Theatre Royal Drury Lane is a West End landmark and one of the most renowned theatres in the world. The Grade I listed building dates back to 1663, making it the oldest theatre site in London still in use. The current theatre was designed by architect Benjamin Wyatt and opened in 1812 with a production of Hamlet. For the two centuries since the reign of King Charles II, Drury Lane was one of only two theatres licensed to produce ‘legitimate drama’ in London. All other theatres were forbidden from staging spoken word plays until the act was revoked in 1843.
Since the end of the Second World War, the theatre’s primary use has been to host long-running productions of large-scale musicals, including the UK premieres of many golden age Broadway musicals in the 1960s and 70s such as Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, Hello, Dolly! and A Chorus Line. Drury Lane is currently owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s LW Theatres’ and in 2021 reopened following a major refurbishment to restore many of the building’s original Regency-era features.
