West End theatre

Professional theatre staged in London, England

West End theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue The London Palladium in Soho opened in 1910. While the Theatre has a resident show, it also has one-off performances such as concerts. Since 1930 it has hosted the Royal Variety Performance 43 times.

West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.[1] Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre represents the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.[2] Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London.[1] Prominent screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage.[3][4][5][6][7]

There are approximately 40 theatres in the West End, with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opened in May 1663, the oldest theatre in London.[8] The Savoy Theatre—built as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan—was entirely lit by electricity in 1881.[9]

The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) announced that 2018 was a record year for the capital's theatre industry with attendances topping 15.5 million for the first time since the organisation began collecting audience data in 1986. Box office revenues exceeded £765 million.[10] While attendance in 2019 was down 1.4% compared to the previous year, box office revenues reached a record £799 million.[11] In 2023, audiences reached a record 17.1 million.[12]

The majority of West End theatres are owned by the ATG Entertainment, Delfont Mackintosh Theatres, Nimax Theatres, LW Theatres, and the Nederlander Organization.

## History

[edit]

Further information: English drama and English Renaissance theatre

See also: Theatre of the United Kingdom

Theatre in London flourished after the English Reformation. The first permanent public playhouse, known as The Theatre, was constructed in 1576 in Shoreditch by James Burbage. It was soon joined by The Curtain. Both are known to have been used by William Shakespeare's company. In 1599, the timber from The Theatre was moved to Southwark, where it was used in building the Globe Theatre in a new theatre district formed beyond the controls of the City corporation. Regarding theatre as sinful, these theatres were closed in 1642 due to the Puritans who would later influence the interregnum of 1649.[13][14] On 24 January 1643, the actors protested against the ban by writing a pamphlet titled The Actors remonstrance or complaint for the silencing of their profession, and banishment from their severall play-houses.[15]

Further information: Restoration comedy and Restoration spectacular

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Opened in May 1663, it is the oldest theatre in London.[8]

After the Restoration (1660), Puritan legislation was declared null and void, and theatre (among other arts) exploded.[14][16] Two companies were licensed to perform, the Duke's Company and the King's Company. Performances were held in converted buildings, such as Lisle's Tennis Court. The first West End theatre, known as Theatre Royal in Bridges Street, was designed by Thomas Killigrew and built on the site of the present Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.[8] It opened on 7 May 1663 and was destroyed by a fire nine years later. It was replaced by a new structure designed by Christopher Wren and renamed the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.[17][18] One of the first actresses on the stage, Nell Gwyn became a star of restoration comedy.[19]

Outside the West End, Sadler's Wells Theatre opened in Islington on 3 June 1683. Taking its name from founder Richard Sadler and monastic springs that were discovered on the property,[20][21] it operated as a "Musick House", with performances of opera; as it was not licensed for plays. In the West End, the Theatre Royal Haymarket opened on 29 December 1720 on a site slightly north of its current location, and the Royal Opera House opened in Covent Garden on 7 December 1732.[22] John Gay's ballad opera The Beggar's Opera ran for 62 performances in 1728, and held the record for London's longest run for nearly a century. It has been called "the most popular play of the eighteenth century."[23] Another musical show, Tom and Jerry, or Life in London (1821), was the first London production to reach 100 consecutive performances.[24] Tom and Jerry's combination of a tour of London interspersed with song and dance, gave rise to numerous similar, loosely constructed entertainments, and "planted the seeds for later musical comedy and revue".[25]

The Patent theatre companies retained their duopoly on drama well into the 19th century, and all other theatres could perform only musical entertainments. By the early 19th century, however, music hall entertainments became popular, and presenters found a loophole in the restrictions on non-patent theatres in the genre of melodrama. Melodrama did not break the Patent Acts, as it was accompanied by music. Initially, these entertainments were presented in large halls, attached to public houses, but purpose-built theatres began to appear in the East End, such as the Pavilion Theatre in Whitechapel.[26] The comic theatrical genre the harlequinade was also popular among London audiences. Its most famous performer, Joseph Grimaldi, best known for developing the modern day white-face clown, made his stage debut at Drury Lane in 1780.[27]

Original interior of Savoy Theatre in 1881, the year it was fitted with the incandescent light bulb developed by Sir Joseph Swan to become the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity.[28][29]

