Today high standards and international reputations are maintained by the Royal
Shakespeare Company, the Royal Opera. The Royal Ballet. English National Opera
and the likes of such successful musical writers as Andrew Lloyd Webber and
Stephen Sondheim. Experimental theatre starts in the provinces and on London's
fringe circuit before moving to the West End for a season. During the summer
open air venues in Holland Park, Regents Park and the Globe Theatre are an unusually
historical and informal way to enjoy performances.
Royal National Theatre at South Bank and The National Theatre Company (founded
by Sir Laurence Olivier in 1962) which moved into its new premises designed
by Denys Lasdun in 1971 was first nurtured at the Old Vic, a centre for music
opera and drama especially Shakespeare under Lilian Baylis (1937) whose company
at some time included almost every British actor of note. The modernist complex
boasts three important stage venues the Olivier with a large open- platform
stage, the Lyttelton with its proscenium arch and the Cottesloe a small flexible
studio space. Both restaurants and bars have wonderful views of the river. 40
(Olivier), 40 (Lyttelton), 20 (Cottesloe) tickets daily are retained by the
box office for sale on day of performance. Queues start at 8am for most popular
shows. Daily backstage tours 020 7452 3400; box office 020 7452 0000.
Barbican Arts Centre — Barbican Centre, Silk Street.
EC2. The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) performs at two different venues at
the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and in London - first at the Aldwych
Theatre and since 1982 at the Barbican and The Pit. The RSC has a broad repertoire
and a reputation for excellence, notably for interpretations of Shakespeare:
it is also a famous training ground for aspiring actors.
The Barbican complex, designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon. comprises five
floors of facilities including concert halls, a cinema, exhibition areas and
refreshment facilities. 020 7638 8891.
West End Theatre and Musicals — London has always had
a strong tradition of popular musical entertainment: in the 19C the musical
halls put on variety shows. Although the Savoy operas (1897-99) by Gilbert and
Sullivan have lost some of their original huge popularity, musicals continue
to be highly successful with many shows transferring to Broadway in New York.
Theatres are listed here alphabetically for ease of reference. In each case
it is advisable that facilities available for the disabled are checked prior
to booking. Most theatres have induction loops for the hard of hearing.
The Ade1phi in the Strand was where Dickens' novels were dramatised
almost as soon as they were published (1837-45). Its reputation for popular
entertainment is firmly rooted in musicals (Noel Coward's Words and Music, Me
and My Girl, Sunset Boulevard). 020 7344 0055.
The Albery, St Martin's Lane, boasts a long string of successful
productions: Noel Coward's I'll Leave It To You (1920), St Joan by G B Shaw,
T S Eliot's The Cocktail Party and Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood 020 7369 1730.
The Aldwych, Designed in 1905 by W G R Sprague as a twin to
the Strand theatre, was where the Ben Wavers farces were performed (1925-33).
In the 1940s, during the Blitz, the Aldwych hosted the Ballet Rambert. In 1960
Peter Hall secured the Aldwych as a home for his troupe the Royal Shakespeare
Memorial Theatre (later the RSC) with Dame Peggy Ashcroft as the Duchess of
Malfi, launch pad for Glenda Jackson, 020 7416 6003.
The Apollo Shaftesbury Avenue was home to The Follies (1908-12)
before securing its reputation for light comedy farce and revue, 020 7494 5070.
The Apollo-Victoria, Wilton Road, was designed as a cinema
(1930) and transformed into a theatre in 1979 for performances by Shirley Bassey,
Cliff Richard, Sammy Davis Jnr. Dominated today by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight
Express, 020 7416 6070.
The Cambridge, Earlham Street off Seven Dials, has hosted opera,
dance and theatre. Famous productions starring Albert Finney, Ingrid Bergman.
Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Ian McKellen 020 7494 5080.
The Comedy, Panton Street. has put on performances by Sarah
Bernhardt, premieres by Somerset Maugham and productions of Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof, The Rocky Horror Show. Little Shop of Horrors. 020 7369 1731.
The Criterion, Piccadilly Circus. partly built underground,
is one of the most beautiful of the London theatres 020 7369 1747.
The Dominion, Tottenham Court Road, was designed as a concert
venue on a former leper colony and brewery. Reputation for musicals, notably
Grease, 020 7656 1888/416 6075.
