Queen's Theatre in a modern style. The reconstructed theatre opened 8 July 1959 with John Gielgud's solo performance in "Shakespeare speeches and sonnets, Ages of Man". Since April 2004, the theatre has played host to Cameron Mackintosh's production of "Les Misérables" which transferred after 18 years at the nearby Palace Theatre. The musical celebrated its 20th anniversary at the venue on 8 October 2005 and overtook "Cats" as the longest running musical of all time a year later on 8 October 2006. The theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in June 1972. An extensive refurbishment was undertaken in the latter
Palace Theatre, Mansfield suggestions were made, but it was decided that the 'Civic Theatre' was the most appropriate, although this later changed to the 'Palace Theatre', the building's original name. As part of a project to make the Palace Theatre a major touring venue for the North of England, the theatre closed for major redevelopments in 1997. During the seven-month period in which it was closed, many areas of the theatre were demolished, with all of the building being completely renovated. The project cost over £2.9 million. As a result of the works, the Palace Theatre has been designated as a regional mid-scale