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

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Painting by the Cruikshanks for the book on which the play is based

Tom and Jerry, or Life in London

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One of several stage adaptations of Pierce Egan's popular book Life in London, published earlier in that year.

One of several stage adaptations of Pierce Egan's popular book Life in London, published earlier in that year.

Painting by the Cruikshanks for the book on which the play is based

Its most successful production at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End saw Tom and Jerry become the first play to have a continuous run of 100 performances in London.

Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939)

Vivien Leigh

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British actress.

British actress.

Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939)
Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939)
Clark Gable and Leigh strike an amorous pose in Gone with the Wind (1939)
Leigh's portrayal of Scarlett O'Hara
Leigh and Laurence Olivier in That Hamilton Woman (1941)
Leigh and Olivier in Australia, June 1948
As Blanche DuBois, from the trailer for the film version of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Photograph by Roloff Beny, 1958
Regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses of her era, Leigh was also acclaimed for her performances on the stage and the screen.
English Heritage blue plaque at Leigh's final home at 54 Eaton Square in Belgravia

She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Blanche DuBois in the film version of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), a role she had also played on stage in London's West End in 1949.

Mackintosh at the Australian premiere of Les Misérables in December 2012

Cameron Mackintosh

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British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals.

British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals.

Mackintosh at the Australian premiere of Les Misérables in December 2012

He produced Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil's next musical Miss Saigon, which opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the West End in September 1989.

The Royal Court Theatre in 2020

Royal Court Theatre

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The Royal Court Theatre in 2020
Scene from The Happy Land, showing the scandalous impersonation of Gladstone, Lowe, and Ayrton (1873)
The Royal Court Theatre at dusk in 2007

The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England.

Langtry in 1882

Lillie Langtry

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British socialite, stage actress and producer.

British socialite, stage actress and producer.

Langtry in 1882
Portrait of Langtry by Frank Miles
A Jersey Lily by Sir John Everett Millais. Exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London to large crowds, this 1878 portrait popularised her nickname, the "Jersey Lily".
Yacht Red Gauntlet owned by Edward "Ned" Langtry, first husband of actress Lillie (le Breton) Langtry
Portrait of Langtry by William Downey of Ebury Street, London, 1885
Langtry as Lady de Bathe, circa 1915
Lillie Langtry in character as the adventuress Lena Despard from the 1887 play As in a Looking-Glass.
Langtry buys Regal Lodge (situated in the village of Kentford, near Newmarket in the English county of Suffolk) from Baird's estate in 1893
Sale of Regal Lodge in 1919
Hollandsfield in Chichester, England
Lillie Langtry's grave in Saint Saviour, Jersey
Caricature of Langtry, from Punch, Christmas 1890: The soap box on which she sits reflects her endorsements of cosmetics and soaps.
The White Ladye
All at Sea, Langtry's only novel

In 1881, Langtry became an actress and made her West End debut in the comedy She Stoops to Conquer, causing a sensation in London by becoming the first socialite to appear on stage.

Hamilton playing at the Victoria Palace

Victoria Palace Theatre

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Hamilton playing at the Victoria Palace
The Victoria Palace Theatre during the 2002 season, showing Cole Porter's 1948 musical comedy Kiss Me, Kate
The theatre near the end of its 2016 – 2017 refurbishment
Billy Elliot playing in 2012

The Victoria Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, opposite Victoria Station.

1908 edition

The Scarlet Pimpernel

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First novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905.

First novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905.

1908 edition
A scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis)
Fred Terry as the Scarlet Pimpernel (alter ego of Sir Percy Blakeney) in the 1905 West End theatre production The Scarlet Pimpernel
Leslie Howard as Sir Percy Blakeney (next to Merle Oberon as Lady Blakeney) in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
Postcard of the West End‘s New Theatre in 1905 with signs for Julia Neilson (who played Lady Blakeney) in The Scarlet Pimpernel
Dustin Farnum in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1917)

Opening at the New Theatre in London's West End on 5 January 1905, the play became a favourite of British audiences, eventually playing more than 2,000 performances and becoming one of the most popular shows staged in London.

The theatre in 2007

Harold Pinter Theatre

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The theatre in 2007
Fred Leslie as Rip Van Winkle, 1882
Poster for The New Woman
Maidie Andrews as Alice in Alice Through the Looking-Glass at the Comedy Theatre during the Christmas period 1903–04. Pictured in The Tatler (January 1904)

The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011, is a West End theatre, and opened on Panton Street in the City of Westminster, on 15 October 1881, as the Royal Comedy Theatre.

West End promotional poster

Billy Elliot the Musical

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Coming-of-age stage musical based on the 2000 film of the same name.

Coming-of-age stage musical based on the 2000 film of the same name.

West End promotional poster
Five years of West End Billys performing in the 5th Birthday Show on 31 March 2010
Cesar Corrales in a scene from the Chicago production.
Billy Elliot sign in West End
Billy Elliot advertisement on a Routemaster bus in London, 2007

The musical premiered at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London's West End in 2005 and was nominated for nine Laurence Olivier Awards, winning four, including Best New Musical.

Shaftesbury Avenue early on a Saturday morning, in 2006

Shaftesbury Avenue

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Major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury.

Major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury.

Shaftesbury Avenue early on a Saturday morning, in 2006
Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus in 1949
Shaftesbury Avenue in 2016 with West End theatres pictured along the right side of the road
The Forbidden Planet comic store on the road

The avenue is generally considered the heart of London's West End theatre district, with the Lyric, Apollo, Gielgud and Sondheim theatres clustered together on the west side of the road between Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross Road.