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West End Theatre Tour: 400 Years of Stage History
4.9
29 Ratings
Greater London
Embark on a captivating walking tour of London’s West End and South Bank, delving into 400 years of theatrical history. Explore iconic theatres, uncovering the biggest names, greatest successes, and infamous disasters. Don’t miss this immersive journey through the world’s theatre capital!
Embark on a captivating walking tour of London’s West End and South Bank, delving into 400 years of theatrical history. Explore iconic theatres, uncovering the biggest names, greatest successes, and infamous disasters. Don’t miss this immersive journey through the world’s theatre capital!
Duration:
3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- London Coliseum - Learn the history of the Coliseum. The largest theatre in the West End!
- Duke of York’s Theatre - Discover the many stars who made their debuts on this West End stage. Including Peter Pan!
- Noel Coward Theatre - Hear of the great productions of the past. The only theatre where two significant theatre giants ever shared a…
- London Coliseum - Learn the history of the Coliseum. The largest theatre in the West End!
- Duke of York’s Theatre - Discover the many stars who made their debuts on this West End stage. Including Peter Pan!
- Noel Coward Theatre - Hear of the great productions of the past. The only theatre where two significant theatre giants ever shared a stage.
- Wyndham’s Theatre - Learn of the history of this beautiful theatre. See the bust of Shakespeare on the front - the only one in the West End!
- Leicester Square - Discount ticket booth - how to get great West End seats at low prices! Old music hall spots - historic theatres such as The Alhambra & The Empire.
- Haymarket Theatre Royal - A theatre favoured by both Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judi Dench. There’s also rumour of a haunting…
- His Majesty’s Theatre London - The second oldest active theatre site in London. Also home to the second-longest running musical - The Phantom of the Opera!
- Harold Pinter Theatre - Opening in 1881, the Harold Pinter Theatre is one of the oldest playhouses in the West End. Hear of the stars that have caused a great sensation here - including Marilyn Monroe!
- Prince of Wales Theatre - Now home to The Book of Mormon, the Prince of Wales has had a rich history of comedy & musical spectacles. Famous names who’ve appeared here include The Beatles, Peter Sellers and Barbara Streisand!
- Shaftesbury Avenue - The road with more theatres than any other! Hear about the history of Shaftesbury Avenue and theatres including The Lyric, Apollo, Gielgud, Sondheim & The Palace.
- Lyric Theatre - The oldest surviving theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue! Also the place where a British comedy icon tragically died…
- Apollo Theatre - The first Edwardian Theatre, opening in 1901. Also once home to a truly legendary production of our time!
- Gielgud Theatre - Now named after the great Sir John, the Gielgud has seen a few famous faces give their West End debuts. Including Harry Potter himself!
- Sondheim Theatre - Learn the history of Les Miserables, the world’s longest-running musical. Also - a few famous faces who debuted here in the 80s!
- Palace Theatre - Once a famous music hall venue, now home to Harry Potter & the Cursed Child. Discover the origin of the phrase ‘bring the house down’.
- Ambassadors Theatre - Although unremarkable on the outside, the Ambassadors has had a rich theatre history. Legendary theatre stars who debuted here include Vivien Leigh & Paul Robeson.
- St. Martins Theatre - Home of The Mousetrap - the world’s longest-running play! Discover the history of this unlikely theatrical hit.
- The Arts Theatre - The West End’s smallest theatre. Also once home to the most controversial play of all time!
- Covent Garden - See the legendary Covent Garden Market! Also, London’s official Actors Church, street theatre spots and two of the oldest theatre sites in London.
- Royal Opera House - One of the oldest theatre spots in London - est 1732. Now home to the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet.
- Fortune Theatre - Home to The Woman in Black - the longest-running horror play ever. Hear of the spooky stories that have occurred during the play’s 30+ year history…
- Theatre Royal Drury Lane - The oldest active theatre spot in the West End. Discover the legends of the past who made their names on its legendary stage.
- Lyceum Theatre - Now home to The Lion King, going since 1999 and still a hot ticket! Hear of the leading actors of the Victorian era who once dominated the Lyceum’s stage - Sir Henry Irving & Dame Ellen Terry - and also the genesis of a famous gothic horror creation.
- National Theatre - Hear about the history of our National Theatre. Also, the founder of the National, Laurence Olivier, stated the opposite.
- Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre - Discover the history of Bankside - where Shakespeare made his name. See the famous reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe and a final top-secret theatre location!
