TOP 10 TUESDAY (APRIL 2025) - West End Theatres
- James Tradgett
- Apr 15
- 9 min read
Following up from last month's top broadway theatres, April sees a return to the UK and a roundup of the best of the west end. There are a total of 39 west end theatres, considered the height of commercial theatrical prestige in the UK, but not all of them are created equal; here are my picks for the top 10 best theatres in London's west end.
10. HAROLD PINTER
current production - The Years
We start with one of London's most prominent stages for new plays; the Harold Pinter Theatre first opened its doors in October 1881 as the Comedy Theatre with an initial seating capacity of 1186, later reducing to 796 seats, over four levels with horseshoe shaped middle and upper level balconies. Unlike many other west end theatres, the Pinter is tucked away down a side street, on the corner of Oxendon and Panton Streets, just around the corner from His Majesty's Theatre and the Theatre Royal Haymarket. The auditorium is unique for its murals that adorn the side walls, and its ceiling lights are particularly ornate.
Though a handful of successful musicals have graced its auditorium, such as Sunny Afternoon, Your Lie In April, and the 2013 revival of Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along", the Pinter still retains its reputation as one of the foremost playhouses in London, with recent successes being the Donmar Warehouse Production of Shakespeare's "MacBeth" starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo, as well as the broadway-bound plays "The Hills of California" by Jez Butterworth, and "Prima Facie" by Suzie Miller.
9. ADELPHI
current production - Back To The Future
Moving on to one of the oldest and most sought after west end theatres, the Adelphi opened in 1806 as the Sans Pareil ("without compare") by merchant John Scott and his daughter Jane, who was a playwright, performer and theatre manager. The theatre has been rebuilt multiple times, and opened in its current guise in 1930, in an art-deco design created by Ernest Schaufelberg, initially as the "Royal Adelphi Theatre", dropping its royal title ten years later.
The theatre has played host to a wide variety of productions, including the 1979 revival of Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady, the first London revival of Chicago, and more recently, original productions of Kinky Boots, Waitress, and its current tenant Back To The Future: The Musical, which has now been running for almost four years. It is situated on the Strand, less than a minute's walk down from its nearest neighbour the Vaudeville Theatre, and across the road from the Savoy Theatre / Hotel.
8. NOËL COWARD
current production - The Comedy About Spies
The first of three exponents of the W. G. R. Sprague theatrical design portfolio on this list, the Noël Coward Theatre was originally called the New Theatre, and built in 1903 by Sir Charles Wyndham, after whom another west end theatre is named (but we will get to that later). It was renamed the Albery Theatre before eventually being named for renowned Irish playwright Noël Coward in 2006 following major refurbishment. It had a stint of being managed by Sir John Gielgud in the 1930s, but is currently operated by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, whom assumed ownership in 2005.
The Noël Coward has hosted some staggering talent and productions, such as Sir Laurence Olivier in Shakespeare's "Richard III" during the theatre's period as the main home for the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells companies due to their own theatres having been bomb-damaged. In recent years, the Noël Coward has developed a reputation as the home to strictly limited runs of shows, the only recent production lasting longer than a year being Pasek & Paul's musical "Dear Evan Hansen", which ran for around three years (including the break due to COVID-19).
7. TRAFALGAR
current production - Clueless: The Musical
One of the more intimate auditoriums in the west end, and certainly one of the most ornate, the Trafalgar Theatre is one of the few London venues that guarantees you a clear view of the whole stage wherever you sit, due to its limited overhang in the stalls, and well-raked circle seating. Originally built in 1930 by Edward A. Stone and bearing the name the Whitehall theatre, designed in an art deco style, the Trafalgar has been redesigned on several occasions, and was most recently rebuilt in 2020 by Foster Wilson Architects, to the beautiful, characterful design we can behold today.
Another prominent London playhouse, the Trafalgar has had a couple of major successful musical runs to its name, including the 2021 west end revival of the Frankie Valli jukebox musical "Jersey Boys", as well as its current occupants, the KT Tunstall and Glenn Slater musical "Clueless", based on the 90s movie of the same name. The Trafalgar is going from strength to strength, with plenty of new audiences going through its doors in recent years.
6. AMBASSADOR'S
current production - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
By far the smallest venue on this list, the Ambassador's Theatre has a seating capacity of just 444 across two levels, making it the perfect avenue for plays, as well as new or developing productions. Interestingly, initial applications to build a theatre on the site were rejected due to how narrow the surrounding streets were, but in 1912 architect W. G. R. Sprague finally gained permission, on the condition that the "adjacent Tower Court was widened to twenty feet". It was one of two neighbouring theatres to be designed and built by Sprague, the other being the St. Martin's Theatre which opened around 3 and a half years after the Ambassador's.
Much of its history has been dedicated to plays, with notable productions to play at the Ambassador's including The Mask of Virtue, the play in which Vivien Leigh made her west end debut, as well as the first 22 years of The Mousetrap's record breaking 73 year run on the west end, playing at the Ambassador's from 1952 until 1973, after which it transferred across the road to the St. Martin's. It's the current home of the recent best new musical Olivier winners, Darren Clark and Jethro Compton's musical adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which opened in October 2024, and is currently booking until August 2025.
