How many theatres are there in the West End?

There are a total of 39 theatres in the West End but that is only counting official West End venues, There are 241 theatres in London as a whole.

Which West End Theatre is the smallest?

The Arts Theatre, located just behind Leicester Square Station is so small that it only holds 350 people. The theatre is the current home of The Choir of Man. This theatre is closely followed by the Fortune Theatre (Operation Mincemeat) which has 432 seats and the Ambassadors Theatre (Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder!) which has 444.

Which West End Theatre is the biggest?

The London Coliseum on St Martin’s Lane is huge with a grand total of 2359 seats however it is the home of the English National Opera and therefore a non-commercial theatre. This makes the Apollo Victoria Theatre, the home of Wicked, the biggest West End theatre with 2328 seats.

Other big West End venues that have a capacity of over 2000 include the London Palladium, Dominion Theatre, Lyceum Theatre, Prince Edward Theatre, and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

Which West End Theatre is the oldest?

Taking the title of oldest West End Theatre is the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which first opened in May 1663, the current home of Disney’s Frozen.

Which West End Theatre is the newest?

@sohoplace opened in October 2022 on Tottenham Court Road and is the first new West End theatre in 50 years. It is currently the home of Death of England.

Who owns the West End Theatres?

The majority of the West End Theatres are owned by Nimax Theatres, LW Theatres, ATG Entertainment, Delfont Mackintosh Theatres, and the Nederland Organisation.

Where are the West End Theatres located?

Most of the West End Theatres can be found in ‘Theatreland’, London’s main theatre district and situated in the heart of the West End of London, It is traditionally defined as the Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west and Kingsway to the east. There are a few other theatres that are still considered to be a part of the West End such as The Apollo Victoria Theatre in Victoria. Famous streets that house the majority of West End theatres are Shaftesbury Avenue, the Strand, and Drury Lane.

Are any of the West End Theatres haunted?

Yes! A couple of West End Theatres are home to a couple of ghostly characters. Most notably His Majesty’s Theatre (The Phantom of the Opera) is thought to be haunted by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree who was a Victorian/ Edwardian actor-manager. He owned and lived in the theatre back in the day and is now said to haunt the top box, stage right.

Then there is William Terriss, a celebrated Victorian actor who is said to be the ghost of the Adelphi Theatre (Back to the Future). He was murdered by a fellow thespian that he had fired from his role. He was stabbed at stage door, brought back inside, and apparently died on the stage itself, declaring ‘I shall come back’.

The Theatre Royal Haymarket is also said to house the ghost of John Buckstone, an actor, writer, and producer who is to thank for a huge amount of plays, mainly at the Haymarket. He died peacefully at 77 and has been spotted by actors including Judi Dench and Patrick Stewart who are said to have seen him on stage during a performance of Waiting for Godot.

Matilda the Musical is now entering its 13th year at the West End’s Cambridge Theatre and from September the show will welcome some brand new cast members.

The musical is based on the 1988 book by Roald Dahl and features music and lyrics by Tim Minchin with a book by Dennis Kelly. It follows the story of Matilda Wormwood, a brilliant young girl with a love of books who discovers she has the power of telekinesis.

Matilda the Musical tickets are available now.

The production had an initial 12-week run staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-Upon-Avon from November 2010 before its West End premiere in November 2011. It has since received widespread critical acclaim and remains a box-office hit. At the 2012 Olivier Awards, the musical won an outstanding seven awards, including Best New Musical. Matilda the Musical then opened on Broadway in April 2013 at the Shubert Theatre and that production went on to win five awards at the 2013 Tony Awards.

From 10 September, Angelica Scott will join current cast members Anna Deikalo, Ava Posniak, and Sophia Saravanan to share the title role.

In addition to this Tiffany Graves (But I’m A Cheerleader!) is joining the cast as Mrs Wormwood, while Neil McDermott (Pretty Woman) will be taking on the role of Mr Wormwood, with Eve Norris (Groundhog Day) joining the production as Miss Honey. Kieran Hill will continue in his role as Miss Trunchbull.