The Duchess, Catherine Street, in the past for plays by J B
Priestley, Coward. Pinter is now known for more risque productions (Oh Calcutta
!), 020 7494 5075.
The Duke of York. St Martin's Lane, is associated with Shaw.
Ibsen, Galsworthy. Coward's interpretation of Slightly in Peter Pan (1913):
the cradle of the actor's union Equity 020 7565 5000.
The Fortune. Russell Street, served Flanders and Swann with
a packed venue for At The Drop Of A Hat. Later taken by storm by Alan Bennett,
Peter Cook. Dudley Moore and Jonathan Miller in Beyond The Fringe. 020 7836
2238.
The Garrick, Charing Cross Road, is renowned for comedy, farce,
and being haunted by the ghost of actor/manager Arthur Bourchier. si,s, 020
7494 5085.
The Gielgud, Shaftesbury Avenue, has a lovely oval gallery
and Regency staircase: renamed when Sam Wanamaker's vision to recreate Shakespeare's
Globe was realised. s 020 7494 5065.
The Lyceum in the Strand, closed in 1939, has recently been
reopened as a venue for special shows, 020 7656 1803.
Lyric, Shaftesbury Avenue has staged operetta, light comedy
and straight drama. 020 7494 5045.
Her Majesty's, Haymarket, was the cradle of the drama school
which latterly has evolved into RADA. Sir John Vanbrugh's original playhouse
opened in 1705. its large interior unusually panelled in wood. Today hosts Phantom
of the Opera, 020 7494 5400.
The New Ambassadors, West Street, designed in 1913 by W G R
Sprague provided Vivien Leigh and Ivor Novello with their West End debuts. In
1952 The Mousetrap opened and monopolised the premises for twenty years before
moving to St Martin's. Christopher Hampton's RSC Les Liaisons Dangereuses enjoyed
similar success, 020 7836 6111.
The New London, 167 Drury Lane, stands on the site of the Winter
Garden Theatre. a place of entertainment since Elizabeth l's reign. Today it
stages Andrew Lloyd Webber's long running show Cats based on T S Eliot's great
classic Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats premiered in 1980. kri 020 7405
0072 / cc booking 404 4079.
The Palace, Cambridge Circus, opened for opera under the ownership
of Richard D'Oyly Carte, grand ornate and Victorian through and through, it
continues to produce musicals (The Entertainer, Jesus Christ Superstar), RSC
production of Alain Boublil and Claude Michel Schonberg adaptation of Victor
Hugo novel Les Miserables 020 7434 0909.
The sumptuous London Palladium, Argyll Street, is home to variety
shows and musical revivals (Saturday Night Fever) 020 7494 5020.
The Peacock, Portugal Street. The Royalty (as it was known
until recently), which is associated with Sadlers Wells, provides a venue for
small off-beat productions, 020 7683 8222.
Gilbert Scott's Phoenix (1930). Charing Cross Road is decked
with a superb Art Deco interior, an appropriate venue for Noel Coward revivals,
020 7369 1733.
The Piccadilly, Denman Street, hosted the early showings of
British talkie movies, 020 7369 1734.
The Playhouse, South end of Craven Street. Northumberland Avenue
was extensively refurbished in 1987 thirty-six years after its last live performance:
the Franco-Venetian interior resplendent with gilding. plasterwork and murals
dates from 1906, 020 7839 4401.
The Prince Edward. Old Compton Street, was launched for musicals
and revues, including performances, among others, by Josephine Baker (1933),
020 7734 8951/447 5400.
The Prince of Wales, Coventry St, is famous as a venue hosting
musicals, 020 7839 5972.
The Queen's modernist exterior on Shaftesbury Avenue was designed
by Bryan Westwood and Hugh Casson having suffered extensive bomb damage in 1940.
Names to tread these boards include Gielgud, Vanessa Redgrave and Nigel Hawthorne,
020 7494 5040.
St Martin's, West Street was designed as a companion to the
Ambassador's next door. For the past twenty years it has produced The Mousetrap,
based on Agatha Christie's 'who dunnit' of the same name, 020 7836 1443.