The West End theatre district became established with the opening of many small theatres and halls, including the Adelphi in The Strand on 17 November 1806. South of the River Thames, the Old Vic, Waterloo Road, opened on 11 May 1818. The expansion of the West End theatre district gained pace with the Theatres Act 1843, which relaxed the conditions for the performance of plays, and The Strand gained another venue when the Vaudeville opened on 16 April 1870. The next few decades saw the opening of many new theatres in the West End. The Adelphi hosted A Christmas Carol; or, Past, Present, and Future in 1844, a play adapted from the novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens—who came to several stage rehearsals during which he made suggestions—with his book published weeks earlier in December 1843.[30][31]

Gilbert and Sullivan play at the Savoy in 1881

The Criterion Theatre opened on Piccadilly Circus on 21 March 1874, and in 1881, two more houses appeared: the Savoy Theatre in The Strand, built by Richard D'Oyly Carte specifically to showcase the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, opened in October (the first theatre and public building to be lit by electric lights, with The Times recording, "the success of the new mode of illumination was complete, and its importance for the development of scenic art can scarcely be overrated"), and five days later the Comedy Theatre opened as the Royal Comedy Theatre on Panton Street in Leicester Square.[28] It abbreviated its name three years later.[18] On 23 December 1886, Alice in Wonderland (the first major production of the Alice books) debuted at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Its author Lewis Carroll was involved in the stage adaptation, and he attended a performance seven days later.[32] The Palace Theatre opened in 1891. Opened in 1892, the Duke of York's Theatre debuted J. M. Barrie's play, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, on 27 December 1904.[33]

Oscar Wilde, one of the most popular playwrights in London in the 1890s, premiered his second comedy, A Woman of No Importance, at Haymarket Theatre in 1893. The subject of widespread public and media interest, Lillie Langtry (an associate of Wilde) made her West End debut in the comedy She Stoops to Conquer in 1881.[34] In 1878, Ellen Terry joined Henry Irving's company as his leading lady, and for more than the next two decades she was considered the leading Shakespearean and comic actress in Britain.[35] Opened in 1903, the New Theatre debuted The Scarlet Pimpernel in 1905, a play that introduced a heroic figure with an alter ego into the public consciousness.[36] The theatre was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in 2006 after the playwright Noël Coward. Constructed in 1897, Her Majesty's Theatre hosted a number of premieres, including George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion in 1914 with Mrs Patrick Campbell originating the role of Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle.[37][38] The theatre building boom continued until about the First World War.[39]

In 1930, Laurence Olivier had his first important West End success in Noël Coward's Private Lives. A number of other actors made their West End debut prior to the Second World War, including John Gielgud, Alec Guinness, Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison; the latter's performance in Terence Rattigan's 1936 comedy French Without Tears at the Criterion Theatre established him a leading light comedian.[40] During the 1950s and 1960s, many plays were produced in theatre clubs, to evade the censorship then exercised by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. The Theatres Act 1968 finally abolished censorship of the stage in the United Kingdom.[41]

### Theatreland

[edit]

The Palace Theatre (playing Spamalot, an adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail) was opened in 1891

"Theatreland", London's main theatre district, contains approximately 40 venues and is located in and near the heart of the West End of London. It is traditionally defined by the Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west, and Kingsway to the east. However, a few other nearby theatres are also considered "West End" despite being outside the area proper; an example is The Apollo Victoria Theatre, in Westminster. Prominent theatre streets include Drury Lane, Shaftesbury Avenue and the Strand. The works staged are predominantly musicals, classic and modern straight plays, and comedy performances.[42]

Many theatres in the West End are of late Victorian or Edwardian construction and are privately owned. Many are architecturally impressive, and the largest and best maintained feature grand neo-classical, Romanesque, or Victorian façades and luxurious, detailed interior design and decoration. Theatre names, such as Empire, Lyceum, Palladium, Alhambra and Hippodrome, emphasised a grandeur of scale.[43]

Queen's Theatre showing Les Misérables, running in London since October 1985

However, owing to the age of the buildings, leg room is often cramped, and audience facilities such as bars and toilets are often much smaller than in modern theatres. The protected status of the buildings and their confined urban locations, combined with financial constraints, make it very difficult to make substantial improvements to the level of comfort offered. In 2003, the Theatres Trust estimated that an investment of £250 million over the following 15 years was required for modernisation,[44] and stated that 60% of theatres had seats from which the stage was not fully visible.[45]

Victoria Palace Theatre (showing Billy Elliot in 2012) was refurbished in 2017.[46]

