Editing Dominion Theatre (section)

==Building==
Construction of the Dominion Theatre began in March 1928 with a design by W and TR Milburn and a budget of £460,000. The site was the location of the 1911 Court Cinema and the 1746 [[Horse Shoe Brewery]], established in 1746. The Horse Street Brewery was the site of the 1814 [[London Beer Flood]].  The first performance was on 3 October 1929.<ref name=early>{{cite web| title=History of the Theatre: The Early Years| url=http://www.dominiontheatre.com/theatre/about-the-theatre/history-of-the-theatre/the-early-years/| website=Dominion Theatre| url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530124135/http://www.dominiontheatre.com:80/theatre/about-the-theatre/history-of-the-theatre/the-early-years/ |archive-date=30 May 2016}}</ref> The theatre is [[Renaissance Revival architecture|Renaissance revival]] in style;<ref name=London>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatre.london/london-theatres/london-dominion-theatre |title=Dominion Theatre |website=Theatre London |access-date=21 August 2022 }}</ref> the [[Tottenham Court Road]] façade features a ground level entry sheltered by a broad [[Marquee (sign)|marquee]] with the second through fourth levels framed by large [[pilaster]]s.  The central portion is concave and faced with [[Portland stone]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1379033 |desc=Dominion Theatre |access-date=2015-11-04}}</ref> A three-bay [[bow window]] extends the height of the second and third storeys and is surmounted by a sculpture of two [[Griffin|gryphons]], behind which are three square openings with decorative iron grates.

The theatre was intended primarily for [[Musical comedy|musical comedies]] and secondarily as a cinema.<ref name=early/> It originally had a [[seating capacity]] of 2,835: 1,340 in the stalls, 818 in the dress circle and 677 in the balcony (upper circle).<ref name=Treasures>{{cite web |author1=Ian Grundy |author2=Ken Roe |url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2493 |title=Dominion Theatre |website=[[Cinema Treasures]] |access-date=21 August 2022 }}</ref> The balcony was closed in the 1950s; {{As of|2021|lc=on}}, capacity is 2,069 in two tiers of galleries. The theatre retains its 1920s light fittings and art deco plasterwork.<ref name="londontheatredirect" /> A café was originally above the entrance.<ref name=London/>