The Savoy on the Strand was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte in
1881 to stage the Gilbert and Sullivan operas (of which 13 appeared between
1875 and 1896). In 1929 it was refurbished with Art Deco fixtures by Frank Tugwell
arid Basil lonides for Rupert D'Oyly Carte and nicknamed the 'theatre of sunshine'
after its daffodil yellow interior: destroyed by fire in 1990. the theatre has
been rebuilt., 020 7836 8888.
The Shaftesbury, Shaftesbury Avenue, was designed in 1911.
Its huge premises welcomed crowds for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and Sarah Bernhardt.
020 7379 5399.
The Strand, Aldwych, has hosted one-man shows by Barry Humphries
alias Dame Edna Everage, Victoria Wood and Dave Allen, 020 7930 8800.
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (Covent Garden) occupies a site
that goes back to 1663. The present building was designed by Benjamin Wyatt
(1812) for productions starring Nell Gwynne, Mrs Jordan, David Garrick, Edmund
Keane and the famous clown Grimaldi. Both George I and George III survived assassination
attempts here, although an unknown man, less fortunate, walled up in the upper
circle is said to haunt matinees. Home to successful, long-running musicals
(Oklahoma, My Fair Lady. Miss Saigon) 020 7494 5000. Theatre tours daily from
foyer. 020 7240 5357.
The Theatre Royal, Haymarket. The Little Theatre in the Haymarket
was where Henry Fielding's satires incurred the wrath of the Lord Chamberlain.
Rebuilt in 1821 by John Nash, this theatre is particularly associated with Oscar
Wilde (An Ideal Husband. Woman of No Importance). Back stage tours available,
020 7930 8800.
The Vaudeville on the Strand opened in 1870, 020 7836 9987.
The Whitehall in Whitehall. This small Art Deco theatre staged
farces in the 1950s and 60s under Brian Rix. During the war, the boards were
second home to a famed stripper Phyllis Dixey and to Paul Raymond's nudes revue
Pyjama Tops, 020 7369 1735.
The Wyndham's, Charing Cross Road. Grand late Victorian venue
for crime dramas and musicals (Godspell with David Essex and Jeremy Irons);
one of the most attractive auditoriums in the West End. 020 7369 1736.
Off the West End Circuit many shows start outside the West End at smaller venues with cheaper tickets.
Lyric Studio Theatre, King Street, Hammersmith. The theatre,
which is incorporated in a modern shopping centre, was reconstructed in 1979
on the site of the original Lyric Opera House or Lyric Hall auditorium built
in 1888, 0208 741 2311.
Mermaid Theatre, Puddle Dock, Black friars. In 1959 a disused
warehouse opened as the Mermaid Theatre, the first theatre in the City for three
centuries. In the late 1970s. when the Blackfriars underpass was constructed
the road system was entirely redesigned, the tall, inconvenient 19C offices
were demolished and the old theatre closed. Some ten years later there appeared
on the same site a £4-5 million construction in which offices formed a
superstructure to the foyers, exhibition area, bars and, most importantly, the
auditorium and modern stage of the new Mermaid Theatre 020 7236 2211.
Old Vic Waterloo Road. The cradle of the National Theatre before
moving to its new site (1976). was built in 1818 as the Coburg Theatre. In 1880
it was taken by Emma Cons (d 1912). a pioneer of social reform, and run as the
Royal Victoria Music Hall and Coffee Tavern with a programme of concerts, temperance
meetings and penny lectures, the last proving so popular that in 1889 the Morley
Memorial College for Working Men and Women was founded within the theatre. Under
Lilian Baylis (d 1937), who succeeded her aunt, the theatre, now known as the
Old Vic. became a centre for music, opera and drama (especially Shakespeare)
and home to a company in which virtually every British actor of note has played
at some time. The stage was difficult and draughty; the seats in the pit and
the gods were hard and one had to beware of pillars, but prices were low —
4d in the gallery, 5s in the stalls — and the acting was excellent. In
1940 the Vic was bombed and the company moved to the New Theatre, returning
after the war in 1976 when, as the National Theatre Company. it moved into the
new National Theatre. Now restored to its former Victorian
music-hall appearance and refurbished with better facilities, it is once again
a thriving repertory theatre, 020 7928 7616.
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre — Inner Circle, Regent's
Park. Founded in 1932, the New Shakespeare Company presents a summer season
of theatre from May to September. Annual regulars include Midsummer Night's
Dream. Take something warm, a cushion, an umbrella in case of rain, and a picnic;
BBQ and cold buffet available; bar and hot drinks under cover. as, 020 7486
2431 / 1933.