Starting in 2004, there were several incidents of falling plasterwork, or performances being cancelled because of urgent building repairs being required. These events culminated in the partial collapse of the ceiling of the Apollo Theatre in December 2013.[47] Of these earlier incidents, only one led to people being hurt,[48] but at the Apollo 76 people needed medical treatment for their injuries.[49] A number of West End theatres have undergone refurbishments, including the Victoria Palace Theatre following the run of Billy Elliot in 2016.[46] The Dominion Theatre refurbishment was completed in 2017 with the unveiling of a new double-sided LED screen, the largest and highest resolution projecting screen on the exterior of a West End theatre.[50]

In 2012, gross sales of £529,787,692 were up 0.27% and attendances also increased 0.56% to 13,992,773-year-on-year.[51] In 2013, sales again rose this time by 11% to £585,506,455,[52] with attendances rising to 14,587,276.[53] This was despite slightly fewer performances occurring in 2013.[54]

On 16 March 2020, following government advice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all theatres in the West End were closed until further notice.[55] Theatres in London were allowed to re-open (with social distancing) on 17 May 2021, with full capacity permitted from 19 July.[56] Opening in October 2022, @sohoplace is the first new West End theatre in 50 years.[57]

## Long-running shows

[edit]

Main article: List of the longest-running West End shows

St Martin's Theatre, home to Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, the world's longest-running play

The length of West End shows depends on ticket sales. Agatha Christie's murder mystery play The Mousetrap is the longest-running production in the West End and the world, and has been performed continuously since 1952.[58][59] The longest-running musical in West End history is Les Misérables, produced by Cameron Mackintosh, which has been running in London since October 1985.[60] It overtook Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, which closed in 2002 after running for 8,949 performances and 21 years, as the longest-running West End musical of all time on 9 October 2006. Other long-runners include Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, Willy Russell's Blood Brothers, and Catherine Johnson's ABBA-inspired jukebox musical Mamma Mia! which have also subsequently overtaken Cats.[61]

Running since 2011, Matilda the Musical, an adaptation of Roald Dahl's Matilda, won a then-record seven Olivier Awards in 2012.[62] Running since 2016, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a two-part play written by Jack Thorne based on an original story by J. K. Rowling, won a record-breaking nine Olivier Awards in 2017.[63]

## List of West End theatres

[edit]

* An * after the opening date indicates that the listed production has yet to open and is scheduled for the given date at that theatre.
* An * after the closing date indicates that there is another show scheduled for that theatre.
* If the next show planned is not announced, the applicable columns are left blank.

Theatre  | Address  | Opened  | Capacity  | Owner/Operator  | Current production  | Type  | Opening  | Closing

