West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's "Theatreland", the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London.

Total attendances first surpassed 12 million in 2002 and 13 million in 2007, setting a new record for the West End. Since the late 1990s there has been an increase in the number of famous screen actors on the London stage.

History

Further information: English Renaissance theatre

The Theatre in London flourished after the English Reformation. The first permanent public playhouse, known simply 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. These theatres were closed in 1642 during the interregnum.

Further information: Restoration comedy and Restoration spectacular

After the Restoration (1660), 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. 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.

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, it operated as a "Musick House", with performances of opera; as it was not licensed for plays. In the West End, the Haymarket Theatre opened on 29 December 1720 on a site slightly north of its current location, and the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden opened in Covent Garden on 7 December 1732.

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 be established in the East End at Shoreditch and Whitechapel.

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 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 on 10 October (the first theatre to be lit by cooler, cleaner electric lights), and five days later the Comedy Theatre opened as the Royal Comedy Theatre on Panton Street in Leicester Square. It abbreviated its name three years later. The theatre building boom continued until about World War I.

Among the noted performers who began their careers in the early days of West End theatre are Robert William Elliston, John Liston, Nell Gwynne, Lennie Dean and later Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, John Lawrence Toole, Nellie Farren, Marie Tempest, Seymour Hicks, Ellaline Terriss, and Marie Brema.

The London Opera Glass Company was founded in 1913 and has provided operas glasses for many West End theatres.

During the 1950s and 1960s, many plays were produced in theatre clubs, in order 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.

Since the 1990s, there has been a growing tendency for film actors to play in West End productions.

Theatreland

The Lyceum Theatre, home to Disney's The Lion King.

Now rebranded — by Westminster council and the Society of London Theatre — as "Theatreland", London's main theatre district, which contains approximately forty venues, is located in the heart of the West End of central London, and is traditionally defined by The Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west, and Kingsway to the east. Prominent theatre streets include Drury Lane, Shaftesbury Avenue, and The Strand. The works staged are predominantly musicals, classic or middle-brow plays, and comedy performances.

Beyond the West End are the Royal National Theatre and Old Vic, in Southwark; and the Barbican Theatre, in the City of London. London also has many smaller theatres, both around the West End and its periphery.

Many theatres in the West End are of late Victorian or Edwardian construction and are privately owned. The majority of them have great character, and the largest and best maintained feature grand neo-classical, Romanesque, or Victorian façades and luxurious, detailed interior design and decoration. On the other hand, 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 is very difficult to make substantial improvements to the level of comfort offered. In 2004, it was estimated an investment of £250 million was required for modernisation, and the theatre owners unsuccessfully requested tax concessions to help them meet the costs.

Long-running shows

The length of West End shows depend on ticket sales. Musicals tend to have longer runs than dramas. The longest-running musical in West End history is Les Misérables. 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 8 October 2006. Other long-runners include Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and Willy Russell's Blood Brothers which have also subsequently overtaken Cats. However the non-musical Agatha Christie play The Mousetrap is the longest-running show in the world, and has been showing since 1952.

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

• The Mousetrap – opened 25 November 1952 at the Ambassadors Theatre, now playing at the St Martin's Theatre – 60th year
• Les Misérables – opened 8 October 1985 at the Palace Theatre, now playing at the Queen's Theatre – 27th year
• The Phantom of the Opera – opened 9 October 1986 at Her Majesty's Theatre – 26th year
• Blood Brothers – opened 28 July 1988 at the Albery Theatre, later transferring to the Phoenix Theatre and closing on 27 October 2012 – 24th year
• The Woman in Black – opened 15 February 1989 at the Strand Theatre, later moving to the Fortune Theatre – 23rd year
• Cats – opened 11 May 1981 at the New London Theatre and closed 11 May 2002 on its 21st anniversary
• Starlight Express – opened 27 March 1984 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre and closed 12 January 2002 – 17 years
• No Sex Please, We're British – opened 3 June 1971 at the Strand Theatre and closed 16 January 1987 – 16 years
• Chicago – opened 18 November 1997 at the Adelphi Theatre, transferring later to the Cambridge Theatre and the Garrick Theatre and closed 1 September 2012 – 15 years
• Mamma Mia! – opened 6 April 1999 at the Prince Edward Theatre, moving later to the Prince of Wales Theatre and now at the Novello Theatre – 13th year
• The Lion King – opened 19 October 1999 at the Lyceum Theatre – 13th year
• Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story – opened 12 October 1989 at the Victoria Palace Theatre, transferred to the Strand Theatre in October 1995 and closed 19 May 2002 – 12 years
• We Will Rock You – opened 14 May 2002 at the Dominion Theatre – 11th year
• The Black and White Minstrel Show – opened in 1962 at the Victoria Palace Theatre and closed about 1972 – 10 years
• Miss Saigon – opened 20 September 1989 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and closed 30 October 1999 – 10 years
• Stomp – opened 25 September 2002 at the Vaudeville Theatre, later transferring to the Ambassadors Theatre – 9th year
• Jesus Christ Superstar – opened 9 August 1972 at the Palace Theatre and closed about 1980 – 8 years
• Me and My Girl (revival) – opened 12 February 1985 at the Adelphi Theatre and closed 16 January 1993 – 8 years
• Evita – opened 21 January 1978 at the Prince Edward Theatre and closed on 8 February 1986 – 7 years
• There's a Girl in My Soup – opened June 1966 at the Globe Theatre. Closed in 1973 after over a thousand performances – 6½ years
• Billy Elliot the Musical – opened May 2005 at the Victoria Palace Theatre – 8th year
• Wicked – opened 27 September 2006 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre – 7th year
• The 39 Steps – opened 30 September 2006 at the Criterion Theatre – 7th year
• Oliver! – opened 30 June 1960 at the New Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre) and closed about 1966 – 6 years