Joining the adult cast are Pearce Barron, Alex Louize Bird, Reece Budin, Dan Cooke, William Elijah-Lewis, Issy Khogali, Sam Lips, Sam Jeffrey Parkes, Jak Skelly, Ralph Watts, and Dawn Williams, who will join current members Esme Bacalla-Hayes, Ronan Burns, Karina Hind, Sam Lathwood, Gabrielle Davina Smith and Deborah Tracey.

New members of the young cast include Pasquale Aben-Danan, Elyza Alderton, Beatrice Armitage, Joseph Burrows, Maddy Collings, Sienna Culm, Joey Grady, Blake Graham, Alexandra Horner, Adam Hussain, George Jones, Amber Koduah-Hutchison, Tristan Marwa, Isabelle McLatchie, Anayah Thomas and Kobe Warmington.

Continuing in the production are Nesim Adnan, Ryo Appadu, Amelia-Grace Cambridge, Max Garlick, Jesamine-Bleu Gibbs, Kaylen Luke, Charlie Man-Evans, Yvie Moore, and Marnie Rae Warren-Baker.

A film adaptation of the musical was released in November 2022 starring Emma Thompson as the iconic Miss Trunchbull.

Matilda the Musical is currently playing at the Cambridge Theatre and is taking bookings through to 25 May 2025. Book your Matilda tickets now online via the LSBO website or visit our box office in Leicester Square.

The West End production Back to the Future: The Musical welcomes some brand new faces to the cast.

The Award-winning show first opened in London in 2021 and was awarded the Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 2022. The musical adaptation of the classic film features music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard with a book by Bob Gale. The show also features songs from the 1985 film such as The Power of Love, Johnny B. Goode, and Back in Time as well as original music.

The new West End cast includes Vasco Emauz as Marty McFly, making his West End debut, Orlando Gibbs as George McFly, CJ Borger as Goldie Wilson and Marvin Berry, Alex Runicles as Biff Tannen, Talia Palamathanan as Jennifer Parker, Ellis Kirk as alternate Marty McFly, and Liam McHugh as Dave McFly. Ensemble members include Kofi Aidoo-Appiah, Billie Bowman, and Gracie Caine.

Current cast members staying on in the show are Cory English as Doctor Emmett Brown, Sarah Goggin as Lorraine Baines, Lee Ormsby as Strickland and alternate Doctor Emmett Brown, and Patricia Wilkins as Linda McFly. Ensemble members Ella Beaumont, Sia Dauda, Alexander Day, Helen Gulston, Matthew Ives, Connor Lewis, Adam Margilewski, Bryan Mottram, Anna Murray, Samuel Nicholas, Louis Quinn, Zachkiel Smith, Grace Swaby-Moore, and Alexandra Wright will also return.

The show has also announced an extension and is now booking until 27 July 2025. Book your Back to the Future tickets now online via the LSBO website or visit our box office in Leicester Square.

The musical theatre event returns to the Royal Abert Hall this September with performances from leading cast members and the most iconic shows for the West End.

This year the event will take place on Sunday 22 September and a huge amount of sparkling acts have already been revealed. Taking part in the event are smash hit musicals Disney’s The Lion King, Disney’s Aladdin, Dear Evan Hansen, Hadestown, Mamma Mia!, Hairspray, An Officer and a Gentleman, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, and Six.

New shows that have just been announced include Mean Girls, Operation Mincemeat, Calamity Jane, and Burlesque The Musical.

West End star and radio presenter Ruthie Henshall is returning as host for the event alongside presenter and comedian Jason Manford. In addition, theatre favourites Kerry Ellis and John Owen-Jones are scheduled to perform.

Keep an eye out for further announcements!

It has been announced that Les Misérables will welcome Jac Yarrow and Bonnie Langford to their West End cast for 4 weeks only before they star in the production’s arena tour.

