West End theatre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 Mousetrap at the St Martin's Theatre - opened 25 November 1952 originally at the Ambassadors Theatre^[3] - 55th Year.
Les Misérables at the Queen's Theatre - opened 8 October 1985 originally at the Barbican Theatre - 24th Year
The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre - opened 9 October 1986^[4] - 23rd Year
Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre - opened 28 July 1988 originally at the Albery Theatre^[5] - 22nd Year
Cats - opened 11 May 1981 at the New London Theatre and closed 11 May 2002 on its 21st anniversary
The Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre opened 15 February 1989 originally at the Strand Theatre^[6] - 21st Year
Starlight Express - opened 27 March 1984 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre and closed 12 January 2002^[7] - 17 years
No Sex Please, We're British - opened 3 June 1971 at the Strand Theatre and closed 16 January 1987^[7] - 16 years
Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story - opened 12 October 1989 at the Victoria Palace Theatre, transferred to the Novello Theatre October 1995 and closed 19 May 2002^[7] Re-opened 3 August 2007 at the Duchess Theatre - 15th Year
Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre - opened 18 November 1997 originally at the Adelphi Theatre- 12th Year
Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales Theatre - opened 6 April 1999 originally at the Prince Edward Theatre - 11th Year

The Queen's Theatre, home to Les Miserables, the longest running musical of all time

The Black and White Minstrel Show - opened in 1962 at the Victoria Palace Theatre and closed about 1972^[7] - 10 years
Miss Saigon - opened 20 September 1989 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and closed 30 October 1999^[7] - 10 years
Disney's The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre - opened 19 October 1999 - 10th Year
Jesus Christ Superstar - opened 9 August 1972 at the Palace Theatre and closed about 1980^[7] - 8 years
Me and My Girl (revival) - opened 12 February 1985 at the Adelphi Theatre and closed 16 January 1993^[7] - 8 years
Aldwych Farces (revue) - opened in 1925 at the Aldwych Theatre and closed in 1933 – 8 years
We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre - 14 May 2002 - 8th Year
Evita - opened 21 January 1978 at the Prince Edward Theatre and closed on 8 February 1986^[7] - 7 years
Stomp now at the Ambassadors Theatre opened 25 September 2002 at the Vaudeville Theatre - 7th Year
There's A Girl In My Soup - opened June 1966 at the Globe Theatre and transferred to The Comedy in 1970. It closed in 1972/3 after over a thousand performances - 6 1/2 years
Oliver! - opened in 1960 at the New Theatre and closed about 1966^[7] - 6 years. It has since reopened at the Drury Lane theatre in 2009

[edit] 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

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.