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Theatres in London

London’s first theatre was built in Shoreditch in East London in 1576. It was called The Theatre. Now theatre in London is a major industry and draws visitors from all over the world.

  1. West End Theatre

    • London’s main theatre district is in the West End of central London with approximately 40 theatre venues. Alongside New York’s Broadway, The West End offers the best in commercial theatre in the UK and the US. Musicals are especially popular. "Les Miserables" is the longest running musical in West End history at 25 years. The oldest West End theatre is Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It opened on May 7, 1663 and was called Theatre Royal in Bridges Street. It burned down nine years later and was reopened as the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

    National Theatre

    • The National Theatre (or Royal National Theatre) is one of the UK's main theatre companies. It is based in a Grade II listed building in London’s South Bank. The company relocated here in 1976 from the Old Vic Theatre in Waterloo where it first performed on October 22, 1963. Sir Laurence Olivier was its first artistic director. The National Theatre is partly funded by the British public through the Arts Council.

      National Theatre

      South Bank

      London SE1 9PX

      020 7 452 3000

      nationaltheatre.org.uk

    Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

    • This theatre is dedicated to the work of English playwright William Shakespeare. The present Globe Theatre on London’s Bankside is a replica of the original Globe, which was built in 1598 on Bankside. It burned down in 1613 when the thatched roof was set alight by a cannon fired during a performance of Henry VIII. A second Globe was built on the foundations, but was closed down by the Puritans in 1642. The foundations were discovered in 1989, and in 1993 work began on the present structure, a faithful reproduction of the original seating 1,500 people. Founded by American actor Sam Wanamaker, the new Globe was completed in 1996 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June, 1997.

      Shakespeare's Globe

      Bankside

      21 New Globe Walk, London SE1 9DT

      020 7902 1400

      shakespeares-globe.org

    Other Theatres

    • There are at least 180 theatre venues in London, according to London Town website, which provides information about them all. The Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic, the Young Vic, the Royal Court Theatre, the Almeida Theatre, the Open Air Theatre and the Royal Opera House are just a few celebrated venues. These non-commercial theatres enjoy greater artistic prestige than the commercial West End.

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