Sunday shows in the West End
March 21, 2010
A number of West End shows are now playing on a Sunday, with much of the centre of London open for shopping, eating and entertainment all weekend.
Shows playing on a Sunday include Thriller Live at the Lyric Theatre; Stomp at the Ambassadors Theatre; The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre; selected plays at the National Theatre; terrifying Ghost Stories at the Duke of York’s Theatre and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s multi-million pound production of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium.
SEE A COMPLETE LIST OF SHOWS WITH SUNDAY PERFORMANCES HERE
Meal Deals – Enjoy a free restaurant dinner
March 2, 2010
Enjoy our latest Meal Deals in our Dine for Free promotion, offering thousands of free meals in West End restaurants when booking tickets to a show.
As well as free dining, many of the packages in the promotion also include money off the theatre ticket – making this a great-value way of dining out and enjoying the best of the West End.
Shows featured in the promotion include major musicals Blood Brothers, Wicked, Chicago, We Will Rock You and The Lion King.
Restaurants in the promotion include some of the tastiest places to eat in the city, including Christopher’s, Thai Square, The Spaghetti House and The Langley.
All the restaurants are guaranteed to be close to their corresponding theatre, and a table reservation is automatically made on booking to ensure that the evening goes perfectly to plan. Many of the packages include a choice of either pre or post theatre dining, allowing customers to choose whether to eat before or after the show.
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The Lion King – Ticket and meal deal £40
February 14, 2010
The Lion King is the much loved musical stage adaptation of Disney’s hugely successful animated film.
When the young lion prince Simba is born, his evil uncle Scar is pushed back to second in line to the throne. Unimpressed with his future prospects, Scar plots to kill both Simba and his father, the lion King Mufasa, becoming king in the process. Young Simba survives the heinous plot but is led to believe that his father died because of him. Devastated, he flees the kingdom and soon finds a carefree life. But without a real king, the pride soon falls on hard times and a hero is needed to bring back prosperity.
Released in 1994, The Lion King is one of Disney’s most popular modern movies. At the 1995 Oscars it won the awards for Best Music: Original Score for Hans Zimmer’s score and Best Music: Original Song for Elton John and Tim Rice’s Can You Feel The Love Tonight. Two of the film’s other songs – Circle Of Life and Hakuna Matata – were also nominated. Both score and songs feature in the stage musical adaptation, along with some new material.
The show is directed by Julie Taymor, who also designed the Olivier award winning costumes which transform the stage of the Lyceum theatre into the African plains, occupied by lions, giraffes, birds, zebras, hyenas and even a stampede of wildebeest.
The Lion King won six Tony Awards when it opened on Broadway and was nominated for eight Laurence Olivier Awards.
‘You hope all nights in the theatre will be like this!’Daily Mail.
‘It lights up the West End with a blaze of fabulous imagination’Evening Standard.
Jersey Boys joins Sunday shows
January 18, 2010
Jersey Boys has joined a number of other high-profile West End shows in running performances on a Sunday.
Jersey Boys - now playing on a Sunday in the West End
The award-winning Broadway musical at the Prince Edward Theatre in London held its first Sunday performance yesterday, Sunday 17 January, and has dropped its Monday night performance from the schedule to now run Tuesdays to Saturdays at 7.30pm, and Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3.00pm.
Jersey Boys has won twenty-one major international awards since first opening on Broadway in 2006 including Best Musical at the Olivier Awards, and follows the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Songs include Sherry, Walk Like A Man, Oh What a Night and Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.
An increasing number of West End shows are now playing on a Sunday, with much of the centre of London now open for shopping, eating and entertainment on a Sunday.
Shows in the West End now playing on a Sunday include Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre, Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre, Thriller Live at the Lyric Theatre, Stomp at the Ambassadors Theatre, Waiting for Godot at the Haymarket Theatre Royal, The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre, selected plays at the National Theatre, and dance productions at the Peacock Theatre – including Havana Rakatan from 4 February.
New shows coming to London that will also feature Sunday performances include All The Fun of the Fair – David Essex’s new musical at the Garrick Theatre from 17 April.
London’s longest running shows
January 4, 2010
The West End’s longest running shows
Last month Disney’s The Lion King became the ninth longest-running musical in West End history. The show, which plays at the Lyceum Theatre, pushed Cameron Mackintosh’s hit production of Miss Saigon off the spot, when it played its 4,265th performance on 18 December 2009.
The Lion King is one of only five musicals in theatre history to play for ten years or more on both Broadway and the West End, and the Broadway production also stands as the ninth longest running musical on the Great White Way.
