Saville Theatre

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The Saville Theatre was a West End theatre in London, England, during the 20th century.

The theatre was designed by the architect Sir Thomas Bennett and opened in 1931 on Shaftesbury Avenue.

Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles and himself a former drama student, bought the theatre in 1965, presenting both plays (including works by Arnold Wesker) and rock and roll shows. The venue became notorious for its Sunday night concerts, during one by Chuck Berry members of the audience stormed the stage and the police were called to clear the theatre.

The venue also saw the last UK appearance of The Jimi Hendrix Experience (on 4 June 1967) before their groundbreaking Monterey Pop Festival performance. The Move and Procol Harum also appeared on the bill. Yoko Ono performed there in 1967, in front of a projection of her film Bottoms (Film No. 5), and using smoke machines to fill the auditorium. Bands such as Britain's Nirvana, and The Bee Gees, also appeared there.

The Beatles themselves borrowed the Saville to make their "Hello, Goodbye" promo (an early music video) in 1967. While the promo did air in the United States, it wasn't allowed on British television because of a restriction on mimed performances.

The theatre was sold following Epstein's death in 1967. In 1969 (under new management) the theatre presented the London premier of The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui, a production that brought Leonard Rossiter to public attention.

The Saville was taken over by ABC Theatres in 1970, and is now the Odeon Covent Garden cinema.