During the golden age of theatre a truly amazing number of theatres sprang up across the capital and especially in the West End. These ranged from simple music halls presenting variety shows for the working classes to luxurious entertainment palaces catering to the rich and famous.
This page is by no means a comprehensive list of the theatres that existed in London during 'The Golden Age'. I have simply tried to provide some information about some of the venues that figure in my actress biographies.
Where a Theatre's name has changed during its lifetime I have focused only on those names by which it was known during the historical period to which this website is dedicated (and if relevant that by which it is known now).
| Major London Theatres Click here for Map |
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| The Adelphi, The Aldwych, The Ambassadors, The Apollo, The New Century, The Covent Garden, The Comedy, The Criterion, Daly's, Duke of Yorke's, Elephant & Castle, The Empire, The Gaiety, The Garrick, The Globe, The Haymarket, His/Her Majesties, Kings, Kingsway, The Lyceum, The Lyric, The Lyric (Hammersmith), The New Theatre, The Old Vic, The Palace, The Playhouse, The Prince of Wales, Princes, Queens, The Royal Adelphi, The Royal Court, The Royal Victoria, The Royalty, The St James's, The Savoy, The Scala, The Seymour Hicks, The Shaftesbury, The Strand, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Theatre Royal Covent Garden, The Vaudeville, Wyndham's. | |
| The Adelphi 411 Strand/Maiden Lane, WC2. |
First theatre on site built 1806 (as Sans-Pareil). Rebuilt (as 'New Century') - Reopened 11th Sept 1901, "The Whirl of the Town". Known as Royal Adelphi 1865 to 1901, New Century Theatre 1901, then The Adelphi. Original theatre was built by John Scott to showcase the talents of his daughter who gave a one-woman show culminating in a display of fireworks. |
| The Aldwych Aldwych/Drury Lane, WC2. |
Opened 23rd Dec 1905, "Bluebell in Fairyland". Restored 1923 (war damage) One of two similar theatres built by actor/producer Seymour Hicks. Renamed The Strand from 1909. Image |
| The Ambassadors West St, WC2. |
Opened 5th June 1913, "Panthea". One of London's smaller, more intimate theatres with seating for approximately 490. |
| The Apollo Shaftesbury Avenue, Picadilly, W1. |
Opened 21st Feb 1901, "The Belle of Bohemia" . The first production was a failure. |
| The Comedy Panton Street, Haymarket. SW1. |
Opened 18th Oct 1881 "La Mascotte". |
| The Covent Garden Bow Street, WC2. |
Opened 1732 - twice destroyed by fire. Present day building opened 1858, "The Huguenots" First theatre cost £6000 paid for by public subscription. One of the first theatres to introduce Lime-Lights. |
| The Criterion Piccadilly Circus, W1. |
Opened 1874 Reopened (after extensive remodelling) 20th Feb 1903, "A Clean Slate". Unusual in that it was built underground. One of the first theatres to be lit by elecricity. |
| Daly's Theatre Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square, WC2. |
Opened 27th June 1893, "The Taming of The Shrew". Demolished 1937. Built by the English theatre manager George Edwardes for American producer Augustin Daly. Edwardes later took over the theatre himself and made it the home of musical comedy. Foundation stone was laid by Ada Rehan. |
| The Duke of York's Theatre St Martins Lane, Leicester Square, WC2. |
Opened 10th September 1892, "The Wedding Eve". Built backing on to The Garrick Theatre, fronting into St Martins Lane - a slum district. Originally named the The Trafalgar Square Theatre it became the Duke of York's in 1895. |
| The Elephant and Castle New Kent Road, Southwark. |
Built 1872 - closed 1900. Reconstructed/reopened 1902 - became a Cinema 1928.Occupied the site of an earlier theatre at Newington Butts. |
| The Empire Wood Green, Leicester Square, WC2. |
Opened 1883, "Chilperic" - Closed 1927 (reconstructed as a cinema). Empire Theatre of Varieties from 1887. |
| The Gaiety Aldwych/The Strand, WC2. |
Opened (first building) 1868. Reopened (after building demolished, rebuilt nearby) 26th October 1903, "The Orchid". Closed 1939. Original building opened before construction/outfitting had quite finished and 80 workmen still in the theatre occupied the front rows of the upper circle and refused to move. Opening of the new Gaiety was attended by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, the first theatre opening to receive royal patronage. The original building had occupied the site of the former Strand Music Hall. |
| The Garrick Charing Cross Road, WC2. |
Opened 24th April 1889, "The Progligate" - demolished 1929. Another Garrick Theatre had previously existed in Leman Street Whitechapel (1831-1881). The theatre was the centre of a sensation around 1890 during the run of a production entitled "The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith" when a woman of the name "Ebbsmith" was found drowned in the Thames. In her pocket was a ticket for the play and she had written to a friend that it had preyed on her mind. |
| The Globe Shaftesbury Avenue, W1. |
Opened 27th Dec 1906, "The Beauty of Bath". Remodelled 1930. No connection to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Built by Seymour Hicks and was named The Seymour Hicks Theatre until 1909 when it became The Globe. (Now The Gielgud). |
