The 800-seat venue, close to Trafalgar Square, opened in 1882 as the Royal Avenue Theatre, becoming the Playhouse 25 years later.

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Highlights include recordings of the Beatles at the Royal Albert Hall in 1963, Gregory Peck playing the piano, and an entire Kenneth Williams Playhouse comedy series.

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He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and won a scholarship to Liverpool Playhouse in 1956.

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