West End Theatres


What do St Martin’s Theatre, the Queen’s Theatre and Her Majesty’s Theatre all have in common?

All three of them are the venues that house the top three longest running shows in the West End; Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera. As well as the longest in the West End, The Mousetrap also has the honour of being the longest running production in the world, having begun its run in 1952. Because it is a play, it means that the next one down Les Misérables is the longest running musical in the West End.

But there’s a good reason these plays in London have been in the West End for so long – they are all enormously popular productions that have received critical acclaim over the years as well as an enormity of popularity. And why wouldn’t they be popular? They are world class productions being produced in one of the theatre capitals of the English speaking world.

In the West End, you can enjoy all kinds of productions, thanks to the enormous amount of theatres and shows that can be found here. In ‘Theatreland’ itself, there are over forty venues, all of which housing their own shows, from musicals and dramas to ballet, opera, live music and comedy. A West End show is always likely to please because the audience has wanted to be there – amongst all of the options and alternatives; they have chosen a particular show that suits their tastes. If you are looking for theatre, then London’s West End should be the first place to go.

England was once the home of William Shakespeare himself and so it is only fitting that in his own country his legend lives on in a long theatre tradition. His work can be seen all over London in various productions that have ranged from Hamlet and Twelfth Night to All’s Well That Ends Well, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar and Romeo & Juliet.

But outside of these, there are still a great deal of theatre plays for those who are not fans of Shakespeare, with recent productions that have included Waiting for Godot, Fat Pig, Three Days of Rain, The Woman in Black and No Man’s Land. It shows that whatever it is you are looking for, there is a West End show for to enjoy.