London Palladium

For those who owned televisions in the 1950s and 1960s, the London Palladium is quite simply the most famous variety theatre in the world. Stars who had previously been mere voices on the radio, leapt into the living room in glorious black and white when Sunday Night at the London Palladium was first broadcast. The Palladium's classical facade dates from 1868, while the rest of the building reached its current form in 1910, in an ambitious rebuilding at the peak of the British variety show boom. The tiered auditorium, the second-largest in the West End, is undeniably impressive, as is the richly-ornamented foyer and main staircase. There is even a fountain in the dress circle bar, to add to the feeling of luxury. The Palladium has hosted more Royal Variety Shows than any other theatre and held the London debuts for Bob Hope, Liberace, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. It has had some difficulty finding a role since these shows drifted out of fashion, though it has hosted some hit musicals, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.