Said to be the largest theatre district in the world, London’s Theatreland is located in the West End (and some say synonymous with it) and features some 40 playhouses.

The theatres are primarily located in Covent Garden, around Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus and in Soho. The street most associated with today’s Theatreland is perhaps Shaftsbury Avenue.

Many of the privately owned theatres date from the Victorian or Edwardian period and are protected against inappropriate development (although this means they also sometimes lack more modern amenities)

Among the theatres in the district is the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (the oldest theatre in London, it opened in 1663) as well as the Savoy Theatre (which in 1881 became the first to be lit by electricity), the London Palladium in Soho (which has hosted the Royal Variety Performance 43 times), and the Lyceum Theatre (where Bram Stoker was once manager).

The longest-running production in the world – Agatha Christie’s play The Mousetrap – has been running at St Martin’s Theatre since 1952 (though it was interrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic). The longest-running musical in the West End – Les Miserables – has been running since 1985 (first at the Palace Theatre and now at the Sondheim Theatre (formerly Queens Theatre)).