The Savoy Theatre

Designed by C I Phipps and decorated by Collinson & Locke, the most beautifully fitted theatre in Europe opened it's doors on 10th October 1881 with a transfer from the Opera Comique of Gilbert and Sullivans opera Patience. Built at the instigation of Impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte, who wanted his own theatre in order to stage the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, the Savoy Theatre became famous as the first public building in the world to be lit by Incandescent electric lights and in one way or another it has been blazing ever since.