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 actors on the London stage, and in 2005 these included Brooke Shields, Val Kilmer, Rob Lowe and David Schwimmer. Also in 2005, Ewan McGregor made his first appearance in a stage musical in Guys and Dolls. Kevin Spacey has been artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre since 2004 and appears in some of his own productions.

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, still running after 21 years, and Willy Russell's Blood Brothers, currently in its 20th year. 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.

Longest running shows in London:

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

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.

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.

Training

A number of the UK's most prestigious drama schools are based within the central and greater London areas. Many of these schools specialise in drama, dance and musical theatre and have an impressive number of notable and famous alumni working in West End theatre. Many of these schools are internationally renowned and attract large number of students from around the world. Notable institutions in London that train West End theatre performers include:

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, 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

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 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. ↑ Long Runs – Broadway, Off Broadway, London, Toronto & Other Major Cities
  5. ↑ Phantom of The Opera London - information on the theatre show
  6. ↑ Blood Brothers London - information on the theatre show
  7. ↑ Fortune Theatre London - information and tickets
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 Long Runs – Broadway, Off Broadway, London, Toronto & Other Major Cities

External links

Theatres in London
West End
Adelphi · Aldwych · Ambassadors · Apollo · Apollo Victoria · Arts · Cambridge · Coliseum · Comedy · Criterion · Dominion · Drury Lane · Duchess · Duke of York's · Fortune · Garrick · Gielgud · Haymarket · Her Majesty's · London Palladium · Lyceum · Lyric · New London · Noël Coward · Novello · Palace · Peacock · Phoenix · Piccadilly · Playhouse · Prince Edward · Prince of Wales · Queen's · St. Martin's · Royal Opera House · Savoy · Shaftesbury · Trafalgar Studios · Vaudeville · Victoria Palace · Wyndham's
Other major
theatres
Almeida · Barbican Arts Centre · Donmar Warehouse · Old Vic · Open Air · Royal National {Olivier - Lyttelton - Cottesloe) · Royal Court · Sadler's Wells · Shakespeare's Globe · Young Vic
Fringe and
suburban
Arcola · artsdepot · Ashcroft · Barons Court · Battersea Arts Centre · Bloomsbury Theatre · theBROADWAY · Broadway · Bush · Canal Café · Chelsea · Churchill · Cochrane · Cockpit · The Drill Hall · Erith Playhouse · Etcetera · Finborough · 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 · 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