A report on West End theatre

The Palace Theatre, in the City of Westminster, London, built in 1891
The London Palladium in Soho opened in 1910. While the Theatre has a resident show, it also has one-off performances such as concerts. Since 1930 it has hosted the Royal Variety Performance 43 times.
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Opened in May 1663, it is the oldest theatre in London.
Original interior of Savoy Theatre in 1881, the year it became the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity.
The Lyceum Theatre, home to Disney's The Lion King.
Queen's Theatre showing Les Misérables, running in London since October 1985
The restored facade of the Dominion Theatre, as seen in 2017
The St Martin's Theatre, home to The Mousetrap, the world's longest-running play.
The exterior of the Old Vic
The Royal Court Theatre. Upstairs is used as an experimental space for new projects—The Rocky Horror Show premiered here in 1973.
West End theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue in 2016
Gilbert and Sullivan play at the Savoy in 1881
Victoria Palace Theatre (showing Billy Elliot in 2012) was refurbished in 2017.

Mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.

- West End theatre
The Palace Theatre, in the City of Westminster, London, built in 1891

76 related topics with Alpha

Overall
Noël Coward Theatre in 2019

Noël Coward Theatre

6 links

Noël Coward Theatre in 2019
New Theatre, postcard, circa 1905
Noël Coward and Esmé Wynne in Coward's I'll Leave It to You, 1920

The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London.

Exterior of Her Majesty's Theatre, 2010

Her Majesty's Theatre

6 links

Exterior of Her Majesty's Theatre, 2010
Sir John Vanbrugh painted by Godfrey Kneller
King's (previously Queen's) Theatre, Haymarket, the 18th-century predecessor of the present theatre; watercolour by William Capon (V&A)
Actor-manager Richard Brinsley Sheridan, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Interior of second theatre on the site, c. 1808. Drawing by Auguste Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson for Ackermann's Microcosm of London
Joseph Haydn in 1792
Season tickets for King's Theatre
A riot at the theatre, on 1 May 1813
Drawing of the theatre by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, 1827–28
The royal box
Jenny Lind, The Swedish Nightingale, 1850
The theatre burned down in 1867.
Carl Rosa's opera company performed at the third theatre.
Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Cardinal Wolsey at the theatre, in a 1910 photograph
Phipps's new theatre
Shaw's Pygmalion ran at the theatre in 1914, starring Mrs Patrick Campbell as Eliza.
Oscar Asche in Chu Chin Chow. Its record-breaking run of 2,235 performances at the theatre began in 1916.
The 'boat scene' in Phantom is achieved using surviving Victorian stage machinery.
Society of London Theatre plaque commemorating Her Majesty's Theatre

Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London.

Lloyd Webber in 2008

Andrew Lloyd Webber

7 links

English composer and impresario of musical theatre.

English composer and impresario of musical theatre.

Lloyd Webber in 2008
Lloyd Webber studied at the Royal College of Music in London. In 2014, he was honoured for his "contribution to musical life" with an honorary doctorate from the college.
Jesus Christ Superstar, starring Paul Nicholas, at the Palace Theatre, London in 1972. Its success saw Lloyd Webber and Rice expand and release their previous biblical-based musical Joseph.
Evita at the West End's Adelphi Theatre. Lloyd Webber purchased the theatre in 1993. The 1998 video of Lloyd Webber's Cats was filmed at the venue.
Cats at the London Palladium
The Phantom of the Opera at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto
Lloyd Webber was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993 for his contribution to live theatre
U.S. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush stand with the Kennedy Center honourees in the Blue Room of the White House during a reception Sunday, 3 December 2006. From left, they are: singer and songwriter William "Smokey" Robinson; Andrew Lloyd Webber; country singer Dolly Parton; film director Steven Spielberg; and conductor Zubin Mehta.
Lloyd Webber and the UK's Eurovision entrant Jade Ewen
Lloyd Webber and Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow
After the 2016 English National Opera's revival of Sunset Boulevard at the London Coliseum was well-received, in 2017 the production transferred to the Palace Theatre on Broadway (pictured) in New York City
Cinderella at the West End's Gillian Lynne Theatre in July 2021
Lloyd Webber (middle) with his then-wife Sarah Brightman (right) in 1985. He would cast her as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera which debuted in London the following year.

Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway.

One of Gilbert's illustrations for his Bab Ballad "Gentle Alice Brown"

Gilbert and Sullivan

7 links

Gilbert and Sullivan were a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado are among the best known.

Gilbert and Sullivan were a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado are among the best known.

