John Potter, a carpenter, built the original theater in 1720 on the site of the King's Head Inn. It opened on December 29, 1720, a little further north on the same street. Samuel Foote enlarged it in 1767. John Nash redesigned the theater on its current site, and it opened on July 4, 1821, with The Rivals. His exterior has a pedimented portico of six Corinthian columns. The article notes it is sometimes said he rebuilt it entirely, but he incorporated and altered existing structures.
C. Stanley Peach redesigned the auditorium in 1904 in the Louis XVI style. In 1749 an audience rioted and gutted the earlier theater. A ceiling partly collapsed during a performance in 2004.
It seats 888 and is a Grade I listed building. The Crown Estate owns the freehold.
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