Gossip

Underbelly file application for new theatre in Marble Arch

The theatre company hope to bring their production of ”Five Guys Named Moe” to the capital

The Grade I listed Marble Arch in London
The Grade I listed Marble Arch in London
© Sherwood (Flickr)

Following a failed attempt to erect a new pop-up theatre venue on Embankment Gardens, live entertainment company Underbelly have filed an application to build a new temporary venue next to Marble Arch.

According to a planning application, the new theatre which is being proposed to house a revival of Louis Jordan's musical Five Guys Named Moe, will have 650 seats and occupy a space on the grassed area adjacent to the Grade I listed landmark.

The application proposes that construction of the venue – which will be a Spiegeltent like the Wonderground venue the organisation runs on London's South Bank – begins in April, with the performance running from 1 May to 26 November 2017.

The production, which is presented in association with Cameron Mackintosh, ran in Edinburgh last year, directed by Paulette Randall and starring Cameron Johnson, Jacob Maynard, Matt Mills, Emile Ruddock, Spin and Mitchell Zhangazha.

Featuring the songs of jazz musician Louis Jordan, including "Early In The Morning", "Choo Choo Ch’Boogie" and "Saturday Night Fish Fry", it premiered at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in 1990, and subsequently transferred to the West End.