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Adelphi Theatre | Strand  | 1806  | 1,500  | LW Theatres / Nederlander Organization | Back to the Future: The Musical | Musical  | 2021-09-1313 September 2021  | Open-ended
Aldwych Theatre | Aldwych  | 1905  | 1,200  | Nederlander Organization | Tina—The Tina Turner Musical | Musical  | 2018-04-1717 April 2018  | 2025-09-1313 September 2025*
Ambassadors Theatre | West Street  | 1913  | 444  | ATG Entertainment | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button[64] | Musical  | 2024-10-1010 October 2024  | 2025-10-1111 October 2025
Apollo Theatre | Shaftesbury Avenue  | 1901  | 658  | Nimax Theatres | Fawlty Towers: The Play | Play  | 2025-06-2424 June 2025  | 2025-09-1313 September 2025*
Apollo Victoria Theatre | Wilton Road  | 1930  | 2,328  | ATG Entertainment | Wicked | Musical  | 2006-09-2727 September 2006  | Open-ended
Arts Theatre | Great Newport Street  | 1927  | 350  | JJ Goodman Ltd.  | The Choir of Man | Musical  | 2022-10-1313 October 2022  | 2026-01-044 January 2026
Cambridge Theatre | Earlham Street  | 1930  | 1,231  | LW Theatres | Matilda the Musical | Musical  | 2011-11-2424 November 2011  | Open-ended
Criterion Theatre | Jermyn Street  | 1874  | 588  | Criterion Theatre Trust  | Titanique[65] | Musical  | 2025-01-099 January 2025  | Open-ended
Dominion Theatre | Tottenham Court Road  | 1929  | 2,163  | Nederlander Organization | The Devil Wears Prada[66] | Musical  | 2024-12-055 December 2024  | Open-ended
Duchess Theatre | Catherine Street  | 1929  | 494  | Nimax Theatres | The Play That Goes Wrong | Play  | 2014-09-1414 September 2014  | Open-ended
Duke of York's Theatre | St. Martin's Lane  | 1892  | 640  | ATG Entertainment | Stereophonic[67] | Play  | 2025-06-1212 June 2025  | 2025-11-2222 November 2025
Fortune Theatre | Russell Street  | 1924  | 432  | ATG Entertainment | Operation Mincemeat | Musical  | 2023-03-2929 March 2023  | 2025-11-1528 February 2026
Garrick Theatre | Charing Cross Road  | 1889  | 718  | Nimax Theatres | Mrs. Warren's Profession[68] | Play  | 2025-05-2222 May 2025  | 2025-08-1616 August 2025*
Gielgud Theatre | Shaftesbury Avenue  | 1906  | 994  | Delfont Mackintosh Theatres | Oliver![69] | Musical  | 2025-01-1414 January 2025  | 2026-03-2929 March 2026
Gillian Lynne Theatre | Drury Lane  | 1973  | 1,118  | LW Theatres | My Neighbour Totoro[70] | Play  | 2025-03-2020 March 2025  | 2026-03-2929 March 2026
Harold Pinter Theatre | Panton Street  | 1881  | 796  | ATG Entertainment | A Man for All Seasons[71] | Play  | 2025-08-066 August 2025*  | 2025-09-066 September 2025*
His Majesty's Theatre | Haymarket  | 1897  | 1,216  | LW Theatres | The Phantom of the Opera | Musical  | 1986-10-99 October 1986  | Open-ended
London Palladium | Argyll Street | 1910  | 2,286  | LW Theatres | Evita[72] | Musical  | 2025-07-011 July 2025  | 2025-09-066 September 2025*
Lyceum Theatre | Wellington Street  | 1834  | 2,100  | ATG Entertainment | The Lion King | Musical  | 1999-10-1919 October 1999  | Open-ended
Lyric Theatre | Shaftesbury Avenue  | 1888  | 915  | Nimax Theatres | Hadestown | Musical  | 2024-02-2121 February 2024  | Open-ended
Noël Coward Theatre | St. Martin's Lane  | 1903  | 942  | Delfont Mackintosh Theatres | The Comedy about Spies | Play  | 2025-05-066 May 2025  | 2025-09-055 September 2025*
Novello Theatre | Aldwych  | 1905  | 1,146  | Delfont Mackintosh Theatres | Mamma Mia! | Musical  | 1999-04-066 April 1999  | Open-ended
Palace Theatre | Shaftesbury Avenue  | 1891  | 1,400  | Nimax Theatres | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | Play  | 2016-07-2525 July 2016  | Open-ended
Phoenix Theatre | Charing Cross Road  | 1930  | 1,012  | ATG Entertainment | Stranger Things: The First Shadow | Play  | 2023-12-1414 December 2023  | Open-ended
Piccadilly Theatre | Denman Street  | 1928  | 1,232  | ATG Entertainment | Moulin Rouge! The Musical | Musical  | 2022-01-2020 January 2022  | Open-ended
Playhouse Theatre | Craven Street  | 1882  | 550  | ATG Entertainment | Cabaret | Musical  | 2021-12-1212 December 2021  | Open-ended
Prince Edward Theatre | Old Compton Street  | 1930  | 1,727  | Delfont Mackintosh Theatres | MJ the Musical | Musical  | 2024-03-2727 March 2024  | 2026-02-2828 February 2026
Prince of Wales Theatre | Coventry Street  | 1884  | 1,148  | Delfont Mackintosh Theatres | The Book of Mormon | Musical  | 2013-03-2121 March 2013  | Open-ended
Savoy Theatre | Strand  | 1881  | 1,150  | ATG Entertainment | Burlesque[73] | Musical  | 2025-07-2222 July 2025  | 2025-09-066 September 2025*
Shaftesbury Theatre | Shaftesbury Avenue  | 1911  | 1,416  | DLT Entertainment  | Just for One Day[74] | Musical  | 2025-05-1515 May 2025  | 2026-01-1010 January 2026
@sohoplace | Charing Cross Road  | 2022  | 602  | Nimax Theatres | Every Brilliant Thing | Play  | 2025-08-077 August 2025*  | 2025-11-088 November 2025*
Sondheim Theatre | Shaftesbury Avenue  | 1907  | 1,137  | Delfont Mackintosh Theatres | Les Misérables | Musical  | 1985-10-88 October 1985  | Open-ended
St Martin's Theatre | West Street  | 1916  | 550  | Stephen Waley-Cohen | The Mousetrap | Play  | 1952-11-2525 November 1952  | Open-ended
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane | Catherine Street  | 1663  | 1,996  | LW Theatres | Hercules[75] | Musical  | 2025-06-2424 June 2025  | Open-ended
Theatre Royal Haymarket | Haymarket  | 1821  | 888  | Access Entertainment | Till the Stars Come Down[76] | Play  | 2025-07-099 July 2025  | 2025-09-2727 September 2025
Trafalgar Theatre | Whitehall  | 1930  | 630  | Trafalgar Entertainment Group  | Clueless: The Musical[77] | Musical  | 2025-02-1515 February 2025  | 2025-08-2323 August 2025
Vaudeville Theatre | Strand  | 1870  | 690  | Nimax Theatres | Six | Musical  | 2021-09-2929 September 2021  | Open-ended
Victoria Palace Theatre | Victoria Street  | 1911  | 1,557  | Delfont Mackintosh Theatres | Hamilton | Musical  | 2017-12-2121 December 2017  | Open-ended
Wyndham's Theatre | St. Martin's Court  | 1899  | 799  | Delfont Mackintosh Theatres | Born With Teeth[78] | Play  | 2025-08-1313 August 2025*  | 2025-11-011 November 2025*