List of West End theatres

• If no show is currently running, the play listed is the next show planned (dates marked with an *)
• If the next show planned is not announced, the applicable columns are left blank

Theatre	Current show	Classification	Capacity	Opening date	Closing date
Adelphi Theatre	The Bodyguard	Musical	1500	2012-12-055 December 2012*	Open-ended
Aldwych Theatre	Top Hat	Musical	1200	2012-05-099 May 2012	Open-ended
Ambassadors Theatre	Stomp	Physical Theatre	408	2007-10-044 October 2007	Open-ended
Apollo Theatre	Roger Rees - What You Will	Play	796	2012-09-1818 September 2012	2012-10-066 October 2012
Apollo Victoria Theatre	Wicked	Musical	2292	2006-09-2727 September 2006	Open-ended
Arts Theatre	Baggage	Play	350	2012-09-1212 September 2012	2012-10-066 October 2012
Cambridge Theatre	Matilda the Musical	Musical	1231	2011-11-2424 November 2011	Open-ended
Coliseum Theatre	Repertory opera & ballet	Opera/Ballet	2358
Criterion Theatre	The 39 Steps	Play	588	2006-09-2020 September 2006	Open-ended
Dominion Theatre	We Will Rock You	Musical	2163	2002-05-1414 May 2002	Open-ended
Duchess Theatre	Our Boy	Play	479	2012-10-033 October 2012*	Open-ended
Duke of York's Theatre	Jumpy	Play	640	2012-08-2828 August 2012	2012-11-033 November 2012
Fortune Theatre	The Woman in Black	Play	432	1989-06-077 June 1989	Open-ended
Garrick Theatre	Loserville	Musical	656	2012-10-1717 October 2012*	Open-ended
Gielgud Theatre	Chariots of Fire	Play	937	2012-07-033 July 2012	2013-02-022 February 2013
Harold Pinter Theatre	A Chorus of Disapproval	Play	796	2012-09-2727 September 2012	Open-ended
Her Majesty's Theatre	The Phantom of the Opera	Musical	1216	1986-10-099 October 1986	Open-ended
London Palladium	Scrooge: The Musical	Musical	2286	2012-11-066 November 2012*	2013-01-055 January 2013
Lyceum Theatre	The Lion King	Musical	2100	1999-10-1919 October 1999	Open-ended
Lyric Theatre	Thriller - Live	Musical	967	2009-01-2121 January 2009	Open-ended
New London Theatre	War Horse	Play	1100	2009-04-033 April 2009	Open-ended
Noël Coward Theatre	Much Ado About Nothing	Play	872	2012-09-2727 September 2012	2012-10-2727 October 2012
Novello Theatre	Mamma Mia!	Musical	1050	2012-09-066 September 2012	Open-ended
Palace Theatre	Singin' in the Rain	Musical	1400	2012-02-1515 February 2012	Open-ended
Peacock Theatre	Repertory dance	Dance	999
Piccadilly Theatre	Ghost the Musical	Musical	1232	2011-07-1919 July 2011	2012-10-066 October 2012
Phoenix Theatre	Blood Brothers	Musical	1012	1991-11-2121 November 1991	2012-11-1010 November 2012
Playhouse Theatre	The Mystery of Charles Dickens	Play	786	2012-09-1717 September 2012	2012-11-1010 November 2012
Prince Edward Theatre	Jersey Boys	Musical	1618	2008-03-1818 March 2008	Open-ended
Prince of Wales Theatre	Let It Be	Musical	1160	2012-09-2424 September 2012	2013-01-1919 January 2013
Queen's Theatre	Les Misérables	Musical	1200	2004-04-1212 April 2004	Open-ended
Royal Opera House	Repertory opera and ballet	Opera/Ballet	2268
Savoy Theatre	Cabaret	Musical	1150	2012-10-099 October 2012*	Open-ended
Shaftesbury Theatre	Rock of Ages	Musical	1400	2011-09-2828 September 2011	Open-ended
St Martin's Theatre	The Mousetrap	Play	550	1974-03-2525 March 1974	Open-ended
Theatre Royal, Haymarket	One Man, Two Guvnors	Play	888	2012-03-022 March 2012	Open-ended
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane	Shrek the Musical	Musical	2196	2011-06-1414 June 2011	2013-02-2424 February 2013
Trafalgar Studios 1	Yes, Prime Minister	Play	380	2012-06-066 June 2012	Open-ended
Trafalgar Studios 2	Zelda	Play	100	2012-09-1919 September 2012	2012-10-044 October 2012
Vaudeville Theatre	Paul Merton - Out of My Head	Play	690	2012-10-011 October 2012	2012-10-2020 October 2012
Victoria Palace Theatre	Billy Elliot the Musical	Musical	1550	2005-05-1111 May 2005	Open-ended
Wyndham's Theatre	Quartermaine's Terms	Play	759	2013-01-2929 January 2013*	2013-04-1313 April 2013

