Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Theatre Royal Drury Lane is the oldest theatre site in London, with a playhouse standing on the spot since 1663. The current building is the fourth on the site, designed by Benjamin Dean Wyatt and opened in 1812. It seats over 2,100 people and is one of the grandest theatrical spaces in the country.

The theatre underwent a major restoration completed in 2021, returning its interiors to their original splendour. The grand staircase, the rotunda and the auditorium ceiling are all worth seeing in their own right. It is the kind of venue where the building is as much of the experience as the show on stage. For an overview of the full Theatreland district, see our guide to West End theatres.

The London Palladium

The Palladium on Argyll Street is synonymous with variety entertainment and has been a household name since the days of Sunday Night at the London Palladium on ITV. Built in 1910, it seats 2,286 people and has one of the widest stages in the West End.

Its Art Deco auditorium is a spectacular space with sweeping balconies and a ceiling that seems to float above the stalls. The Palladium regularly hosts large-scale musicals, concerts and special events. Its backstage area is legendary, with walls covered in signatures and photographs from decades of performers.

The Old Vic

The Old Vic on The Cut in Waterloo has a reputation that outweighs its size. Built in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it became the Old Vic in 1833 and has been associated with some of the most important figures in British theatre. Laurence Olivier ran the National Theatre company here in the 1960s, and Kevin Spacey served as artistic director from 2004 to 2015.

The auditorium is a beautiful horseshoe shape with excellent sightlines from most seats. It has a warmth and intimacy that larger theatres cannot match, and it regularly attracts major actors for limited runs. The Old Vic sits technically outside the traditional Theatreland boundaries but is considered an essential part of London's theatre landscape.

The Donmar Warehouse

The Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden is arguably the most respected small theatre in London. With just 251 seats arranged around a thrust stage, every audience member is close to the action. The intensity of performances here is unlike anything in a larger venue.

Originally a banana-ripening warehouse and later a rehearsal space, the Donmar became a producing theatre in 1992 under Sam Mendes. Its programming favours new writing and bold reinterpretations of classics, and a season at the Donmar often launches productions that transfer to the West End or Broadway.

Other Notable Venues

Among these celebrated venues, St Martin's Theatre is home to the longest running show in West End history, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap.

The Savoy Theatre on the Strand was the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity, in 1881. The Adelphi, also on the Strand, has a striking Art Deco interior dating from its 1930 rebuild. The Noel Coward Theatre on St Martin's Lane is a beautifully proportioned Edwardian venue named after the playwright who premiered several of his works there.

The newest addition to the West End, @sohoplace, opened in 2022 and brought modern theatre design into the district. Its flexible auditorium and contemporary architecture stand in deliberate contrast to the Victorian and Edwardian buildings that surround it.

Each of these theatres offers something different. The best approach is to let the building inform the experience as much as the production itself.