### Upcoming productions

[edit]

The following shows are confirmed as future West End productions. The theatre in which they will run is either not yet known or currently occupied by another show.

Production  | Type  | Theatre  | Opening  | Ref

|
|
|
|

All My Sons | Play | Wyndham's Theatre | 2025-11-1414 November 2025 | [79]
Christmas Carol Goes Wrong | Play | Apollo Theatre | 2025-12-1414 December 2025 | [80]
Elf: The Musical | Musical | Aldwych Theatre | 2025-10-2828 October 2025 | [81]
I'm Sorry, Prime Minister | Play | Apollo Theatre | 2026-02-1212 February 2026 | [82]
The Importance of Being Earnest | Play | Noël Coward Theatre | 2025-09-1818 September 2025 | [83]
Paranormal Activity | Play | Ambassadors Theatre | 2025-12-055 December 2025 | [84]
Paddington: The Musical | Musical | Savoy Theatre | 1 November 2025 | [85]
The Producers | Musical | Garrick Theatre | 15 September 2025 | [86]
Punch | Play | Apollo Theatre | 2025-09-2626 September 2025 | [87]
Sleeping Beauty | Pantomime | London Palladium | 2025-12-066 December 2025 | [88]
Some Like it Hot | Musical | TBA | TBA | [89]
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold | Play | @sohoplace | 2025-11-1515 November 2025 |
The Weir | Play | Harold Pinter Theatre | 2025-9-1111 September 2025 |

## London's non-commercial theatres

[edit]

The exterior of the Old Vic The Royal Court Theatre. Upstairs is used as an experimental space for new projects—The Rocky Horror Show premiered here in 1973.[90]

The term "West End theatre" is generally used to refer specifically to commercial productions in Theatreland. However, the leading non-commercial theatres in London enjoy great artistic prestige. These include the National Theatre, the Barbican Centre, Shakespeare's Globe (including the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse), the Old Vic, Royal Court Theatre, Sadler's Wells Theatre, and the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. These theatres stage a high proportion of straight drama, Shakespeare, other classic plays and premieres of new plays by leading playwrights—for example David Hare's play Pravda starring Anthony Hopkins which was described by The Telegraph as "one of the biggest hits in the history of the National Theatre."[91] Successful productions from the non-commercial theatres sometimes transfer to one of the commercial West End houses for an extended run.[92]

The Royal Opera House is widely regarded as one of the greatest opera houses in the world, comparable with the Palais Garnier and La Scala. Commonly known simply as Covent Garden due to its location, it is home to the Royal Opera, Royal Ballet and a resident symphony orchestra, and hosts guest performances from other leading opera, ballet and performance companies from around the world. In 1735 its first season of operas, by George Frideric Handel, began and many of his English oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres here.[93]

Likewise, the London Coliseum is the resident home to the English National Opera. The theatre is also the London base for performances by the English National Ballet, who perform regular seasons throughout the year when not on tour. The Peacock Theatre is located on the edge of the Theatreland area. Now owned by the London School of Economics and Political Science, it is used in the evenings for dance performances by Sadler's Wells, who manage the theatre on behalf of the school.[94]

## Other London theatres

[edit]

Opened in 1977, the Donmar Warehouse became an independent producing house in 1992 with Sam Mendes as artistic director.

