West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of
London's "Theatreland".
[1] Along with
New York's
Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial
theatre in the
English speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common
tourist activity in London.
[1]Total attendances first surpassed 12 million in 2002, and in June 2005 The Times reported that this record might be beaten in 2005. Total attendance numbers surpassed 13 million in 2007,[2] setting a new record for the West End. Factors behind high ticket sales in the first half of 2005 included new hit musicals such as Billy Elliot, The Producers and Mary Poppins and the high number of film stars appearing. Since the late 1990s there has been an increase in the number of American screen actors on the London stage, and in 2005 these included Brooke Shields, Val Kilmer, Rob Lowe, David Schwimmer and Kevin Spacey.
London's first public playhouse, known simply as The Theatre, was constructed in 1576 in the area now known as Shoreditch. The first West End theatre, known as Theatre Royal in Bridges Street, was designed by Thomas Killigrew and built on the site of the present Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It opened on 7 May 1663 and was destroyed by a fire nine years later. It was replaced by a new structure designed by Christopher Wren and renamed Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. [3][4][5]
The original Sadler's Wells Theatre opened in Islington on 3 June 1683. Taking its name from founder Richard Sadler and monastic springs that were discovered on the property, [6][7] it first operated as an opera house. Haymarket Theatre opened on 29 December 1720 on a site slightly north of its current location, and the Royal Opera House opened in Covent Garden on 7 December 1732.
