West London will get a new theatre next fall, with Capital Theatre set to open in autumn 2025. The venue, a joint venture between Karl Sydow and Adam Kenwright, will launch with a new run of Dirty Dancing—The Classic Story on Stage, adapted from the 1987 film.
The 35,000 square foot space will feature 620 seats at Westfield London in Shepherd's Bush. The unique arrangement ensures all audience members will be no further than nine rows away from the performance area. The venue will also boast a foyer café, rehearsal rooms, backstage offices, dressing rooms, and other theatre management spaces.
Dirty Dancing—The Classic Story on Stage, a separate endeavor from the recently announced Broadway-aimed adaptation, began in Australia in 2004, and has since played multiple West End runs. Casting for the upcoming London return is to be announced.
“I began my entertainment journey in 1965 with rock ’n’ roll bands, moved to theatre in 1982, produced my first show in 1988 and received my first Tony nomination in 1991," says Sydow, who is also a producer of Dirty Dancing. "I have presented shows all over the world from the smallest of the fringe to the largest of West End Theatres and produced Dirty Dancing—The Classic Story on Stage since 2004. So at the halfway point in my theatrical life I’m thrilled to be doing something very special and new to me with a very special friend. It’s time to build and run a venue! We have always had a mission to bring more people to the theatre and by opening the Capital Theatre at Westfield London, we are bringing a theatre to where the people are!”
"We are so excited today to announce the Capital Theatre: a thrilling, state of the art addition to London's thriving entertainment scene," adds Kenwright. "We have created a uniquely tailored and designed new space, with the experience of audiences at its heart. London's theatres are on course to deliver the greatest ever attendance figures in 2024, with 17 million tickets and, for the first time ever, sales in excess of £1 billion. Capital Theatre will build upon this, supported by superb transport links to provide easy access for audiences from across the UK. With Dirty Dancing—The Classic Story on Stage as the inaugural show in the venue, we will be launching with a world-renowned production that has a track record of more than a decade's sold-out seasons in London and throughout the country."
Tickets go on sale November 9 at DirtyDancingOnStage.co.uk.