There are a great number of stage productions in London outside the West End. Much of this is known as fringe theatre (referred to as Off West End) which is the equivalent of off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway theatre in New York City. Among these are the Menier Chocolate Factory, Bush Theatre and the Donmar Warehouse. Fringe venues range from well-equipped small theatres to rooms above pubs, and the performances range from classic plays, to cabaret, to plays in the languages of London's ethnic minorities. The performers range from emerging young professionals to amateurs. Productions at the Donmar included the 1980 play Educating Rita which starred Julie Walters in the title role before she reprised the role in the 1983 film.[95]

There are many theatres located throughout Greater London, such as the Lyric Hammersmith, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Rose Theatre, Kingston, New Wimbledon Theatre, the Rudolph Steiner Theatre in Westminster, the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon, Secombe Theatre in Sutton, the Churchill Theatre in Bromley and the Hackney Empire in Hackney.[96]

The theatre at the Royal Polytechnic Institution (now the University of Westminster) in Regent Street saw the first public demonstration of "Pepper's ghost"—a method of projecting the illusion of a ghost into a theatre (named after its developer John Henry Pepper)—during an 1862 Christmas Eve theatrical production of the Charles Dickens novel, The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain, which caused a sensation among those in attendance.[97][98]

London theatres outside the West End also played an important role in the early history of drama schools. In 1833, actress Frances Maria Kelly managed the Royal Strand Theatre in Westminster where she funded and operated a dramatic school, the earliest record of a drama school in England.[99] In 1840, she financed the Royalty Theatre in Soho which opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School.[100]

## Awards

[edit]

> "Theatre is such an important part of British history and British culture"

— Dame Helen Mirren after receiving the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress in 2013 for her performance as the Queen in The Audience.[101]

There are a number of annual awards for outstanding achievements in London theatre:

* Laurence Olivier Awards
* Evening Standard Theatre Awards
* WhatsOnStage Awards
* Critics' Circle Theatre Awards
* Ian Charleson Awards
* National Dance Awards
* West End Frame Awards

## See also

[edit]

* London portal
* Theatre portal

* Culture of London
* Great West End Theatres
* List of former theatres in London
* List of London venues
* Theatre of the United Kingdom