5. GILLIAN LYNNE
current production - My Neighbour Totoro
Enormous in scale, and brilliantly designed, the Gillian Lynne Theatre was until recently the newest theatre in London's west end (overtaken by a venue that features further down), having only opened its doors in 1973, however it has had previous iterations that date further back before its current premises were constructed. Opening originally as the New London Theatre, its name was changed in 2018 to honour renowned theatre choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne, just two months before she passed away at the age of 92.
Arranged as a sort of "semi-thrust" auditorium, this gives the Gillian Lynne terrific scope for versatility in terms of set design, as evidenced by the recent west end transfer of Chris Bush and Richard Hawley's 2019 musical "Standing at the Sky's Edge", which made brilliant use of the semi-circular stage. Other major productions to play at the theatre include the original production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats", the west end transfer of Michael Morpurgo's play "War Horse", and two separate runs of the Tony winning and Olivier nominated play "The Lehman Trilogy" by Stefano Massini. It is the current home of "My Neighbour Totoro", which just transferred from the Barbican Theatre.
4. WYNDHAM’S
next production - My Master Builder
Intimate, well-designed, and beautiful inside and out, Wyndham's Theatre recently celebrated its 125th anniversary, having originally opened in November 1899 as another of W. G. R. Sprague. In recent years it is another theatre that has developed a reputation for staging strictly limited runs of shows, with many productions staged lasting only a few months, the most recent to break the 12-month mark being the Lolita Chakrabarti adaptation of Yann Martel's "Life of Pi", which ran for 14 months and won five Olivier Awards including "best new play".
Situated right next door to Leicester Square underground station, and sharing a rear alleyway with the Noël Coward, (their stage door entrances facing one another), Wyndham's has as varied a production history as you can get, with everything from Shakespeare and J. B. Priestly, to modern plays "Leopoldstadt" and "The Kite Runner", and musicals like "Oklahoma!", "Avenue Q" and "Next To Normal".
3. VICTORIA PALACE
current production - Hamilton
One of two west end theatres to be located outside of the city's main theatre district (the other being the Apollo Victoria), the Victoria Palace is just about the most stunning theatre inside and out that London has to offer, with its distinctive green seats, bright and welcoming interior design, and exquisitely designed upper dome. The theatre began life as a small concert venue above the stables of the then Royal Standard Hotel, which was built in 1832 and later enlarged to become Moy's Music Hall in 1850. Following its demolition in 1910, the new Victoria Palace Theatre, designed by Frank Matcham, opened the following year, where it remains to this day.
Though its current production has become very much synonymous with the theatre, the Victoria Palace has staged some highly notable productions, including the London premieres of "Me and My Girl", "Annie" and, most recently, Lee Hall and Elton John's musical "Billy Elliot", which remains the venue's longest running single production. At present, the theatre is host to the London production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's modern day masterpiece "Hamilton", which opened in 2017 following a large-scale refurbishment, and continues to play presently.
2. @SOHOPLACE
current production - Kyoto
The newest west end theatre takes the runner up spot in this list, @sohoplace (styled in all lower case) first opened in October 2022, and has already hosted a wide range of limited run productions, from the world premiere of the staged adaptation of Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain, to new Nick Butcher and Tom Ling musical The Little Big Things, and the new play currently performing entitled "Kyoto", written by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson.
Also in a time when we as a society are far more aware and open to a far more diverse range of people, @sohoplace also holds the distinction of being the most accessible theatre in London, with lifts to every level of the auditorium, disabled toilets on every floor, and even one of its major first productions, the Nick Butcher and Tom Ling musical "The Little Big Things", being specifically about, featuring, and catered to, disabled people. Situated a stones throw from Tottenham Court Road tube station, @sohoplace is ideally located, and is barely a minute's walk away from the theatre that takes the top spot in today's list...
1. PHOENIX
current production - Stranger Things: The First Shadow
The proverbial gold medal on this list is awarded to one of the (comparatively) newer theatres on the west end, the Phoenix opened in 1930 and has perhaps one of the most ornate auditorium and front of house designs in the west end, having been inspired by Italian opera houses. It operated as a playhouse initially, however since the 1980s has primarily hosted musicals, most notably the vast majority of the 1988 revival of Blood Brothers, which ran at the Phoenix for 21 years, making it the venue's longest-running production. The Phoenix is also the theatre in which Sir Laurence Olivier made his west end debut, in a play entitled "Private Lives" by Noël Coward.
Following a hugely successful four-year run for the Irene Sankoff and David Hein musical "Come From Away" at the theatre, its current production, the Kate Trefry play "Stranger Things: The First Shadow" based on the Duffer Brothers tv show on Netflix, opened in December 2023, and continues to play to packed houses every week. Given the size and versatility of its stage, as well as its vast, open publicly accessible areas, the Phoenix is a theatre that is easy to come back to again and again.
Whic is your favourite west end theatre? Let me know below or on my Instagram page.
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