Take a Break and Escape to London Theatre Land

From the Adelphi to the Victoria Palace, centralran for almost 9,000 performances and his equally
London has over forty theatres. For countless visitors,successful Phantom of the Opera, based on the novel
'taking in a show' is one of the key attractions - butby Gaston Leroux, is at Her Majesty's Theatre
with so much choice on offer, where do they start?enjoying its 23rd year. Lloyd Webber's new musical,
London's biggest concentration of theatres lies at theLove Never Dies, opens in March 2010 at The Adelphi
heart of the bustling West End, traditionally borderedand picks up the story of 'Phantom.'
by The Strand, Oxford Street, Regent Street andAlso popular are stage plays, many of which enjoy
Kingsway. Some people also include the complex onlengthy runs, although none have yet caught The
the South Bank in this definition of Theatreland. TheMousetrap, currently showing at St Martins Theatre,
Strand itself is one of the prominent streets forwhich has now been playing for a staggering 56 years.
theatres, together with Drury Lane and ShaftesburyAs this murder mystery play by Agatha Christie has a
Avenue.twist at the end, which audiences are asked to keep
The majority of the theatres are from the lateto themselves, there must be thousands of people
Victorian or Edwardian period, with fascinating historieslonging to tell someone the ending!
attached. Most of them retain great character and, forThe Woman in Black, adapted from Susan Hill's horror
many visitors, entering a theatre's grand facade andnovel, still has the audience trembling in their seats at
taking in its detailed, luxurious interior all enhances theirthe Fortune Theatre. This stage play about a sinister
enjoyment of the show itself.spectre haunting a small English town is now in its 21st
Musicals are the firmest favourite with theatre-goersyear.
and so tend to run longer than stage plays, many ofOther, less-menacing shows also appear to be set for
them for thousands of performances. In fact, Leslong runs. The Lion King, for instance, is still drawing in
Miserables, currently at the Queen's Theatre, has beenstrong audiences at The Lyceum ten years after its
running for a phenomenal 24 years. It has even earnedopening, as is Billy Elliott at the Victoria Palace Theatre,
its own colloquial name of 'Les Miz.' Based on Victorcurrently dancing into its fourth year.
Hugo's 1862 novel bearing the same name, the musicalMusicals performing songs that are already
follows the intertwining lives of a cast of poor,well-known, such as Grease (Piccadilly Theatre) and
unfortunate characters struggling for redemption.the more recent Thriller (Lyric) continue to be popular
Heart strings are also tugged in Willy Russell'swith those looking for a 'sing-along' element. Also
long-running musical Blood Brothers, currently playing atenjoying open-ended runs are Hairspray at the
the Phoenix Theatre. Now in its twentieth year, it tellsShaftesbury Theatre, Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych
the contemporary story of twins who were separatedand the more recent Sister Act at the London
at birth, tragically both falling for the same girl.Palladium,
There is certainly no shortage of musicals to chooseSome shows lend themselves to much shorter,
from. Content can range from sad andseasonal runs for smaller audiences, such as A
thought-provoking, right through the fun of Mamma Mia!Christmas Carol at the two-tier auditorium of the Arts
at the Prince of Wales Theatre and on up to futuristic,Theatre in Westminster.
such as We Will Rock You, with its bumper stock ofOne thing is for sure, seasonal or long-running, the
Queen songs and now in its eighth year at Theproductions playing in London's West End Theatres
Dominion.seem set to draw in audiences for many thousands of
Meanwhile, Andrew Lloyd Webber's productionsperformances to come.
continue to prove incredibly popular. His musical Cats