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b Christopher Innes, "West End" in The Cambridge Guide to Theatre (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ISBN 0-521-43437-8
2. ^ Naden, Corinne J. (2011). The Golden Age of American Musical Theatre: 1943–1965. Scarecrow Press. p. 1\. ISBN 9780810877344.
3. ^ "Stars on stage". London theatre. Retrieved 23 June 2015
4. ^ Orlova-Alvarez, Tamara; Alvarez, Joe (30 January 2019). "John Malkovich Is Coming To West End". Ikon London Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
5. ^ Kenton, Tristram (18 November 2020). "Nicole! Gwyneth! Orlando! Hollywood stars on the West End stage – in pictures". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
6. ^ Editorial (9 April 2023). "The Guardian view on stars on the stage: theatre's recovery should be applauded". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
7. ^ Addley, Esther (10 February 2024). "Tom Holland is latest superstar name in bumper year for London theatre". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
8. ^ a b c "London's 10 oldest theatres". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
9. ^ Trueman, Matt (27 November 2012). "Shakespeare's indoor Globe to glow by candlelight". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
10. ^ "2018 BOX OFFICE FIGURES RELEASED BY SOCIETY OF LONDON THEATRE AND UK THEATRE". Society of London Theatre. March 2019. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
11. ^ "New Figures Reveal West End Theatre is Thriving". London Box Office. February 2020.
12. ^ "The West End is enjoying a theatre revival. Can Broadway keep up?". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
13. ^ Milling, Jane; Thomson, Peter (23 November 2004). The Cambridge History of British Theatre. Cambridge University Press. pp. 439, 440. ISBN 978-0-521-65040-3.
14. ^ a b "From pandemics to puritans: when theatre shut down through history and how it recovered". The Stage.co.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
15. ^ Schoch, Richard (2016). Writing the History of the British Stage 1660-1900. Cambridge University Press. p. 64.
16. ^ "When Christmas carols were banned". BBC. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
17. ^ "London's Vibrant West End Theatre SCENE". TheatreHistory.com. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
18. ^ a b "London pub trivia – Ten oldest London theatres". Timeout London. 12 December 2006. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
19. ^ Howe, Elizabeth (1992). The First English Actresses: Women and Drama, 1660–1700. Cambridge University Press. p. 66.
20. ^ "London's Lost Tea-Gardens: I". Story of London. Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
21. ^ "Sadler's Wells Theatre". LondonTown.com. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
22. ^ "Royal Opera House". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
23. ^ Carlson, Marvin (1975). "A Fresh Look at Hogarth's 'Beggar's Opera'". Educational Theatre Journal. 27 (1): 31–39\. doi:10.2307/3206338. JSTOR 3206338.
24. ^ Parker, John, ed. (1925). Who's Who in the Theatre (fifth ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons. p. 1196\. OCLC 10013159.
25. ^ "Tom and Jerry; or, Life in London". The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press. 2004. ISBN 978-0-19-516986-7.
26. ^ Davis, Jim; Emeljanow, Victor (1 April 2005). Reflecting the Audience: London Theatregoing, 1840–1880. University of Iowa Press. pp. 55–70\. ISBN 978-1-58729-402-0. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
27. ^ "The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi: Laughter, Madness and the Story of Britain's Greatest Comedian". The Times. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
28. ^ a b "The Savoy Theatre", The Times, 3 October 1881. "An interesting experiment was made at a performance of Patience yesterday afternoon, when the stage was for the first time lit up by the electric light, which has been used in the auditorium ever since the opening of the Savoy Theatre. The success of the new mode of illumination was complete, and its importance for the development of scenic art can scarcely be overrated. The light was perfectly steady throughout the performance, and the effect was pictorially superior to gas, the colours of the dresses – an important element in the “æsthetic” opera – appearing as true and distinct as by daylight. The Swan incandescent lamps were used, the aid of gaslight being entirely dispensed with".
29. ^ "The Savoy is one of the best places to stay in London". USA Today. Retrieved 22 June 2024. "The first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity, The Savoy has a history rich in both invention and scandal."
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31. ^ Playbill advertising Edward Stirling's adaptation of A Christmas Carol, Collection of the British Library
32. ^ Carroll, Lewis (1979). The Letters of Lewis Carroll, Volumes 1–2. Oxford University Press. p. 657\. "Dec. 30th.—To London with M—, and took her to "Alice in Wonderland," Mr. Savile Clarke's play at the Prince of Wales's Theatre... as a whole, the play seems a success."
33. ^ "Mr Barrie's New Play. A Christmas Fairy Tale". The Glasgow Herald. 28 December 1904. p. 7. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
34. ^ "Lillie Langtry British actress". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
35. ^ "Famous People – Ellen Terry". BBC. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
36. ^ Markowitz, Judith A. (2019). Robots That Kill: Deadly Machines and Their Precursors in Myth, Folklore, Literature, Popular Culture and Reality. McFarland. p. 105.
37. ^ Huggett, Richard (1969). The Truth About Pygmalion. p. 20-27. Random House.
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39. ^ The Book of Dance. Dorling Kindersley. 2012. p. 100.
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41. ^ "Theatres Act 1968". www.legislation.gov.uk
42. ^ Michael Billington "Snooty about musicals? Sheila Hancock should change her tune", The Guardian. (blog), 16 March 2001
43. ^ Hill, Rosemary (4 March 2021). "Populist Palatial". London Review of Books. Vol. 43, no. 5. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
44. ^ Giles Worsley "Falling Houses", The Daily Telegraph, 6 December 2003
45. ^ Michael Billington "Crisis in the West End", The Guardian, 2 August 2007
46. ^ a b "Victoria Palace Theatre". Time Out. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
47. ^ Sarah Jane Griffiths "How safe is London's Theatreland?", BBC News, 20 December 2013
48. ^ At the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2004, 15 people were injured when part of the ceiling fell on to them; see the Sarah Jane Griffiths article above.
49. ^ Alice Philipson, and Andrew Marszal "Apollo Theatre ceiling in London's West End collapses: scores injured", The Daily Telegraph, 20 December
50. ^ "The Dominion Theatre, home to An American in Paris, completes £6M refurbishment". mr.carlwoodward.com. 7 August 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
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54. ^ "West End Has Another Record Year, With Increases in Both Attendance and Revenue". Playbill. 29 January 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
55. ^ "Theatre closures to help slow the spread of Coronavirus". UK Theatre. 16 March 2020. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
56. ^ "Theatres will be allowed to open at full capacity on 19th July". Planet Radio. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
57. ^ "London's West End gets first purpose-built theatre in 50 years". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
58. ^ "Agatha Christie's: The Mousetrap". St. Martin's Theatre. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2019. "Here you will find all the information you need about the longest running show, of any kind, in the world."
59. ^ "The Mousetrap at 60: why is this the world's longest-running play?". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
60. ^ "These long-running West End shows make you realise how young Broadway is". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
61. ^ "Longest running shows and musicals in West End history: the top 20". What's On Stage. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
62. ^ "Matilda musical breaks Olivier awards record". BBC. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
63. ^ "Olivier Awards: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child wins record nine prizes". BBC. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
64. ^ "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to transfer to the West End". 20 March 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
65. ^ "'Titanique' to open at Criterion Theatre in the West End". londontheatre.co.uk. London Theatre. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
66. ^ "The Devil Wears Prada musical to have UK premiere and West End run". 13 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
67. ^ Wild, Stephi. "STEREOPHONIC Will Transfer to the West End and Embark on U.S. Tour". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
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69. ^ "Oliver! to return to the West End later this year". 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
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86. ^ Higgins, Molly. "Menier Chocolate Factory's The Producers Will Transfer to London's West End", Playbill, March 2, 2025
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## External links