What's Included
- Access to historic programmes
- Viewing of theatre artefacts
- Access to historic programmes
- Viewing of theatre artefacts
Additional Information
Embark on a journey spanning four centuries of theatrical history in the world’s theatre hub! Explore the West End and the South Bank, getting acquainted with the biggest stars, biggest hits, and unforgettable missteps.
The theatres featured in this tour are: The Coliseum, Duke of York’s, Noel Coward, Wyndham’s, Her Majesty’s, Theatre Royal Haymarket,…
Embark on a journey spanning four centuries of theatrical history in the world’s theatre hub! Explore the West End and the South Bank, getting acquainted with the biggest stars, biggest hits, and unforgettable missteps.
The theatres featured in this tour are: The Coliseum, Duke of York’s, Noel Coward, Wyndham’s, Her Majesty’s, Theatre Royal Haymarket, Harold Pinter, Prince of Wales, Lyric, Apollo, Gielgud, Sondheim, Palace, Ambassadors, St Martins, The Arts, ROH, Fortune, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Lyceum, The National, Shakespeare’s Globe…plus a mysterious final stop kept under wraps!
Location
Oscar Wilde Statue
Adelaide Street
Across the street from Charing Cross Station.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(29 Ratings)
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Hal_s
Sep 5, 2024
Excellent walking tour! ... - Excellent walking tour! Charlie does a great job! Didn’t realize there were that many theatre's in the West End.
Review provided by Viator
Janmckarlington_va
Apr 11, 2024
A MUST-DO TOUR FOR FANS OF LONDON THEATRE AND/OR ITS HISTORY - Charlie is EXCELLENT. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the West End and its theatre history and he conveyed it authoritatively. He also was genuinely interested in our own knowledge and interests. He supplements his verbal narratives with interesting and possibly rare printed materials relating to the individual theatres; plays and musicals; actors and actresses; and city history. This tour is a MUST if you are a fan of London's rich theatre history. By the way, the weather was not good: signficant wind; cloudy skies with intermittent rain; chilly temperatures. Yet his tour was so good the weather didn't bother us until towards the very end of the tour. We enjoyed it so much!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lori_m
Jan 18, 2024
We enjoyed this walking... - We enjoyed this walking tour seeing the beautiful theatres and hearing all the old stories about the stage actors and actresses.
Review provided by Viator
Lauravv822ik
Sep 25, 2023
Perfect Way To See The West End - This was my first time visiting London, and this tour has been one of the highlights of my trip! It was fantastic to see so many of the theatres, and learn some really interesting facts about their history. Charlie is a fantastic guide - he is extremely knowledgeable, helpful and friendly.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P2754cbkatier
Sep 9, 2023
The Highlight of our Honeymoon! - My husband and I spent 12 days in London for our honeymoon and this was by far our favorite part of the entire trip! We both work in theatre professionally and know a lot about the art form -- however, we were blown away by the knowledge and passion that emanated from our tour guide Charlie. We live in the states, and have gone out of our way to tell our friends about how fantastic this tour is! 10 stars out of 10! We cannot recommend this enough!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hmm98ng
Jun 15, 2023
Highly Recommend! - Had a really great tour with Charlie! He's extremely knowledgeable & personable - would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in getting to know more about the history of the theatre in the West End!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lauren
Jun 13, 2023
Really great tour - Very nice guide. Lots of fun and interesting information. Lots of great photos. Very pleasant way to spend a few hours exploring the theatre area.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Zhanna_v
May 22, 2023
Excellent - Charlie was so knowledgeable, so professional. It was an amazing tour! I am very picky person, but I would recommend this tour without any reservations!!!
Review provided by Viator
Robert_s
Sep 5, 2024
Exhaustive West End theatre walk tour. - Charlie our guide was well prepared to give insights, history, and fun facts on each of the many theatres we visited. It’s an exhaustive tour- we clocked almost four hours - but learnt plenty from the tour, which is what I intended at the outset. If you’re interested in West End theatre this is for you (ad make sure you have comfortable footwear)
Review provided by Viator
503olgaz
May 3, 2024
Learn about theaters - Charlie is very passionate about theater and actors . No wonder , as after the tour I have learned he has a degree in Drama theater . He is an actor and lead tours …
I would suggest this tour to people who are knowledgeable in theater, as all tour is about the actors and history of theater and without knowing the subject you can get lost .
We walked around part of Covent Garden , stopped in front of some theaters and were presented with some interesting facts , shown some old programs , photos .
Review provided by Tripadvisor