One of Gilbert's illustrations for his Bab Ballad "Gentle Alice Brown"
Ages Ago, during a rehearsal for which Frederic Clay introduced Gilbert to Sullivan
The Crystal Palace, where several early Sullivan works were first performed
A contemporary illustration of Thespis from The Illustrated London News of 6 January 1872
D. H. Friston's engraving of the original production of Trial by Jury
An early poster showing scenes from The Sorcerer, Pinafore, and Trial by Jury
The Pirate King
George Grossmith as Bunthorne in Patience, 1881
Barnett as The Fairy Queen
Princess Ida, Act II Finale: Hildebrand and soldiers rush through the gate.
Poster for The Mikado
W.H. Denny as Wilfred and Jessie Bond as Phoebe in Yeomen
Rutland Barrington and Courtice Pounds as Giuseppe and Marco in The Gondoliers
Original facade of the Savoy Theatre c.1881
In the midst of the quarrel, Gilbert dedicated a collection of Savoy opera lyrics, Songs of a Savoyard, to the composer
The drawing room scene from Act II of Utopia, Limited
The Entr'acte expresses its pleasure that Gilbert and Sullivan are reunited
1921 cartoon of Gilbert and Sullivan audiences
Advertisement for the first recording of The Mikado, 1917
Detail from a Punch cartoon, showing Sullivan and Gilbert.
1880 Pirates poster
Frontispiece to The Pinafore Picture Book, 1908
Poster for Ages Ago, during a rehearsal for which Frederic Clay introduced Gilbert to Sullivan

In 1980, a Broadway and West End production of Pirates produced by Joseph Papp brought new audiences to Gilbert and Sullivan.

Logo by Really Useful Group

Cats (musical)

7 links

Sung-through musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the 1939 poetry collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot.

Sung-through musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the 1939 poetry collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot.

Logo by Really Useful Group
T. S. Eliot's poetry provided most of the lyrics for Cats
The original 1981 London cast of Cats
The Jellicle cats gather every year to make the "Jellicle choice" and decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life.
From left to right: Old Deuteronomy, Jemima, Grizabella and Victoria during an event in Germany, 2011.
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Gillian Lynne
Cats at the New London Theatre (1999)
Broadway revival of Cats at the Neil Simon Theatre
The CATS Theatre in Shinagawa, Tokyo (2008)
The Operettenhaus where Cats played for 15 years
The first non-replica production of Cats was staged at the Teatr Muzyczny Roma in Warsaw, Poland (2007).
A school production of Cats in Bangalore, India (2014)
The cat's-eyes logo and the "now and forever" slogan were used to advertise the musical at the New London Theatre (1999).
Radio microphones have become the norm in live theatre since Cats.

Cats opened to positive reviews at the New London Theatre in the West End in 1981 and then to mixed reviews at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway in 1982.

Poster

The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)

7 links

Musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, and a libretto by Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe.

Musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, and a libretto by Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe.

Poster
At the Majestic Theatre
Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman performing the title song
Steve Barton and Sarah Brightman in the final scene

The musical opened in London's West End in 1986 and on Broadway in New York in 1988, in a production directed by Harold Prince and starring English classical soprano Sarah Brightman (Lloyd Webber's then-wife) as Christine Daaé, and Michael Crawford as the Phantom.

The Vaudeville Theatre in 2014

Vaudeville Theatre

4 links

The Vaudeville Theatre in 2014
Henry Irving
Jerome K. Jerome
Seymour Hicks
Postcard of the Vaudeville Theatre, c. 1905
The rear premises of the Vaudeville Theatre, designed in 1925–1926 by Robert Atkinson
London Illustrated Almanac of 1872

The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster.

Exterior of venue during a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

2 links

Exterior of venue during a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Thomas Killigrew as he appeared in 1650
location of the Theatre Royal on a map of London from 1700; the inset shows the streets as they are in 2006.
Unsigned longitudinal section showing a design attributed to Christopher Wren. 1: Proscenium arch. 2: Four pairs of shutters across the stage. 3: Pit. 4: Galleries. 5: Boxes.
David Garrick, the theatre manager 1747–1776, is portrayed in the title role of Richard III in this painting by William Hogarth.
The facade on Bridges Street. Added in 1775, this gave the theatre its first on-street entrance.
The interior of the third and largest theatre to stand at Drury Lane, c. 1808
The theatre pictured as it was in 1809 (from an 1811 engraving). The view is from the north-east, looking down Russell Street at its intersection with Drury Lane. This shows the rear of the theatre with its dressing rooms and stage door.
After standing only 15 years, the third Drury Lane theatre building burned down on 24 February 1809. This painting from the period, artist unknown, shows the view of the fire from the Westminster Bridge.
The present-day Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, sketched when it was new, in 1813
The last scene of an 1865 performance of Shakespeare's King John at the theatre, as depicted in the Illustrated London News
Pantomime characters from the Augustus Harris era including Dan Leno, Marie Lloyd and Little Tich by Phil May
Oliver! billboard at the theatre in 2009

The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England.

Original façade of the Savoy Theatre, 1881

Savoy Theatre

2 links

Original façade of the Savoy Theatre, 1881
The Savoy Palace
Original interior of Savoy Theatre, 1881
1896 programme with the Savoy's coat of arms
Plaque noting the Savoy as the first public building to be lit entirely by electricity
1881 Programme for Patience
1926 costume for The Mikado
The Savoy Theatre was refurbished in the early 1990s.
The Savoy Theatre and hotel entrance in 2003

The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England.

The theatre in 2008, showing Edward Bond's The Sea

Theatre Royal Haymarket

3 links

The theatre in 2008, showing Edward Bond's The Sea
Haymarket Theatre, ca. 1900
Playwright and Poet Laureate Colley Cibber, the first actor-manager
Samuel Foote
The rear of the theatre in Suffolk Street
300px
250px
John Gielgud in 1936

The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use.