West End theatre

The West End theatre district lies in central London, where about forty large theatres stand close together between Covent Garden and Piccadilly Circus. The oldest, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, opened in 1663 and still hosts shows today. The Savoy Theatre, opened in 1881, was the first public building lit entirely by electricity. These theatres form the core of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world, alongside Broadway in New York. The West End draws over seventeen million attendances a year, with box-office takings reaching nearly £800 million. Major awards for theatre excellence are the Laurence Olivier Awards, presented annually to actors, writers and designers. Leading film and television performers regularly appear on the London stage, adding to the district’s reputation for high-quality productions. Inside the theatres, ornate interiors contrast with modern staging technology. The Savoy’s electric lighting revolutionised stage design in the 19th century. The Duke of York’s Theatre first staged Peter Pan in 1904, and the Noël Coward Theatre continues to present new plays. Outside, the streets around Leicester Square and The Strand buzz with playgoers before curtain-up.