Soho and Fitzrovia - The Rough Guide to London - page 96

Coliseum
St Martin's Lane • T 020 7845 9300, W eno.org • ! Leicester Square or Charing Cross
At the southern end of St Martin's Lane stands the Coliseum , an extravagant variety
theatre built in 1904 by Frank Matcham, where the likes of Lillie Langtry, Sarah
Bernhardt and the Ballets Russes all performed. Now home to the English National
Opera (see p.415), it remains London's largest theatre, its cutest feature the revolving
illuminated globe that crowns the building.

5

Shaftesbury Avenue
Sweeping through the southern part of Soho, the gentle curve of Shaftesbury
Avenue is the heart of the West End's Theatreland , with theatres and cinemas along
its entire length. Built in the 1870s, ostensibly to relieve tra c congestion but with
the dual purpose of destroying the slums that lay in its path, the street was ironically
named after Lord Shaftesbury, whose life had been spent trying to help the likes of
those dispossessed by the road. The most impressive theatre architecturally is the
grandiose terracotta Palace Theatre , overlooking Cambridge Circus, which opened
in 1891 as the Royal English Opera House; it folded after just one year, and, since
the 1920s, has mostly hosted musicals. Just off Cambridge Circus, hidden away
down West Street, is St Martin's Theatre, where Agatha Christie's record-breaking
murder-mystery he Mousetrap has been on nonstop since 1952, notching up over
24,000 performances.

Old Compton Street
If Soho had an o cial main drag, it would be Old Compton Street , which runs
parallel with Shaftesbury Avenue, and forms the heart of Central Soho. The shops,
boutiques and cafés in the narrow surrounding streets are typical of the area and a
good barometer of the latest Soho fads. Several places have survived the vicissitudes
of fashion, including the original Patisserie Valerie , opened by the Belgian-born
Madame Valerie in 1926, the Algerian Coffee Store, the Italian deli, I Camisa & Son,
The Vintage House off-licence, and Gerry's, whose spirit-window display is a paean
to alcohol.
The liberal atmosphere of Soho has made it a permanent fixture on the gay scene
since the last century: gay servicemen frequented the Golden Lion , on Dean Street,
from World War II until the end of National Service, while a succession of gay artists
found refuge here during the 1950s and 1960s. Nowadays the scene is much more
upfront, with every type of gay business jostling for position on and off Old
Compton Street.

Greek Street
The streets off Old Compton Street are lined with Soho institutions past and present,
starting in the east with Greek Street , named after the Greek church that once stood
nearby. South of Old Compton Street, at no. 29, stands Maison Bertaux , London's
oldest French patisserie, founded in 1871. he Coach and Horses , one door down at
no. 29, was lorded over for years by the boozy gang of writer Jeffrey Bernard, painter
Francis Bacon and jazz man George Melly, as well as the staff of the satirical magazine,
Private Eye .

HIDDEN GEMS: QUINTESSENTIAL SOHO
Algerian Coffee Stores See p.431
Bar Italia See p.369
Cecil Court bookshops See opposite
Ronnie Scott's See p.402

The French House See p.387
Maison Bertaux See p.369
Society Club See p.430
Vintage House See p.432