Advertising itself as London's first new purpose-built theatre complex in 30 years, the St James Theatre's first task will be convincing anyone that London actually wants it. On a corner a few minutes' walk from Victoria, a shiny foyer with a bar/brasserie looks more like the lobby of a chain hotel than a creative space. Hopefully time will bring a bit more character to its public face. Meanwhile the opening season of programming seems surprisingly low-key, and they shouldn't be surprised to have attracted comments that they're presenting regional theatre at London prices (on the surface there doesn't seem a huge difference in the programming here and that at my local theatre, a receiving house that struggles to put bums on seats at a fraction of the ticket price.) The auditorium itself is a nice medium size (312 capacity) with stadium seating meaning decent sightlines to the small thrust stage - though I would have hoped for better soundproofing in a newly-built theatre. But of course what it's all going to come down to is the quality of the work actually put on that stage, and for its inaugural production the St James has turned to Northampton's Royal and Derngate Theatres, and a play by writer, performer, and Chief Lesbian to the Court of Radio Four, Sandi Toksvig.
