periods of forced closure, the Prince's was able to continue a programme of shows during the Second World War. Many of these were presented by and named for Firth Shepherd, such as Shepherd’s Pie. Shepherd’s Pie was a comedic and musical revue of the kind that was popular in London theatres during the war, and was heralded as one of the most successful of its kind. In 1948, Jack Hylton presented Burlesque starring Marjorie Reynolds at the Prince's. Hylton was also the producer for Buoyant Billions (1949), a play written by George Bernard Shaw when he was 93. In 1953, Hylton and Sam Wanamaker presented The Shrike by Joseph Kramm, and in 1955 Pat Kirkwood appeared at the theatre in Wonderful Town. After a period of years presenting plays and