West End theatre


West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's "Theatreland".[1] 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.[1]

Total attendances first surpassed 12 million in 2002, and in June 2005 The Times reported that this record might be beaten in 2005. Total attendance numbers surpassed 13 million in 2007,[2] setting a new record for the West End. Factors behind high ticket sales in the first half of 2005 included new hit musicals such as Billy Elliot, The Producers and Mary Poppins and the high number of film stars appearing. Since the late 1990s there has been an increase in the number of American screen actors on the London stage, and in 2005 these included Brooke Shields, Val Kilmer, Rob Lowe, David Schwimmer and Kevin Spacey.

Contents

Theatreland

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

London's main theatre district is located in the heart of the West End of the city centre, 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 although The South Bank Complex is now considered by some to be part of it. Prominent theatre streets include Drury Lane, Shaftesbury Avenue, and The Strand. This area contains approximately forty large theatres and is often referred to as Theatreland. The works staged are predominantly musicals, classic or middle brow plays, and comedy performances.

Most of the theatres in "Theatreland" are of late Victorian or Edwardian construction, and they are privately owned. Most of them have great character, and the largest and best maintained are splendid, featuring grand neo-classical, romanesque, or Victorian facades 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, mean that it is very difficult to make substantial improvements to the level of comfort offered. In 2004, it was estimated that 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

West End shows may run for a varying number of weeks, depending 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. 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 Queen's Theatre, home to Les Miserables, the longest running musical of all time

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 Capacity Opening
date		 Closing
date
Adelphi Theatre Love Never Dies 1500
Aldwych Theatre Dirty Dancing 1200 2006-09-28September 28 2006 Open-ended
Ambassadors Theatre Stomp 330 2007-10-04October 4, 2007 Open-ended
Apollo Theatre Three Days of Rain 796 2009-02-10February 10, 2009 2009-05-02 May 2, 2009
Apollo Victoria Theatre Wicked 2208 2006-09-27September 27 2006 Open-ended
Cambridge Theatre Chicago 1231 2006-04-27April 27 2006 Open-ended
Comedy Theatre Too Close to the Sun 796 2009-07-16July 16 2009 2009-09-15September 15 2009
Criterion Theatre The 39 Steps 588 2006-09-20September 20 2006 Open-ended
Dominion Theatre We Will Rock You 2163 2002-05-14May 14 2002 Open-ended
Duchess Theatre Plague Over England 479 2009-02-16February 16, 2009 2009-05-16May 16, 2009
Fortune Theatre The Woman in Black 432 1989-06-07June 7 1989 Open-ended
Garrick Theatre A Little Night Music 656 2009-03-28March 28 2009 2009-07-25July 25 2009
Gielgud Theatre Avenue Q 937 2009-05-01June 1 2009 2009-07-25Open Ended
Her Majesty's Theatre The Phantom of the Opera 1216 1986-10-09October 9 1986 Open-ended
London Palladium Sister Act 2286 2006-11-017 May 2009 2009-02-21Open-ended
Lyceum Theatre The Lion King 2100 1999-09-24September 24 1999 Open-ended
Lyric Theatre Thriller - Live 967 2009-02-01February 01 2009 2009-09-27September 27 2009
New London Theatre War Horse 1100 2006-06-28April 3rd 2009 2009-03-28Open-ended
Noël Coward Theatre Calendar Girls 872 2006-06-28April 4 2009 2009-03-28Open-ended
Palace Theatre Priscilla Queen of The Desert 1400 2007-07-24March 10 2009 Open-ended
Piccadilly Theatre Grease 1232 2007-07-24July 24 2007 Open-ended
Phoenix Theatre Blood Brothers 1012 1991-11-21November 21 1991 Open-ended
Prince Edward Theatre Jersey Boys 1618 2008-03-18March 18 2008 Open-ended
Prince of Wales Theatre Mamma Mia! 1160 2004-06-09June 9 2004 Open-ended
Queen's Theatre Les Misérables 989 2004-04-03April 3 2004 Open-ended
Shaftesbury Theatre Hairspray 1400 2007-10-11October 11 2007 Open-ended
St Martin's Theatre The Mousetrap 550 1974-03-25March 25 1974 Open-ended
Theatre Royal Oliver! 2196 2009-01-14January 14 2009 Open-ended
Vaudeville Theatre Duet for One 1046 2009-05-12May 12 2009 2009-08-01August 01 2009
Victoria Palace Theatre Billy Elliot 1550 2005-05-11May 11 2005 Open-ended

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 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, New York. Commonly known simply as Covent Garden due to its location, it is unique to other 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 (19th Century Main Auditorium, Linbury Theatre and Clore Studio) and hosts guest performances from other leading opera, ballet and performance companies from around the world.

