A Beginner’s Guide to the West End

The West End is to London what Broadway is to New York City. It’s the beating heart of commercial theatre in the UK, offering world-class productions to audiences who have travelled from all over the globe. It’s where you’ll find the city’s biggest theatres and the country’s longest-running shows. Les Misérables, for example, has run consistently in the West End for 40 years, while The Mousetrap currently holds the record for the country’s longest-running show, racking up over 70 years onstage.

Broadly speaking, the West End is a loosely defined area of central London, concentrated around Leicester Square, Shaftesbury Avenue, Covent Garden, and the Strand, that’s sometimes affectionately referred to as Theatreland. The term “West End,” however, isn’t really used to describe a geographic location — it denotes a certain calibre of production.

West End shows typically have higher budgets, larger marketing campaigns, and more prominent actors than fringe or regional theatre productions. Productions that make it to the West End often do so following a successful run at an off-West End theatre. 

Being involved in a West End production is a huge achievement for both cast and crew. It’s seen as the pinnacle of live theatre by performers, theatre enthusiasts and tourists alike. 

The West End attracts millions of people from around the globe every year despite top ticket prices rising by 9 percent in 2024, reaching £300.

The West End’s theatrical roots go back to the 17th century, when the first theatre, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, opened its doors in 1663. It wasn’t until 1806, however, that the next major theatre was built in the West End. The Sans Pareil, now known as the Adelphi Theatre, was constructed with £10,000 of playwright John Scott’s money. 

Theatres soon multiplied, and with them came a growing appetite for onstage variety – musical theatre, melodramas, and Shakespeare revivals. The area’s central location, proximity to major transport links, and historical ties to entertainment (the West End is walking distance from the original site of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre) made it a natural hub for developing what is now known as the London Theatre District – or the West End.

The West End remains one of the world’s leading theatre districts, rivalling Broadway in size, scope, and prestige.

Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone in “Midnight Tango” at the Aldwych Theatre in London Credit: Simon Burchell/Featureflash/Shutterstock

To understand where the West End sits within the UK’s wider theatre ecosystem, it’s important to know how it compares to other types of venues.

• Off-West End refers to professional, esteemed London theatres that aren’t based in theatreland. Smaller than most West End venues, the theatres, such as the Almeida and the Young Vic, often produce bold, innovative works, the best of which often transfer to the West End following their initial run. “[They are] affordable, sustainable, accessible, and incredible,” Denholm Spurr, the head of off-West End awards show the Offies, told Close-Up Culture.
• Regional theatre encompasses theatres outside London, such as Manchester’s Royal Exchange or the Bristol Old Vic. These companies often develop original work and may also host touring productions of West End shows. Regional theatres are vital to making theatre accessible across the UK, and they often collaborate with national organisations such as the Royal Shakespeare Company or the National Theatre to host their productions. “One regional theatre is not like another,” theatre critic Lyn Gardner wrote in the Guardian. “‘Regional’ shouldn’t be a dirty word, but a badge of pride like the one worn by many foods or local beers.” 
• Fringe theatres are smaller, independent theatres that typically operate on tight budgets and can sometimes be found in unconventional spaces. The fringe is where many actors, directors, and writers begin their careers. Venues include the Finborough Theatre and Camden People’s Theatre.

Although the West End represents the commercial pinnacle of UK theatre, the broader landscape – including fringe, regional, and off-West End theatre – is where much of the country’s most innovative and diverse work is created.

There’s no official definition of the West End, but there are some key characteristics. “Most of them are owned by major producers or commercial companies, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s LW Theatres (such as the Gillian Lynne Theatre, His Majesty’s Theatre, and the London Palladium) and Cameron Mackintosh’s Delfont Mackintosh Theatres (such as the Gielgud Theatre, the Novello Theatre, and the Sondheim Theatre),” according to arts journalist Marianka Swain.

Other factors that make a theatre West End are its location and whether it is a member of the Society of London Theatre. There are 39 theatres currently recognised as part of the West End theatre district, the majority of which are beautiful historic venues with ornate interiors and rich legacies.

Some of the best-known West End theatres include:

• The London Palladium, which has a capacity of 2,286, has a history in variety entertainment and has been called “the world’s most famous theatre.”
• The Lyceum Theatre is a Grade II-listed building with a capacity of 2,185. The Lion King has been playing there since it opened in 1999; it is the West End’s sixth-longest-running show in history.
• The Apollo Victoria, which has a capacity of 2,328, has housed the musical Wicked since 2006. It is the 8th-longest-running show in West End history.
• The Savoy Theatre, with a capacity of 1,132, was the first public building in the world to be lit by electric light bulbs. It has hosted many leading shows, including Jamie Lloyd’s 2023 revival of Sunset Boulevard. 
• The Noël Coward Theatre, which has a smaller capacity of 965, has had several identities. It was initially known as the New Theatre, but its name was changed to the Albery Theatre in 1973 as a tribute to the theatre’s long-serving manager, Bronson Albery. When Cameron Mackintosh acquired the theatre in 2005, he renamed it in memory of the famous playwright Noël Coward.

The newest West End theatre is @SohoPlace, which opened its doors as a post-Covid triumph in October 2022, becoming the first new-build West End theatre in 50 years. “We want to offer different possibilities for performers and audiences,” said Nica Burns, the producer behind the building, at the time of the theatre’s opening. “Our theatre is in-the-round, so everyone has a perfect sight line from their seat. Everyone has leg room, and you are no more than six rows away from the stage in any seat. Isn’t that fantastic?”

For actors, the West End offers high visibility, better pay, and the chance to work with top directors, creatives, and fellow cast members. Appearing in a West End show is a major milestone in a performer’s career.

Working in the West End, however, also comes with intense demands. Eight shows a week is standard, and shows run for long stretches. Competition for roles is fierce. “When I took over the role full time, I would do seven shows a week,” actor Karl Queensborough, who played the titular role in Hamilton on the West End, told Spotlight. “It was just a learning curve of how to vocally and physically survive. When I did my first proper week playing Hamilton, by show three I was exhausted because I was so excited and giving it 110 percent.” 

For many, though, the West End remains the dream — to perform on a world-class stage in the heart of one of the most vibrant theatre cities in the world. It is just one part of a rich and varied theatre scene, but the West End is undoubtedly the epicentre of dramatic prestige for stage actors working in the UK.