Jac Yarrow is best known for his roles in Newsies, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, and for playing the title role in Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat at the London Palladium. He will be playing Marius from 15 July to 10 August 2024.

Star of both stage and screen Bonnie Langford will be taking on the role of Madame Thénardier also for the 4-week stint. She is best known for her TV appearances on Doctor Who, Eastenders, and a multitude of musicals both on the West End and Broadway.

They will join the current cast of the London production which is comprised of Milan van Waardenburg as Jean Valjean, Stewart Clarke as Javert, Katie Hall as Fantine, Amena El-Kindy as Éponine, Lulu-Mae Pears as Cosette, Luke Kempner as Thénardier, and Djavan van de Fliert as Enjolras. Will Callan and Claire Machin will return to their roles from 12 August 2024.

The company is completed by Annabelle Aquino, Hazel Baldwin, Brad Barnley, Michael Baxter, Emily Olive Boyd, Rosy Church, Ben Culleton, Matthew Dale, Matt Dempsey, Sophie-May Feek, Matt Hayden, Tom Hext, Christopher Jacobsen, Jessica Johns-Parsons, Yazmin King, Sam Kipling, Anouk van Laake, Harry Lake, Sarah Lark, Ellie Ann Lowe, Ben Oatley, Adam Pearce, Jordan Simon Pollard, Jonathan Stevens, Phoebe Williams and Ollie Wray.

Les Misérables is currently playing at the Sondheim Theatre and is booking through to 29 March 2025. Book your Les Misérables tickets now online via the LSBO website or at our box office in Leicester Square.

The Phantom of the Opera has announced new casting for the West End production.

The show first opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1986 and is the second longest-running musical in West End history behind Les Misérables and the third longest-running show overall afer The Mousetrap. The show has played to over 160 million people, in 46 countries and 195 cities in 21 languages.

The cast welcomes Dean Chisnall, who recently played Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, as the Phantom, Joanna Ampil (Miss Saigon) as Carlotta Giudicelli, Martin Ball (Beauty and the Beast) as Monsieur Firmin, Helen Hobson (Come From Away) as Madame Giry and Millie Lyon (West End and professional debut) as Meg Giry.

Continuing their roles in the show will be Lily Kerhoas as Christine Daaé, Joe Griffiths-Brown as Raoul, Adam Linstead as Monsieur André and David Kristopher-Brown as Ubaldo Piangi. At certain performances the role of Christine Daaé will be played by Eve Shanu-Wilson, who is currently the understudy in the show.

Also joining the company are Anya Alindada, Lily Allen-Dodd, George Arvidson, Embla Bishop, David Burilin, Fergus Dale, Emily George, Molly Hall, Will Hawksworth, Nicholas Hepher, Mandy Kwan, Jess Michelmore and Johnny Randall.

The cast is completed by Leonard Cook, Colleen Rose Curran, Michael Colbourne, Hywel Dowsell, Connor Ewing, Serina Faull, Florence Fowler, James Gant, Melanie Gowie, Samuel Haughton, Eilish Harmon-Beglan, Janet Mooney, Tim Morgan, Zoë Soleil Vallée, Jasmine Wallis and Victoria Ward.

All new cast members will begin performances on 29 July 2024.

The Phantom of the Opera is based on the novel Le Fantôme de l’Opera by Gaston Leroux and features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart and a book by Richard Stilgoe.

Book your Phantom of the Opera tickets now online via the LSBO website or visit our box office in Leicester Square.

Heather The Musical (Closes 6 July)
@sohoplace

Follwing two smash hit West End seasons at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, a sell-out run as the Other Palace Theatre and two national tours, Heathers The Musical returned to London in May for six weeks only.

Based on the 80s cult film starring Winona Ryder, Heathers The Musical is a dark comedy musical by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy. The musical followd the story of Veronica Sawyer as she befriends the school’s most popular clique… The Heathers. However, when the rebellious JD enters her life she learns that although it may kill to be a nobody, it certainly murders to be a somebody.