| The Haymarket The Haymarket, SW1. |
Erected 1720 on the site of an called "The Kings Head". Interior reconstructed/reopened 31st Jan 1880, "Money". Remodelled 1905. Second oldest London Playhouse still in use. |
| His/Her Majesty's Theatre The Haymarket, SW1. |
Opened 28th April 1897, "The Seats of the Mighty". Stands on the site of the earlier "Queens Theatre" - detroyed by fire 1876. The name has changed over the years from His Majesty's Theatre to Her Majesty's Theatre and vice versa according to the gender of the ruling monarch. |
| Kings Theatre Hammersmith Road, W6. |
Opened 26th December 1902, "Cinderella". |
| Kingsway Great Queen Street, WC1. |
First opened 1882. Reconstructed/reopened 24th May 1900, "A little Ray of Sunshine". Known as the Novelty Theatre (1882-83), Folies-Dramatiques (1883-88), the Jodrell (1888-90), the Great Queen Street Theatre (1890-1907), then the Kingsway. |
| The Little John Street, WC2. |
Opened 11th Oct 1910, "Lysistrata" - Destroyed 1941. As its name suggests one of Londons smallest theatres holding only 350 people. Destroyed by bombing in WWII. |
| The Lyceum Wellington Street/The Strand WC2. |
Built 1904 as a Music Hall. Re-opened as theatre 30th Mar 1907, "Her Love Against the World". |
| The Lyric Shaftesbury Avenue, Piccadilly Circus. |
Opened 17th Dec 1888, "Dorothy". |
| The Lyric (Hammersmith) Hammersmith, W6. |
Opened 17th Nov 1890, "The Waterman/His Last Legs/Puck". |
| The New Theatre St Martins Lane, Leicester Square. |
Opened 12th March 1903, "Rosemary". (now The Albery). |
| The Palace Shaftesbury Avenue. |
Opened 31st Jan 1891, "Ivanhoe". Opened as Royal English Opera House, became Palace Theatre of Varieties in 1892, Palace Theatre from 1911. Image |
| The Playhouse Northumberland Avenue, WC2. |
Built 1882. Demolished/Rebuilt - reopened 28th Jan 1907, "Toddles". |
| The Prince of Wales Coventry Street/Oxenden Street, W1. |
Opened 18th Jan 1884, "The Palace of Truth". Rebuilt 1937. Opened as Prince's Theatre, became Prince of Wales 1886. |
| Princes Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2. |
Opened 26th Dec 1911, "The Three Musketeers". Bombed twice in WWII but remained open. |
| Queens Shaftesbury Avenue, W1. |
Opened 8th October, 1907, "The Sugar Bowl" - closed 1940. First London theatre to suffer bomb damage in WWII causing its permanent closure. |
| The Royal Court Sloane Square, SW1. |
Opened 1871 (in former Chapel) as the New Chelsea. Demolished/Rebuilt - Opened 24th September 1888, "Mamma" Known as the New Chelsea (1870-71), the Royal Court (1871-?), later the Court. Staged several of W.S Gilbert's early plays. |
| The Royal Victoria (the Old Vic) Waterloo Road. |
Opened 11th May 1818, triple bill "Trial by Battle"/"Alzora and Nerine"/"Midnight Revelry". Originally named the Royal Coburg it was renamed the Royal Victoria in 1833. Became a temperance music-hall in 1880. Taken over in 1912 by Lilian Baylis who made it the leading centre for productions of Shakespeare. |
| The [New] Royalty Dean Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, W1. |
Opened 1840, Closed 1938 (later destroyed in Blitz) Opened as a small theatre running in conjunction with an acting school. |
| St James's Theatre King Street, Picadilly, SW1. |
Opened 14th Decenver 1835, "Agnes Sorel" - Reconstructed 1879. In 1866, the St. James staged W.S. Gilbert's first play, "Dulcamara (or, the Little Duck and the Great Quack)". |
| The Savoy The Strand, WC2. |
Opened 10th Oct 1881, "Patience". Purpose built by Richard D'Oyly Carte as a permanent home for his operatic theatre company. It was the first public building in the world to be illuminated by the wonder of electric lighting. |
| The Scala Charlotte Street, W1. |
Opened 23rd September 1905, "The Conqueror". |
| The Seymour Hicks (Hicks's Theatre) |
See The Globe. |
| The Shaftesbury Shaftesbury Avenue, W1. |
Opened 20th Oct 1888, "As You Like It" - destroyed 1941. In 1903 staged a musical play "In Dahomey" with an all negro cast. Completely destroyed by bombing in WWII. |
| The Strand The Strand, WC2. |
Opened 1832. Demolished 1905. The Aldwych Theatre built on an adjacent site in 1905 was renamed 'The Strand' in 1909. |
| Theatre Royal Drury Lane Drury Lane |
First building erected 1663 - Present theatre (fourth on site) opened 1812. The Drury Lane Theatre was built under a direct charter from King Charles II to house the King's own company of players. The same charter established the right for women to act on stage (formerly all female roles had been played by boys). Today, Drury Lane is the oldest functioning London theatre. |
| Theatre Royal Covent Garden Covent Garden |
First building erected 1732 - Present theatre (third on site) opened 1858. For much of the 19th Century was a leading house in the Shakespeare revival. One of the first houses in the country to introduce Limelight. |
| The Vaudeville The Strand, WC2. |
Opened 16th April 1870, "For Love or Money"/"Don Carlos". Reopened 13th January 1891, "Woodbarrow Farm". Introduced London audiences to a young Henry Irving. Around the turn of the 20th Century celebrated actor Seymour Hicks and his wife Ellaine Terriss appeared in a series of Christmas entertainments in this theatre (including Bluebell in Fairyland - 1901). Image |
| Wyndham's Theatre Charing Cross Road, WC2. |
Opened 16th November 1899, "David Garrick". |