Much Ado ...

Great morning service with the good people of St Paul's Covent Garden, the Actors' Church. According to trusty Wikipedia, St Paul's was designed by Inigo Jones as part of a commission for the 4th Earl of Bedford in 1631 to create "houses and buildings fitt for the habitacons of Gentlemen and men of ability". As well as being the parish church of Covent Garden, the church has gained the nickname of "the actors' church" due to its long association with the theatre community.

Completed in 1633, St Paul's was the first entirely new church to be built in London since the Reformation. According to an often repeated story, recorded by Horace Walpole, Lord Bedford asked Jones to design a simple church "not much better than a barn", to which the architect replied "Then you shall have the handsomest barn in England".

In 1662, Samuel Pepys noted in his diary the first "Italian puppet play" under the portico of St Paul's — the first recorded performance of "Punch and Judy". The portico of St Paul's was also the setting for the first scene of Shaw's Pygmalion, the play that was later adapted as My Fair Lady. St Paul's is home to Since 2007 St Paul's has been home to The Iris Theatre (current production - Much Ado About Nothing"