Theatre of the West End

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With its thriving and lively environment, the West End of London is up there with the best places to live in London. With its historical background and picturesque buildings it is the setting to a spectacular and booming business and nightlife experience. Theatres in this area are plentiful and the masses swarm to them all year round. The majority of theatres were built centuries ago (mostly in Victorian and Edwardian times) and yet people in the modern world still visit them to take in a show. Over 13 million people attended shows in the West End in 2007, breaking records. The West End world of theatre has been and still is an immense tourist attraction and the main reason people visit London. Theatre began to emerge in the West End in 1806 and given further law changes and the banning of censorship more theatres and shows were free to operate. This famous area of London is rich with history and the quality shows on offer, have been drawing people to the area for 200 years.

Opening in 1905, Aldwych Theatre in Aldwych has been showing musicals such as Fame and Dirty Dancing for years. It is also the birth place of the musical Top Hat.

Apollo Victoria Theatre can be found close to Victoria rail and tube station and when it opened in 1930 it was a cinema, before it transformed into one of the more famous theatres. Starlight Express and Wicked are both very popular shows that feature here.

The Cambridge Theatre was opened in 1930 in the Covent Garden area and it shows the musical Matilda presently, and has previously shown more famous musicals such as Chicago.

Dominion Theatre came to opening in 1929 on Tottenham Court Road and if you want to see We Will Rock You, this is the place to be. This is the most successful show at this theatre, but other good shows at this theatre previously included The Judy Garland Show.

Her Majesty's Theatre was built in 1897, although it was not the first theatre on this site. The main attraction tothis theatre is the showing of Andrew Lloyd Webber's, The Phantom of the Opera.

The Lyceum Theatre has been around since 1834 and is famously the place to go and see Disney's The Lion King musical. This is a change since it was once used as a circus between 1794 and 1809.

New London Theatre is very popular on account of its showing of the very famous War Horse show.

Private Lives staring the famous Lawrence Olivier burst onto the scene through the Phoenix Theatre in 1930 on Charing Cross Road. It has also shown other well-known musicals like Blood Brothers.

Playhouse Theatre near Trafalgar Square originally formed in 1882 and was owned by the BBC in 1951 when they hosted live performances from popular bands such as The Beatles and Queen until 1976.

Having opened in 1930, the Prince Edward Theatre and was the birth place of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia! and this lasted for for five years. Currently being performed here is Jersey Boys, the well-known Four Seasons smash-hit musical.