Heathers The Musical is currently playing at the new @sohoplace and closes on 6 July 2024. Book your Heathers theatre tickets now, don’t be a loser! Book tickets online via the LSBO website or visit our box office in Leicester Square.

Marie Curie The Musical (Closes 28 July)
Charing Cross Theatre

A story of life and death, Marie Curie The Musical has already captivated audiences in Korea and Japan and you can now see it in London. Directed by Sarah Meadows (Ride), Marie Curie tells the story of a physicist, pioneer and parent.

In the new musical Marie dicovers the potential of radium to cure cancer ands sets out to change the course of science. She must wrestle with both the danger of her discovery as factory workers handling the substance succumb to radium poisoning.

This groundbreaking new production is now playing at the Charing Cross Theatre. With a hearbreakingly beautiful score, Marie Curie The Musical is not to be missed. Book your Marie Curie tickets now before the show closes on 28 July.

Hello, Dolly! (Opens 6 July)
London Palladium

London will be saying ‘Hello’ to Dolly this month when the classic musical Hello, Dolly! opens at the London Palladium.

Starring the legendary Imelda Staunton, Hello, Dolly! was first produced in 1963 and tells the story of socialite turned matchmaker Dolly Levi. We follow Dolly as she travels to Yonkers, New York to find a match for an unmarried half-millionaire.

This production follows on from Dominic Cooke’s critically acclaimed production of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies at the National Theatre. With music and lyrics by Jerry Herman (La Cage aux Follies), and a book by Michael Stewart (42nd Street), Hello, Dolly! is not to be missed.

Book your Hello, Dolly! tickets now online or via the LSBO website. Playing from 6 July to 14 September at the London Palladium.

Shrek the Musical (Opens 19 July)
Eventim Apollo

Based on the hit animated film, Shrek the Musical follows the iconic ogre as he teams up with a talking Donkey to rescue Princess Fiona from a dragon and defeat the evil Lord Farquaad. Along the way he meets an abundance of fairytale characters and learns a lot about himself.

The show is currently embarking on a UK and Ireland tour and the principal cast will reprise their roles for the London run. Including Antony Lawrence as Shrek, Joanne Clifton as Princess Fiona, James Gillan as Lord Farquaad, Brandon Lee Sears as Donkey, and Cherece Richards as Dragon.

When the musical first premiered on Broadway it was nominated for 8 Tony Awards and the London premiere in 2012 received 4 Olivier Award nominations, including Best New Musical.

Shrek The Musical will play at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith for six weeks from 19 July 2024. Book your Shrek tickets now online or at our box office.

Following on from a sell-out run at the National Theatre last year Standing at the Sky’s Edge transferred to the West End in February this year. Here’s everything you need to know about the new musical.

The musical has been hailed as a ‘love letter to Sheffield’ and follows the story of three families over six decades in a council estate in Sheffield. The story begins in 1961 and the musical spans over sixty years navigating universal themes of love, loss and survival.

Standing at the Sky’s Edge has a book by Chris Bush and music and lyrics by English singer-songwriter Richard Hawley. Featuring both new and existing songs by Hawley, the musical is named after Hawley’s 2012 album of the same name.

The show first premiered at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in March 2019 and was directed by Robert Hastie, designed by Ben Stones and choreographed by Lynne Page. Following on from the show’s success, the musical was then revived again at the Crucible Theatre from December 2022 to January 2023. This was before the production then transferred to the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre in February 2023. The short run at the National received a brilliant reaction from critics and the musical went on to win ‘Best New Musical’ at the 2023 Olivier Awards. Standing at the Sky’s Edge then transferred to London’s West End earlier this year, opening at the Gillian Lynne Theatre on 8 February 2024 where it is currently playing.

Standing at the Sky’s Edge tickets are available now.

