The West End

The total attendances in the year 2002 had first exceeded nearly 12 million and The Times had reported that this record would even be beaten in the year 2005. The facts behind this high rise in ticket sales during the first half of 2005 was due to the addition of new musicals like from the Billy Eliot and Mary Poppins and it was also because of the appearance of professional film stars. From the early 1990s the London West End Theater has observed an increase in the number of actors from America.

The Theatreland

The Theatreland is the main theatre district of London which is situated in the heart of West End city centre. This city is traditionally defined by the Kingsway to the Easy as some consider it to be the South bank Complex, the Regent Street to the west, the Oxford Street to the North and the Strand to the south. The prominent theatre street includes The Strand, Shaftesbury Avenue and Drury Lane. This entire area features nearly forty large theatres and this gives it the name as Theatreland. At the theaters you will most often find classic, musicals, middle brow plays and also comedy performances.

The majority of the theaters in the Theatreland are of the late Edwardian and Victorian constructions which are privately owned. Most of these theaters also have great characters with the best and the largest maintained are just marvelous that feature Romanesque, neo-classical and Victorian facades. They also feature detailed and luxurious interior decorations and designs. In addition to this the leg room of the theater is often confined with the audience facility like toilets and bars are often a bit smaller than the modern theaters. The confined urban locations and the protected status captured in the buildings including the financial constraints actually mean that it is hard to make any extensive improvements in the level of comfort that is offered. It was estimated that in the year 2004 that nearly an investment of £250 million was needed to modernize the theater and the owners of the theater had actually ineffectively requested tax allowance to help them meet the costs.

Long Running Shows

The longest running musical in the West End Theater was the Les Miserables which had taken over the Cats of Andrew Lloyd Webber. The shows at the West End Theater might run for a varying number of weeks that depend on the ticket sales. However, the musicals usually tend to run for a longer period than the dramas.