The Fortune Theatre was the first theatre to be built in London after World War I, and is situated close to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. It was constructed on the site of an old public tavern, sharing a corridor with the neighbouring Scottish National Church. Today it is a Grade II-listed building, and the oldest remaining public building in London to be built entirely out of concrete.
With a capacity of only 432, The Fortune Theatre is one of the smallest in the West End – second only to the 350-seat Arts Theatre. For much of the 20th Century it operated as a ‘receiving house’, meaning it exclusively hosted touring shows rather than its own resident productions.
This theatre was the home of spooky thriller The Woman in Black from 1989 to March 2023. Upon closing, it was the West End’s second longest-running play after The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theatre. A film adaptation starring Daniel Radcliffe in 2012 enticed a new set of theatregoers to the Fortune. Fittingly, considering its most famous play, the Fortune is reported to be haunted, with actors commenting on ghostly encounters experienced at the venue.