[edit]

* Society of London Theatre Archived 23 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine – trade body for the London theatre industry
* London's West End Theatres Information and archive material on London's historic West End Theatres.

* v
* t
* e

Theatres in London

West End|

| ATG Entertainment|

* Ambassadors
* Apollo Victoria
* Duke of York's
* Fortune
* Harold Pinter
* Lyceum
* Phoenix
* Piccadilly
* Playhouse
* Savoy

|

Delfont Mackintosh Theatres|

* Gielgud
* Noël Coward
* Novello
* Prince Edward
* Prince of Wales
* Sondheim
* Victoria Palace
* Wyndham's

LW Theatres|

* Adelphi
* Cambridge
* Drury Lane
* Gillian Lynne
* His Majesty's
* London Palladium

Nederlander Organization|

* Aldwych
* Dominion

Nimax Theatres|

* Apollo
* Duchess
* Garrick
* Lyric
* Palace
* @sohoplace
* Vaudeville

Independent|

* Arts
* Criterion
* Haymarket
* St Martin's
* Shaftesbury
* Trafalgar

Other major
theatres|

* Barbican Centre
* London Coliseum
* National
* The Old Vic
* Open Air
* Peacock
* Royal Opera House
* Sadler's Wells
* Shakespeare's Globe

Off West End|

* Almeida
* Arcola
* Bridge
* Bush
* Charing Cross
* Donmar Warehouse
* Hampstead
* Kiln
* Lyric Hammersmith
* Marylebone Theatre
* Menier Chocolate Factory
* The Other Palace
* Rayne Theatre
* Royal Court
* Soho
* Young Vic

Fringe and
suburban|

* Alexandra Palace
* ChickenShed's Amphitheatre
* artsdepot
* Ashcroft
* Barons Court
* Battersea Arts Centre
* Beck
* Bloomsbury
* Bob Hope
* Brixton House
* The Broadway
* Broadway
* Brockley Jack
* Brookside
* Canal Café
* Chelsea
* Churchill
* Cockpit
* Compass
* Coronet
* Courtyard
* Dock X
* Erith Playhouse
* Etcetera
* Finborough
* Gate
* Greenwich
* Hackney Empire
* Hen and Chickens
* Hoxton Hall
* ICA
* Intimate Theatre
* Jacksons Lane
* Jermyn Street
* King's Head
* Leicester Square
* Little Angel
* Millfield
* New Wimbledon
* Old Red Lion
* Orange Tree
* Park
* Pentameters
* The Place
* Pleasance Islington
* Queen's, Hornchurch
* The Questors
* RADA Studios
* Richmond
* Riverside Studios
* Rose, Kingston
* Rosemary Branch Theatre
* Shaw
* South London
* Southwark Playhouse
* The Space
* Studio Theatre
* Tabard
* Theatre503
* Theatre Royal Stratford East
* Troxy
* Turbine
* Unicorn
* Union
* Upstairs at The Gatehouse
* White Bear
* Wilton's

Former|

* Above the Stag
* Bolton's Theatre Club
* Cochrane
* Cock Tavern
* Empress
* Greenwich Playhouse
* Landor
* Mermaid
* New End
* New Players'
* Saville
* Stratford Circus
* Warehouse
* Westminster

* Category

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