Londons West End is the largest theatre district in the world and forms the epicentre of British commercial theatre. The name, West End, has a simple origin, an area to the West of the all important City of London, although today the definition of where the West End begins and ends is a little grey. It used to be a very defined area, quite often referred to as theatreland but this West End theatreland has extended and frayed at the edges.
The majority of West End theatres can be identified because of their location in the area popularly known as Theatreland. Theatreland, the heart of the West End, is bordered by The Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west and Kingsway to the east. However, the Victoria Palace, the Apollo Victoria and the Old Vic are, due to their size and status, also considered West End venues even though they fall outside of the understood boundaries. If you wanted to find the heart of the West End then most would point you in the direction of Shaftesbury Avenue, definitely the heart of theatreland, which has six theatres.
1576 saw the building of London’s first playhouse, appropriately named “The Theatre”, which was constructed in Shoreditch. Prior to purpose built venues the performing arts enacted plays in various locations from courtyards, pub yards, squares and large private residencies, basically anywhere which could be found.
In 1597, the lease having run out on The Theatre, its owner Richard Burbage decided to move it north of the Thames and build the first of three theatres, this one very famous, The Globe opening in 1599
If you are planning a trip to the West End London and Shaftesbury Avenue have a look at our wide selection of West End London Shaftesbury Avenue Hotels