Upcoming productions

Musicals

• A Chorus Line, London Palladium
• Once, Phoenix Theatre
• Viva Forever!, Piccadilly Theatre
• Monty Python's Spamalot, Playhouse Theatre
• The Book of Mormon, Prince of Wales Theatre
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• Seussical, Arts Theatre

Plays

• Tape, Trafalgar Studios 2
• Richard III, Apollo Theatre
• Twelfth Night, Apollo Theatre
• Shakespeare's Queens/Madness Of King Lear, Arts Theatre
• Constellations, Duke of York's Theatre
• The Audience, Gielgud Theatre
• Privates on Parade, Noël Coward Theatre
• Henry V, Noël Coward Theatre
• A Midsummer Night's Dream, Noël Coward Theatre
• The Cripple of Inishmaan, Noël Coward Theatre
• Peter and Alice, Noël Coward Theatre
• Uncle Vanya, Noël Coward Theatre
• Goodnight Mister Tom, Phoenix Theatre
• Dance of Death,
• The Promise, Trafalgar Studios 2
• Silence of the Sea, Trafalgar Studios 2
• Tape, Trafalgar Studios 2
• Uncle Vanya, Vaudeville Theatre
• Doktor Glas, Wyndham's Theatre

Dance

• Midnight Tango, Phoenix Theatre

Other

• Idina Menzel in concert, Apollo Theatre

London's non-commercial theatres

The exterior of the Old Vic

It should be noted that the term West End Theatre is sometimes used to refer specifically to commercial productions in Theatreland. However the leading non-commercial (usually government subsidised) theatres in London, such as the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Globe Theatre, the Old Vic, the Young Vic, the Royal Court Theatre, the Hampstead Theatre, the Almeida Theatre, and the Open Air Theatre, most of which are not located in Theatreland, arguably enjoy greater artistic prestige. These theatres stage a higher proportion of more demanding work, including Shakespeare, other classic plays and premieres of new plays by leading highbrow playwrights. Hit plays from the non-commercial theatres sometimes transfer to one of the commercial Theatreland houses for an extended second run.

The Royal Opera House is one of London's most famous theatres and widely regarded as one of the greatest opera houses in the world, comparable with the Palais Garnier, La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera House. Commonly known simply as Covent Garden due to its location, it is unique among West End theatres in many ways, not least in having three resident performance companies, The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera and a resident symphony orchestra. It has three performance spaces (19t-century Main Auditorium, Linbury Theatre and Clore Studio) and hosts guest performances from other leading opera, ballet and performance companies from around the world.

Producing houses

While the vast majority of West End theatres are receiving houses (houses that receive productions from elsewhere), there are a number of established producing houses, both within the heart of the West End and in other parts of London. Some of the more famous ones are listed:

• Almeida Theatre
• Barbican Centre
• Bush Theatre
• Donmar Warehouse
• Hampstead Theatre
• Lyric Hammersmith
• Old Vic
• Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
• Rose Theatre, Kingston
• Royal Court Theatre
• Royal National Theatre
• Shakespeare's Globe
• Young Vic

Other London theatre

There is a great deal of theatre in London outside of the West End. Much of this is known as fringe theatre which is the equivalent of Off Broadway Theatre in New York. 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.

There are many theatres located throughout Greater London, staging a wide variety of work, such as the New Wimbledon Theatre, the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon, and the Churchill Theatre in Bromley.

Awards

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

• Laurence Olivier Awards
• Evening Standard Awards
• London Critics' Circle Theatre Awards
• National Dance Awards
• West End Cares Awards
• Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards

See also

• List of London theatres
• List of West End musicals
• List of notable musical theatre productions
• Musical theatre

Notes

External links

• Society of London Theatre – trade body for the London theatre industry