Venue Information

Sondheim Theatre

  • Address: 51 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6BA, United Kingdom
  • Nearest underground or train station: Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly line, Bakerloo line)
  • Nearest buses: 14, 19, 38

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What's on at the Sondheim Theatre?

Les Mis̩rables Tickets РLondon
Les Misérables

Booking to: 13 March 2027

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What's on at the Sondheim Theatre?

Frequently Asked Questions

What's on at the Sondheim Theatre?
Les Misérables is a current production at the Sondheim Theatre. The latest booking period for Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre started 28 September 1985 and runs until 13 March 2027. Tickets for Les Misérables start at £30 and are available to book now
How do I get to the Sondheim Theatre?
Public transport is recommended to travel to the Sondheim Theatre.  The nearest underground or train stations are Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly line, Bakerloo line).  If arriving by bus, then the nearest bus lines are 14, 19, 38.  If driving to the theatre, the nearest car parks are Q-ParkChinatown  and Q-Park Soho  (more parking information).  For directions to the Sondheim Theatre see our Google Maps directions or Apple Maps directions
Is there a dress code at the Sondheim Theatre?
There is no specific dress code at the Sondheim Theatre, with most people just wearing their everyday clothes.
Does the Sondheim Theatre have air conditioning or air cooling?
Yes, the Sondheim Theatre has an Air Conditioning system.
What is the Accessibility at the Sondheim Theatre?

Sondheim Theatre accessibility information

Access phone number: 0344 482 5137

Access email address: [email protected]

Accessible toilets situated: Foyer

Number of Wheelchair spaces: Dress Circle x2; Wheelchair transfer seating available in Dress Circle on aisle of Row D (seats D2 or D29)

Sound amplification: Induction Loop & Sennheiser Infrared

Access from street to foyer: Level access

Access from theatre foyer to seats (number = stairs): 18 steps from the foyer up to the rear Dress Circle. 21 steps from the foyer down to the Stalls. 39 steps from the foyer to up the Grand Circle (this area is quite steep).

Level access: To Box Office andf Dress Circle

Stair lift, lift or ramp available: N/A

How many seats are in the Sondheim Theatre?
The Sondheim Theatre has 979 seats.
Who owns the Sondheim Theatre?

The Sondheim Theatre is owned or operated by Delfont Mackintosh Theatres

Is the Sondheim Theatre a member of the Society of London Theatre?
Yes, the Sondheim Theatre is a full member of SOLT, and productions at the venue are eligible for the main categories of the Olivier Awards.

Sondheim Theatre Facts

What date did the Sondheim Theatre open?

8 October 1907

Who designed the Sondheim Theatre?

W. G. R. Sprague

What was the first production at the Sondheim Theatre?

The Sugar Bowl by Madeleine Lucette Ryley

Other Sondheim Theatre facts

Formerly known as the Queen's Theatre, the Sondheim Theatre was re-named in honour of Stephen Sondheim by theatre owner Cameron Mackintosh on 15 July 2019. The Queen's Theatre was built as a twin theatre with the Hicks (now the Gielgud); The Queen's Theatre was bombed on 24 September 1940 and remained closed until it was refurbished and reopened on 8 July 1959 with John Gielgud's Ages of Man. 

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Theatre History

Production highlights at the Sondheim Theatre:

1907 The theatre opened on 8 October with The Sugar Bowl, a comedy by Madeleine Lucette Ryley. The architect was W G R Sprague who designed the theatre as a pair with the Gielgud Theatre on the adjoining corner of Shaftesbury Avenue.

1913 Tango Teas became a popular pastime. The stalls seats were replaced with tables and chairs where, for the sum of 2/6, people took tea while watching professional tango dancers and dress parades on stage.

1920 Elsie Janis altered the theatre so that the stalls were ‘surrounded by a parterre and backed by a luxurious lounge’. A note in the programme for It’s All Wrong, described as a ‘musical complaint’, read ‘Miss Janis regrets that her name appears so often in the programme, but she does not wish to shirk any of the responsibilities’.

1930 The Old Vic production of Hamlet transferred to Queen’s and John Gielgud gave his first Shaftesbury Avenue performances of the role he made almost his own with Donald Wolfit as a strong Claudius.

1934 Moonlight in Silver, an ‘ultra-modern problem play’ by Clemence Dane, starred Gertrude Lawrence and Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. This glamorous couple attracted much media attention especially as they were having an affair both on and off stage.

1935 Robert Morley’s first play Short Story combined a host of talent in Marie Tempest, Sybil Thorndike, Margaret Rutherford and Rex Harrison.

1937 The Gielgud season of Richard II, The School for Scandal, Three Sisters and The Merchant of Venice brought glittering casts and outstanding performances to the theatre. Those who appeared included Leon Quartermaine, Michael Redgrave, Glen Byam Shaw, Anthony Quayle, Alec Guinness, Peggy Ashcroft and George Devine.

1940 The Queen’s was the first West End theatre to be put out of action by enemy bombing on 24 September, bringing to a premature close the highly successful run of Rebecca with Owen Nares, Celia Johnson and Margaret Rutherford.

1959 The theatre reopened on 8 July with John Gielgud’s Shakespearean recital Ages of Man. Architects Westwood Sons & Partners reconstructed it at a cost of £250,000, with Sir Hugh Casson acting as consultant on the décor.

1961 Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s thought-provoking musical Stop the World I Want to Get Off, about the value of personal versus career choices, ran for 478 performances before transferring to Broadway.

1966 Noël Coward made his final West End appearance in A Suite in Three Keys. In August and September Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre presented their first West End season, including famous productions of The Royal Hunt of the Sun and Othello.

1972 Marlene Dietrich appeared for a short season in cabaret. She had first sung in cabaret at the Queen’s in 1964, and her performance can be heard on a live recording. Later in the year Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens appeared in an acclaimed production of Private Lives.

1974 Franco Zeffirelli directed Joan Plowright in a notable production of Saturday, Sunday, Monday by Eduardo de Filippo.

1982 Another Country, Julian Mitchell’s story about Guy Burgess’s schooldays, starred Rupert Everett and launched Kenneth Branagh’s career. Everett was subsequently replaced by Daniel Day Lewis and Colin Firth.

1986 A major revival of Leonard Bernstein’s musical about New York, Wonderful Town, won both Olivier and Variety Club Awards.

1990 Two sisters, Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave, and their niece Jemma appeared in Three Sisters. It was the first time the sisters had acted on stage together.

1996 Stephen Sondheim’s love triangle Passion ran for 232 performances and won Maria Friedman an Olivier Award for her role as Fosca.

1999 Maggie Smith ‘acted with every muscle’ as Miss Shepherd, the smelly, eccentric Lady in the Van, who lived in playwright Alan Bennett’s drive for many years.

2004 The RSC gave a short London season of The Taming of the Shrew and The Tamer Tamed prior to Les Misérables, the West End’s longest-running musical, moving from the Palace Theatre to its new home at the Queen’s.

2010 Delfont Mackintosh refurbished Queen’s Theatre for the 25th Anniversary of Les Misérables. On 8 October 2015 the show celebrated the 30th anniversary of its original opening at the Barbican Centre in 1985 and on 4 September 2019 celebrated its 14,000th performance.

2019 Following major refurbishment the theatre reopened as the Sondheim in celebration of the composer Stephen Sondheim and his 90th birthday, with a new production of Les Misérables featuring sets inspired by original paintings by Victor Hugo.

Previous Shows

Past shows that have played at the Sondheim Theatre include:

The Witches of Eastwick In Concert
Les Misérables The Staged Concert

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