Aldwych (pronounced /ˈɔːldwɪtʃ/ AWLD-witch) is a street and the name of the area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End Theatreland. The 450 metres (1,480 ft) street starts 600 metres (2,000 ft) east-northeast of Charing Cross, the conventional map centre-point of the capital city.
In the 7th century, the area was an Anglo-Saxon settlement. The name means "old port", and was the port of the City of London.
Catherine Street, originally known as Brydges Street, is a street in the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Russell Street in the north to Aldwych in the south. It is crossed midway by Tavistock Street and joined on the western side near Aldwych by the eastern end of Exeter Street.
Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Drury Lane is part of London's West End Theatreland.
The A4200 is a major thoroughfare in central London. It runs between the A4 at Aldwych, to the A400 Hampstead Road/Camden High Street, at Mornington Crescent tube station, via Holborn, Bloomsbury, Euston and Somers Town.
Bush House is a Grade II listed building at the southern end of Kingsway between Aldwych and the Strand in London, England. It was conceived as a major new trade centre by American industrialist Irving T. Bush, and commissioned, designed, funded, and constructed under his direction. The design was approved in 1919, work began in 1925, and was completed in 1935. Erected in stages, by 1929 Bush House was already declared the "most expensive building in the world".
Now part of the Strand Campus of King's College London, Bush House previously served as the headquarters of the BBC World Service. Broadcasting from Bush House lasted for 70 years, from winter 1941 to summer 2012. The final BBC broadcast from Bush House was the 12 noon BST news bulletin on 12 July 2012. The BBC World Service is now housed in Broadcasting House in Portland Place. King's College London has taken over the premises since acquiring the lease in 2015.
The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in Westminster, London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. In 1868, it became known as the Gaiety Theatre and was, at first, known for music hall and then for musical burlesque, pantomime and operetta performances. From 1868 to the 1890s, it had a major influence on the development of modern musical comedy.
Under the management of John Hollingshead until 1886, the theatre had early success with Robert the Devil, by W. S. Gilbert, followed by many other burlesques of operas and literary works. Many of the productions starred Nellie Farren. Hollingshead's last production at the theatre was the burlesque Little Jack Sheppard (1885–86), produced together with his successor, George Edwardes. Edwardes's first show, Dorothy, became a long-running hit. In the 1880s and 90s, the theatre had further success with a number of burlesques with original scores by the theatre's music director, Wilhelm Meyer Lutz, including Faust up to Date (1888), Carmen up to Data (1890) and Cinder Ellen up too Late (1891).