Royal Court (English Stage Company) — Sloane Square SWl
Farce and 'kitchen sink drama' were both new vogues introduced by the Royal
Court Theatre which opened in 1870. Coined as the 'bad boy of West End theatre',
this famous institution introduced the Arthur Pinero farces and was the launch
pad for G B Shaw (1904-09) and John Osborne (Look Back in Anger 1956); famous
performers include many of the greatest: Olivier, Gielgud, Richardson. The company
also plays at the Duke of York's and at the Ambassadors.
020 7565 5000.
Sadler's Wells Theatre, Rosebery Avenue. From 1934 the Wells
specialised in opera and ballet to become the cradle of the future Royal Ballet
and English National Opera which transferred first to Covent Garden (1946) then
to the Coliseum (1968). Latterly it has become a major venue for visiting companies
from abroad. After extensive refurbishment, the theatre now boasts modern facilities,
020 7278 8916.
Victoria Palace, Victoria Street. Hit musicals have succeeded
one another: Me And My Girl, The Lambeth Walk. Black And White Minstrels' Show
Annie, Charlie Girl, High Society. Buddy 020 7834 1317.
Small Venues and Fringe: Short seasons of experimental theatre are put on in
various reliable venues.
Almeida — Almeida Street, Islington. Excellent, intimate
playhouse for provocative. intelligent, Classical programme, 020 7359 4404.
Arts — Great Newport Street. Premiere of Samuel Beckett's
Waiting for Godot Workshops, 020 7836 2132 / 3334.
Battersea Arts Centre — Old Town Hall, Lavender Hill.
Three flexible spaces for new writing and Mime productions.
Bush - Above the Bush Pub, Goldhawk Road and Shepherd's Bush
Green, important venue for experimental writing: star performances produced
in collaboration with well-established directors, 0208 743 3388.
Cochrane - Southampton Row. One time home for the National Youth Theatre: first
black King Lear. 020 7242 7040.
Comedy Store -- Haymarket House, Oxenden Street, SW I. stand-up
new movement comedy and improvisation on Wednesday and Sunday. Performances
at 8pm: midnight Friday and Saturday. Info 0426 914433: bookings 020 7344 4444.
Donmar - Thomas Neal's, Earlham Street, West End Studio theatre
for excellent new productions, often populated by university students, 020 7369
1732.
Gate - Prince Albert Pub, Pembridge Road, Notting Hill Gate.
Strong tradition of reviving international Classics: Spanish. Ancient Greek,
Latin cycles, 020 7229 0706.
King's Head - 115 Upper Street. Islington. Miniature musicals.
Classic revivals acted by famous figures (Steven Berkoff, Victoria Wood. Tom
Conti) 020 7226 1916.
Players - The Arches. Villiers Street. Victorian music hall,
melodrama, pantomime, 020 7839 1134.
Riverside - Crisp Road. Hammersmith. Iron foundry turned film
studio, this venue was a major BBC studio from 1954-73. Four spaces for visiting
acts: various disciplines (dance, mime, theatre, music, comedy) 0208 748 3354/
237 1111.
Young Vic - The Cut. Waterloo. Independent from the National Theatre since 1974.
020 7928 6363.
Tickets for West End theatres and musicals are booked-up by agents who may
charge a 10% booking fee on re-sale. To avoid paying a surcharge, seats should
be bought via the theatre box office direct, but be prepared for long-term availability.
One way to beat the system is to opt for matinee performances, although star
casts may be replaced by understudies.
Tickets at 020 7344 4444 and First Call 020 7420 0000/ 0870 333 7770 .
Half-Price Ticket Booth in Leicester Square. Run by the Society of London Theatres
(SOLT), the ticket booth offers a limited number of half-price tickets to most
West End shows on the day of performance. Available on a first-come-first-served
basis, cash payment only accepted plus service charge no returns, maximum four
tickets per application. Open Monday to Saturday 1-6.30pm; Sunday and matinee
days 12-6.30pm. For more information contact SOLT Bedford Chambers.The Piazza
Covent Garden WC2. 020 7836 0971.
Artsline 020 7388 2227 is a free advice service to assist people with disabilities
in accessing arts and entertainment in the capital.