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.

Finally, there are also local theatres in the suburbs which stage a wide range of work, often including touring productions, such as the New Wimbledon Theatre or the Churchill Theatre in Bromley.

Awards

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

Notable recent performers

2006

Martin Shaw, Kevin Spacey, Eve Best, Derek Jacobi, Bob Hoskins, Alan Cumming, Janie Dee, Jodhi May, Dannii Minogue, Ashlee Simpson, David Haig, Samantha Bond, David Bedella, Suzanne Shaw, Steve Pemberton, Danny Baker, Christopher Biggins, Roger Lloyd Pack, Summer Strallen, Michael Gambon, Jeremy Irons, Patrick Malahide, Cheryl Baker, Stephen McGann, Johnny Shentall, Lorna Want, Anita Dobson, Judi Dench, Diana Rigg, Martin Jarvis, Tom Conti, David Walliams, Matt Lucas, David Soul, Megan Dodds, James Fox, Christian Slater, Faye Tozer, Tim Pigott-Smith, Dave Willetts, Dawn French, Linda Robson, Jenny Eclair, Alison Moyet, Daniel Evans, Jenna Russell, Ian Richardson, Anna Maxwell Martin, Iain Glen, Ian McKellen, Timothy West, Kathleen Turner, Antony Costa, Bonnie Langford, Alex Ferns, Patrick Swayze. Claire Sweeney, Amy Nuttall, Neil Morrissey, Sally Ann Triplett, Adam Cooper, Richard Dempsey, Neve Campbell, Matthew Modine, Lesley Garrett, Connie Fisher, Aoife Mulholland, Reece Shearsmith, Tim Rogers, Alun Armstrong, Adam Garcia, Helen Dallimore, Idina Menzel, Nigel Planer, Miriam Margolyes, Michelle Collins, Javine Hylton, Camilla Beeput, Tim Curry, and Lisa O'Hare.

2007

Joseph at the Adelphi Theatre
We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre

2008

The Apollo Victoria Theatre, home to Wicked

2009

See also

London portal

Notes

  1. ^ a b Christopher Innes, "West End" in The Cambridge Guide to Theatre (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), p.1194-1195. ISBN 0521434378.
  2. ^ TV talent shows help West End shows to record audience - Telegraph
  3. ^ The Mousetrap London theatre tickets and information
  4. ^ Phantom of The Opera London - information on the theatre show
  5. ^ Blood Brothers London - information on the theatre show
  6. ^ Fortune Theatre London - information and tickets
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Long Runs – Broadway, Off Broadway, London, Toronto & Other Major Cities

External links

v • d • e
Theatres in London
West End
Other major
theatres
Fringe and
suburban
Arcola · artsdepot · Ashcroft · Barons Court · Battersea Arts Centre · Bob Hope Theatre · Bloomsbury Theatre · theBROADWAY · Broadway · Bush · Canal Café · Chelsea · Churchill · Cochrane · Cockpit · The Drill Hall · Erith Playhouse · Etcetera · Finborough · Gate Theatre · Greenwich Playhouse · Greenwich · Hackney Empire · Hampstead · Hen and Chickens · Hoxton Hall · ICA · Jermyn Street Theatre  · King's Head · Landor · Lyric Hammersmith · Menier Chocolate Factory · Mermaid · Millfield Theatre, Edmonton · New End · New Wimbledon · Orange Tree · Oval House · Pentameters · The Place · Queen's, Hornchurch · The Questors · Richmond · Riverside Studios · Rose of Kingston · Rosemary Branch · Shaw · Soho · South London · The Space · Southwark Playhouse · Stratford Circus · Tabard Theatre · Theatre 503 · Theatre Royal Stratford East · Tricycle · The Venue · The White Bear Theatre · Unicorn · Union · Upstairs at The Gatehouse · Warehouse · Wilton's

Coordinates: 51°30′41″N 0°07′41″W / 51.51139°N 0.12806°W / 51.51139; -0.12806







stock | retire
Why are we here?
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
This page is cache of Wikipedia. History