Sheffield exists to promote chamber music. It describes itself as the largest promoter of chamber music outside London. Sheffield has two large theatres, the Lyceum Theatre and the Crucible Theatre, which together with the smaller Studio Theatre make up the largest theatre complex outside London, located in Tudor Square. The Crucible Theatre is the home (since 1977) of the World Snooker Championships and hosts many well-known stage productions throughout the year. The Lyceum, which opened in 1897, serves as a venue for touring West End productions and operas by Opera North, as well as locally produced shows. Sheffield also has the
John Street Theatre business. It was demolished in late 1798. The Downtown New York branch of Brasserie Les Halles now occupies part of the site. John Street Theatre John Street Theatre, situated at 15-21 John Street, sometimes called "The Birthplace of American Theatre," was the first permanent theatre in New York. It opened on December 7, 1767, and was operated for several decades by the American Company. It closed on January 13, 1798. The theatre was built by David Douglass (c. 1720-1786), an English actor who had emigrated to Jamaica in about 1750. There he met Lewis Hallam, leader of a touring theatrical