10 West End Facts for Your Inner Stagey History Nerd
When hearing the word “theatre”, most people in the UK will immediately think of London’s West End. It’s the heart of commercial theatre in the capital and beyond. It attracts millions of domestic and international tourists every year (over 17 million people visited the West End in 2023), hosts some of worlds most famous shows, and has launched many illustrious careers over its 350+ year history.
The traditional boundaries of the West End, also known as Theatreland, are marked by Oxford Street to the north, the Strand to the south, Kingsway to the east and Regent Street to the west; within this demarcation are 37 commercial venues (though today, some theatre’s outside this radius are counted in the West End Club).
a map of the traditional West End with the boundary roads highlighted
Over the centuries the West End has endured through censorship, war and new technologies. Its stages have launched illustrious careers and entertained both rich and poor. So let’s travel across 400-ish years of London’s Theatreland with these 10 West End facts for your inner stagey history nerd (or outer, if you’re like me).
1663: The West End is Born
Theatreland wasn’t home to the first permanent playhouse in London. That honour goes to James Burbage’s 1576 Shoreditch venue, imaginatively named The Theatre. 87 years later on 7th May, Thomas Killigrew built the Theatre Royal in Bridges Street. When the theatre subsequently burned down, Christopher Wren rebuilt is as the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which still stands today.
Actors vs Puritans: The Prequel
As you may be aware, the Puritans weren’t a fan of many things, including theatre. In 1642, as the First English Civil War got underway, Parliament ordered the cessation of stage-plays, causing the closure of London’s theatres. The following year, a group of anonymous actors published a protest pamphlet entitled, ‘The Actors remonstrance or complaint for the silencing of their profession, and banishment from their severall [sic] play-houses’. Catchy.
Fun bonus fact: whilst writing this post, I looked up the pamphlet to see if it’s available online and IT IS! That’s my bedtime reading sorted.
Whilst the Puritans did influence this decision, Parliament also felt that revels such as plays weren’t in keeping with the “pious solemnity” due during civil war. I don’t think Parliament and I would have gotten along.
The Restoration: A Tale of Two Companies
The Restoration in 1660 heralded the return of the stage. However, only two companies were licensed to perform plays: The Duke’s Company, sponsored by James Duke of York, and The King’s Company, sponsored by King Charles II. Other companies and venues, like the Sadler’s Wells Theatre (opened in 1683), were permitted to perform operas and musical entertainments only.
The West End’s First Smash Hit
Arguably the first West End sensation was John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. Opening at the Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre in 1728, it ran for 62 consecutive performances. This would be considered a flop today; 62 performances is equivalent to a 7-and-a-bit week run. But at the time The Beggar’s Opera was the longest running production to date in London, and the second-longest running in theatre history. I guess satirical musical comedy was popular with the Georgians.
19th Century Expansion
Up until the Victorian era there had been a pseudo-monopoly in the theatre world. A handful of licenced theatres were permitted to perform spoken drama thanks to the legacy of the licensed companies of the Restoration. Whilst non-licensed theatres got around this with the invention of Melodrama (the loophole was that music accompanied the action), it was still a major artistic restriction.
The Theatres Act 1843 changed this, allowing more theatres to be licensed to perform spoken drama. This in turn lead to an expansion of the West End, with over 30 theatres opening since the act was passed. In contrast, only four theatres were built in the West End between 1663 and 1843: the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the Adelphi, the Theatre Royal Haymarket and the Lyceum.
Edit: This fact was the only one that survived me somehow deleting this entire post after editing and proofreading it. Upon realising I had to re-write the rest all over again, to say my reaction was melodramatic would be an understatement.
Let There Be Light
As long as there has been theatre, we’ve needed stage lighting, if only for the practical need for the audience to see the stage. The ancient Greeks accomplished this by building their amphitheatres with the stage facing the afternoon sun. Early theatres like The Globe had open rooves to allow natural light in. As theatres moved indoors candlelight was used, with chandeliers hanging over the front of the auditorium to illuminate the stage.
By the 19th century, theatres had moved on from candle chandeliers. Stages were lit with gas footlights, whilst spotlights were created using lenses and heated cylinders of quicklime. This is the origin of the phrase ‘in the limelight’. However, in 1881 The Savoy Theatre on the Strand became the first theatre (and public building) to be lit entirely by electric light. And look how far we’ve come since.
Oh What a Not-So-Lovely War
You may have heard of a small blip in 20th century military history commonly known as The Blitz. This minor inconvenience for the British population caused major upheaval for several major cities in general, London specifically and Theatreland more relevantly (at least for the purposes of this post).
Firstly, there were the blackouts. These forced productions to set earlier playing times at best or go dark completely at worse, neither of which were great for company coffers. Then as The Blitz intensified, venues were inevitably caught in the crossfire. Several theatres were damaged, and some, including The Shaftsbury Theatre and The Queen’s Theatre (now The Sondheim Theatre), were completely destroyed.
The Worst Kind of Ship is Censorship (groan)
Since the 16th Century, theatre had been subject to censorship in some form. This was formalised by The Licensing Act 1737, which gave direct authority over what plays could be performed to The Lord Chamberlain. The Theatres Act 1843 required that new plays needed to send a copy to The Lord Chamberlain for review. The Lord Chamberlain would grant a license to acceptable plays, allowing them to be produced publicly. The result was the suppression of certain topics and themes on public stages.
In the mid-1960’s, The Royal Court Theatre attempted to get around the law by changing it’s status to a private members’ club to stage A Patriot for Me by John Osborne. The ensuing legal case increased public support for the end of theatre censorship in Britain. Queue The Theatres Act 1968, when finally ended 231 years of The Lord Chamberlain’s meddling. Huzzah!
New Kid on the Block
Most West End venues have seen there centenaries come and go, with nine more due before 2030. The two youngest theatres are The Gillian Lynn (formally The New London), which opened in 1973, and Soho Place, the baby of the bunch. Opening in 2022, Soho Place is the first West End Theatre to be built in 50 years. Awwww…
Quick Fire Superlatives
To round off this fun fact list, here are some West End superlatives for your next stagey quiz night:
Longest Running Play: The Mousetrap (St. Martin’s Theatre, opened 1952)
Longest Running Musical: Les Miserable (The Sondheim Theatre, opened 1985)
Largest Capacity Venue: The Apollo Victoria (current home of Wicked, seats 2,328)
Smallest Capacity Venue: The Arts Theatre (current home of Choir of Man, seats 350)
after re-writing this, I can see why melodrama caught on…
How many of these facts did you already know? And do you have any favourite facts that I missed? Let me know in the comments below!