Recent Years
From 1996 to 2005, the theatre was home to productions of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), The Complete History of America, and The Bible, The Complete Word of God. The theatre was used to hold the first round of recalls for successful auditionees in ITV's Pop Idol. The theatre is also used by leading drama institution Academy of Live and Recorded Arts as a venue for their graduating students' annual showcase.
Since 2006, the Criterion has hosted the long-running melodrama The 39 Steps, adapted for the stage by Patrick Barlow from John Buchan's 1915 novel, which was adapted for film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935.
Peppa Pig's Party transferred to the Criterion Theatre for the 2010 Christmas period to play alongside The 39 Steps and will return for the 2011 Christmas period.
Criterion Presents, launched in October 2011, is an ancillary programme of shows, events and platforms that run alongside the main production, taking place at lunchtimes, early evenings and late nights.
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Famous quotes containing the word years:
“After the planet becomes theirs, many millions of years will have to pass before a beetle particularly loved by God, at the end of its calculations will find written on a sheet of paper in letters of fire that energy is equal to the mass multiplied by the square of the velocity of light. The new kings of the world will live tranquilly for a long time, confining themselves to devouring each other and being parasites among each other on a cottage industry scale.”
—Primo Levi (1919–1987)
“Thirty years now I have labored
To dredge the silt from your throat.
I am none the wiser.”
—Sylvia Plath (1932–1963)