London is famous for its theatre; the West End is the largest theatre district in the world. The area, which contains around forty venues, is known for housing some of the best drama England has to offer. West End theatres can be identified by their location, falling within an area bordered by Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west, The Strand in the south and Kingsway to the east; and there are plenty of cheap theatre deals that present a great excuse to visit, too.
The Early Days
The first playhouses were built in Shoreditch, an area now famous for its art; before this plays were performed in ad hoc venues. Finally, with the opening of the Globe theatre in 1599, staged drama took on a new lease of life; the Globe famously put on plays such as Hamlet, Othello and Romeo and Juliet, showing the whole gamut of Shakespeare’s work.
Drury Lane and the West End
An area worth visiting for theatre lovers is Drury Lane, where several theatres first opened up. One of the most beloved managers of the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane was David Garrick; he came to London as a wine seller but his passion for drama could not be repressed and in 1741 he performed in Shakespeare’s Richard III.
Of course, the West End today is not too far away from where it began, but it has been growing steadily since the 1900s. Despite having to compete with cinema and television theatre is still considered a popular pastime in the modern age.
Some of the more popular theatres in London include The Aldwych Theatre, built by Seymour Hicks. With a turbulent past and the possibility of being closed down this theatre has struggled through to become a top venue for stage drama.
Between 1925 and 1933 the Aldwych put on plays with Ben Travers, known as the Aldwych Farces, and in the 60s the Royal Shakespeare Company made this playhouse its home. To this day cutting edge British drama is often staged at this historic venue.
The Garrick Theatre is also popular amongst visitors to London. One of the West End’s smaller theatres it seats 656 people, but in the late 60s this incredible playhouse was under threat of closure. The Garrick Theatre is famous for its pantomimes and comedies such as Bad Girls: The Musical; it is owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber who has written several world-famous show tunes.
London Theatre: A Burgeoning Industry
You may not believe this but London’s West End is bigger than the UK film industry and it attracts more people than Broadway; more than 13 million people saw performances in the West End during 2008. Nowadays London theatre is not that far away from its Hollywood cousins. Nicole Kidman stripped naked to star in The Blue Room (1998) causing a stir in Theatre-land. Since then many American actors and actresses have performed in the West End; it is almost like a right of passage.
Theatre has changed with the ever-changing climate in which it can be found. Drama is now influenced by things are far fetched as reality TV and the Internet; theatre booking has been revolutionised by YouTube and social networking sites.
The future of theatre looks good in London, and with such a rich history – and plenty of savings to me made; try kelkooselect.co.uk, for starters – there’s no reason not to get down to the West End for a night of drama in some of the world’s best venues.