The current West End cast stars Laura Pitt-Pulford (Aspects of Love/ Sunset Boulevard) as Poppy, Elizabeth Ayodele (Small Island) as Joy, Joel Harper-Jackson (Kinky Boots/ Jesus Christ Superstar) as Harry, Sharlene Hector (Hairspray/ A Strange Loop) as Grace, Mel Lowe (Orlando) as Connie, Lauryn Redding (Treasure Island) as Nikki, Samuel Jordan (Sex Education) as Jimmy, Baker Mukasa (Tina) as George, Alastair Natkiel (Shrek the Musical) as Marcus and Rachael Wooding (Pretty Woman/ Hairspray Original West End cast) as Rose. Jonathan Andre (The Lion King) as Max, Jonathon Bentley (From Here to Eternity) as Gary, Mya Fox-Scott (making her professional debut) as Jenny, Rachael Louise Miller (Les Misérables) as Cathy, Adam Price (Privates on Parade) as Charles, Nicola Sloane (Backstairs Billy) as Vivienne, Lillie-Pearl Wildman (Sunset Boulevard) as Justine and David McKechnie (Flowers for Mrs Harris) as Joe/Workman.

The company is completed by Monique Ashe-Palmer, Adam Colbeck-Dunn, Viquichele Cross, Jamie Doncaster, Caroline Fitzgerald, Jerome Lincoln, Sean McLevy and Karen Wilkinson.

Book your Standing at the Sky’s Edge theatre tickets now online via the LSBO website or visit our box office in Leicester Square.

Mean Girls the Musical has recently opened in the West End and the good news is ‘you CAN sit with us’. Here’s everything you need to know about the romantic comedy musical.

Mean Girls has become a cult classic and a pop culture phenomenon since the film was released in 2004. The teen comedy film was written by Tina Fey and inspired by Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes. The movie starred Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried. It is widely considered as one of the most quotable movies of all time and you can see the printed quotes and other imagery on clothing and merchandise all over the world.

The musical adaptation of the movie also has a book written by Fey with lyrics by Nell Benjamin and music by Jeff Richmond. The original production of Mean Girls the Musical opened on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre in 2018, following on from its pre-Broadway tryouts in 2017. The show was nominated for 12 Tony Awards including ‘Best Musical’ and the Original Broadway cast recording was released in 2018. A film adaptation of the musical was released in January 2024.

The smash-hit musical transferred over to the West End at the beginning of June and is currently playing at the Savoy Theatre. Mean Girls tells the story of Cady Heron, a student wh transfers to an American high school after years of homeschooling in Africa. There she quickly learns that the dangers of teenage girls could be worse than those of the African savanna when she encounters the school’s resident Mean Girls known as the plastics.

The current West End cast stars Charlie Burn (Les Misérables) as Cady, Georgina Castle (Dirty Dancing) as Regina, Elèna Gyasi (Six) as Gretchen, Grace Mouat (The Great British Bake Off Musical) as Karen, Elena Skye (We Will Rock You) as Janis and Tom Xander (The Book of Mormon) as Damian.

The cast also includes Daniel Bravo as Aaron Samuels, Lucca Chadwick-Patel as Kevin Ganatra, Ako Mitchell as North Shore Principal Mr Duvall, and Zoë Rainey as Ms Norbury, Mrs George and Ms Heron.

They company is completed by Tia Antoine-Charles, Georgia Arron, Liam Buckland, Shonah Buwu, Baylie Carson, Freddie Clements, Siobhan Diffin, Clíona Flynn, Fergie Fraser, Angus Good, Jenny Huxley-Golden, Holly Liburd, Corey Mitchell, Mervin Noronha, Aharon Rayner, Trézel Sergeant, Josh Singleton, Annie Southall, Lillia Squires, Tommy Wade-Smith and Holly Willock.

So Get in losers because we’re heading for London. You won’t want to miss this theatrical event of the summer; we know it is going to be ‘So Fetch!’

Book your Mean Girls theatre tickets online now via the LSBO website or visit our box office in Leicester Square.