The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. Opening in 1870, the theatre staged mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. The theatre was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous structure. The current building dates from 1926, and the capacity is now 690 seats. Early stage mechanisms, including rare thunder drums and lightning sheets, survive in the theatre.
The Vaudeville Theatre in 2014
Henry Irving
Seymour Hicks
Postcard of the Vaudeville Theatre, c. 1905
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London. Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre represents the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage.
West End theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue in 2016.
The London Palladium in Soho opened in 1910. While the Theatre has a resident show, it also has one-off performances such as concerts. Since 1930 it has hosted the Royal Variety Performance 43 times.
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Opened in May 1663, it is the oldest theatre in London.
Original interior of Savoy Theatre in 1881, the year it became the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity.