In London the show has been by more than 8 million people and has won a slate of international awards.
It has quite a way to go to beat the longest running musical on the West End’s stage, Les Miserables, which originally opened at the Barbican Theatre on 8 October 1985. The show is closely followed by Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, which is in its 24th year in the West End – and still at its original venue, Her Majesty’s Theatre. Lloyd-Webber must be hoping his sequel to The Phantom, Love Never Dies, is as much of a success. And it’s looking good given that the show has already taken around £8 million in ticket sales, with previews not starting at the Adelphi Theatre until 20 February.
Of course, all of the musicals on the longest-running list pale in to insignificance compared to the longest-running show on the London stage: The Mousetrap, which opened on the 25 November 1952 at the Ambassadors Theatre and is still going strong 57 years later at the St Martin’s Theatre.
The West End’s longest-running musicals:
1. Les Miserables at the Queen’s Theatre – opened 8 October 1985 originally at the Barbican Theatre
2. The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre – opened 9 October 1986
3. Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre – opened 28 July 1988 originally at the Albery Theatre
4. Cats – opened 11 May 1981 at the New London Theatre and closed 11 May 2002
5. Starlight Express – opened 27 March 1984 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre and closed 12 January 2002
6. Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre – opened 18 November 1997 originally at the Adelphi Theatre
7. Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story – opened 12 October 1989 at the Victoria Palace Theatre, transferred to the Novello (formerly the Strand) Theatre October 1995 and closed 19 May 2002
8. Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales Theatre – opened 6 April 1999 originally at the Prince Edward Theatre
9. Disney’s The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre – opened 19 October 1999
10. Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane – opened 20 September 1989 and closed 30 October 1999
The West End’s longest-running plays or entertainment shows:
1. The Mousetrap at the St Martin’s Theatre – opened 25 November 1952 originally at the Ambassadors Theatre
2. No Sex Please, We’re British at the Strand Theatre – opened 3 June 1971 and closed 16 January 1987
3. The Black and White Minstrel Show at the Victoria Palace Theatre – opened in 1962 and closed about 1972
4. Aldwych Farces at the Aldwych Theatre – opened in 1925 and closed in 1933
5. There’s A Girl In My Soup at the Globe Theatre – opened in June 1966 and closed in 1973
Book tickets to The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in London
More shows open on Sunday
November 12, 2009
Article update: For the latest list of shows running on a Sunday – plus special offers and discounts – visit our Sunday Shows page here.
Sunday is the new Saturday as far as West End theatres are concerned, as an increasing number of London shows begin running performances on a Sunday.
With no congestion charge and easier transport and parking, increasing numbers of families are choosing to visit London on a Sunday and take in a show.
Current shows running on a Sunday include War Horse, The Lion King, Stomp, Thriller Live, The Shawshank Redemption and Arturo Brachetti – Change.
Hairspray, now open on Sundays
On 8 November Hairspray joined the Sunday brigade and started running matinee performances, now with a new cast including comedian Phill Jupitus and pop diva Belinda Carlisle. And West End big-hitter Jersey Boys will also have its first Sunday performance from 17 January 2010.
Discount Tickets on a Sunday
Enjoy the following shows at a discounted rate on a Sunday:
Stomp, Thriller Live, The Shawshank Redemption, Arturo Brachetti – Change and Hairspray.
Article update: For the latest list of shows running on a Sunday – plus special offers and discounts – visit our Sunday Shows page here.
Broadway Tickets
August 5, 2009
Going to New York? Then book a Broadway show with West End Theatre.com.
We have partnered with Broadway.com – New York’s most popular theatre site – to bring you the best of the Great White Way and hot Off-Broadway shows.
A visit to New York is not complete without a visit to Broadway. Home to some of the most exciting and lavish shows on earth, Broadway Theatre leads the world in providing an unforgettable night of entertainment.
Book here for a number of top Broadway shows including A Little Night Music, The Addams Family, La Cage Aux Folles, Chicago, The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, Memphis, Billy Elliot and Mamma Mia!
Save on Sunday Theatre
April 27, 2009
Article update: For the latest list of shows running on a Sunday – plus special offers and discounts – visit our Sunday Shows page here.
An increasing number of London shows are now running on a Sunday, allowing theatregoers from London, the UK and overseas to maximise their weekends.
On Broadway most shows run on a Sunday and skip the Monday performance and this trend seems to be catching on in the West End. Even the National Theatre recently announced that they would start Sunday performances from September.
There are also some great discounts on West End theatre on Sundays for Thriller Live, Stomp and La Clique. See below for a run down of shows with Sunday performances and some fabulous offers.
