Editing Wimbledon, London (section)

===New Wimbledon Theatre===
{{Main|New Wimbledon Theatre}}
[[File:New Wimbledon Theatre.jpg|thumb|right|upright|New Wimbledon Theatre]]
The New Wimbledon Theatre is a [[Listed building|Grade II listed]] [[Edwardian era|Edwardian]] theatre built by J. B. Mullholland as the Wimbledon Theatre, on the site of a large house with spacious grounds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merton.gov.uk/leisure/history-heritage/architecture/open_house_new_wimbledon_theatre.htm |title=New Wimbledon Theatre – architecture – Merton Council |publisher=merton.gov.uk |access-date=14 April 2011}}</ref> The theatre was designed by Cecil Aubrey Masey and Roy Young (possibly after a 1908 design by Frank H Jones). It opened on 26 December 1910 with the [[pantomime]] ''Jack and Jill''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/WimbledonTheatre.htm |title=The New Wimbledon Theatre |publisher=arthurlloyd.co.uk |access-date=14 April 2011}}</ref> The theatre was very popular between the wars, with appearances by [[Gracie Fields]], [[Sybil Thorndike]], [[Ivor Novello]], [[Alicia Markova|Markova]] and [[Noël Coward]]. Lionel Bart's [[Oliver!]] and [[Half A Sixpence]], starring [[Tommy Steele]], received their world premières at the theatre in the 1960s, before transferring to the [[West End theatre|West End]].

The theatre was saved from redevelopment by the [[Ambassador Theatre Group]] in 2004.<ref name="The London encyclopaedia"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeandleisure.co.uk/articles/history/390-wimbledon-theatre-centenary.html|title=New Wimbledon Theatre Centenary|author=Katie Kemp|date=25 August 2010|website=Time & Leisure|access-date=14 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309135643/http://www.timeandleisure.co.uk/articles/history/390-wimbledon-theatre-centenary.html|archive-date=9 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> With several refurbishments, notably in 1991 and 1998, it retains its [[baroque]] and [[Adamesque]] internal features. The golden statue on the dome depicts [[Laetitia (goddess)|Laetitia]], the Roman Goddess of Gaiety, and was an original fixture back in 1910. Laetitia is holding a [[laurel crown]] as a symbol of celebration. The statue was removed during [[World War II]], as it was thought to be a direction finder for German bombers. It was eventually replaced in 1991.
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