Most theatres in London’s West End will only host one production at a time, although family shows and one-off specials often come in for daytime and Sunday performances. A new show will traditionally open with a three to nine month initial booking period and then extend depending on ticket sales and contracts. So whilst a small number come and go, the successful ones can stay around for a long time.
At the beginning of 2012, over a quarter of shows on in the West End had been in London for longer than five years and another quarter for more than one year. So only half of all London’s theatres were available to host new shows and half of those were either hosting shows that expected to last for some time or were earmarked to host long running shows in the near future!
Whilst this state of affairs was not great for regular London theatre-goer this did help the irregular West End theatre-goer as they were able to plan their theatre-going often years ahead!
However 2012 was a watershed. Many old shows closed and others that were expected to run and run, just ran out! So since then London has had a rather fresh feel to its West End shows!
Outside of the West End however, variety is very definitely the spice of life. The main repertory companies: National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Regent’s Park Open Air (and I suppose you could include the Royal Opera House) keep audiences on their toes with a constantly changing programme, whilst the fringe theatre scene in London, with its short runs and one night stands, is as healthy as it is anywhere.
Performances normally take place in the evenings from Monday to Saturday with one matinee (afternoon performance) during the week and another on the Saturday. However, following the New York trend, a few shows have stopped performing on a Monday and replaced it with a Sunday matinee.
When most people think of a West End show they think of the musical: The lavish production values, the music, the stars, the orchestra, the song and dance numbers. These are the flagships of London’s Theatreland. Some celebrated their world premieres here; others came from Broadway or from successful regional tours.
The names behind the musical are as famous as the shows themselves: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, Schonberg and Boubil, George and Ira Gershwin, Elton John, Walt Disney, Queen, Franki Valli and Abba. The long runners include Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, which have both recently celebrated 25th anniversarieswhilst Disney’s The Lion King and Mamma Mia! have both been playing to London audiences for 15 years. See the Show listing later in the book for the full run-down.
Depending on the season, plays in London can be as rare as hen’s teeth or as plentiful as the taxicabs. In the last few years the balance has been very good, with some good long runners and some excellent limited-run gems. Benefiting from the fashion for stars of the Silver Screen to come over and “Do” a stage play, a trend helped by the arrival of Hollywood actor, Kevin Spacey as Artistic Director at the Old Vic, London has seen some unforgettable visiting productions. This in turn has prompted homegrown producers and actors to up their game.
Recent successes include One Man, Two Govnors, Warhorse and Jerusalem. Some of the older shows are as famous as their musical counterparts, none less so than Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap: this year it celebrates its 60th birthday. Other long running productions include 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre and The Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre.
The Royal Opera House and the London Coliseum make sure that Londoners get their fair share of earth-shatteringly great music sung by many of the worlds best singers. But do check: these opera houses are also home to the Royal Ballet and English National Ballet – at the prices the Royal Opera House charge that is an expensive mistake to make: either way!
Top Operatic Hint: The Coli is the home of English National Opera, so all operas there are sung in English, where as at the Royal Opera House they are generally sung in the original language – might be worth considering.
At regular points throughout the year, the Royal Albert Hall, with the help of impresario Raymond Gubbay, also becomes home to a bit of opera. These spectacular events generally present popular operas in a lively way and are excellent for an introduction to the artform.
In addition to the Royal Opera House and the London Coliseum ballet seasons, London is lucky enough to boast the Sadler’s Wells Theatre: a venue dedicated to international dance – which has become so successful that the Peacock Theatre, in the West End, is often used for shows that otherwise may tend to dominate the season at Sadler’s Wells.
Just as with other forms of live theatre there are many smaller companies presenting dance in London: look out for The Place, home of London Contemporary Dance School.
I’m getting a little off track here. This book is about theatre and going to the theatre. Just as these other forms of entertainment are similar, the are completely different. They take place in different venues (although sometimes the same) in different areas of London (although sometimes the same) at different times, (though sometimes the same) and attract different audiences (although sometimes the same).
However my main reason for not going into detail about them in this book is that, if you saw a book called “London Theatre and Theatre Breaks” you would not pick it up expecting to find out where the next Phil Collins gig is or how to get tickets for the Des O’Connor One Man Show – if there is such a thing!
Of course London produces all manner of entertainment, or, to clarify: London produces every manner of entertainment, but you don’t need to read about it here.
I will however just mention the contrasting fates of Music Hall and Burlesque and how you can easily see one (even learn how to do it) whereas the other is not even talked about!
At the hands of its more risque cousin, Music Hall has suffered a decline over the past few years and that means that your work is cut out for you if you want to take a trip down that memory lane.
Burlesque, on the other hand, is enjoying a bit of a purple patch. It is not just “stripping without the bit at the end” as David Walliams once said. Skilled dancers, singers, musicians, acrobats, magicians and comedians will make sure that you come away from a show entertained, impressed and wanting to go again. Check out the Wam Bam Club at the Cafe De Paris or Madame JoJo’s. You can even learn the art at CellarDoor! And 2012 saw the first Burlesque show in the West End as The Hurly Burly show came to the Duchess. But beware: sometimes you do get the bit at the end!