These two cities have long vied to be the world’s capital city for theatre. London has 241 theatres – and probably a lot of rooms above pubs adding to that total. New York has 41 theatres on Broadway but more in the wider area.
London has a longer history of theatre, going back two thousand years to the Romans while in the Middle Ages, we know the theatres of Shakespeare’s times were also well attended. London boasts the longest-running play – The Mousetrap by Agatha Christies (over 70 years) as well as the longest-running musical Les Misérables (at a humbler 38 – nearly 39 years). I was fortunate enough to see the original production before it opened and it still stands up as an amazing piece of theatre and makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
I don’t think it matters which city is said to be the biggest or the best – both cities have a rich theatre culture and beautiful playhouses. Many great productions have started in London and gone on to New York – and in the other direction.
Over the past 20 years, tickets at many major theatres have included a levy for restoration and some of them now look fabulous. For instance, if you are lucky enough to go to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane – one of the oldest theatres in the country – the upgrade has been fantastic. My only complaint is that we all paid the restoration fund but the result is that those magnificent theatres are now unavailable to companies such as Theatretrain – they have priced themselves into an unattainable bracket – which is a shame because it was a great way to introduce young people to West End theatres.
The range of productions is varied as well with productions at the National and Royal Shakespeare Theatre rubbing shoulders with the commercial theatre. Then there is the fringe and the smaller theatres – often just as exciting and brilliant as the major venues. At the moment crowd-pleasers like Mrs Doubtfire and Back to the Future are going down a storm and are packed out.
Ticket prices have gone through the roof which is sad because many people are effectively shut out of theatre. I think that is a shame because I think everyone should have the opportunity to join a hushed auditorium and see a story brought to life in front of them. I wouldn’t want it to become the preserve of the wealthy. Maybe there should be a restoration fund to bring into the theatre those who find the ticket prices exorbitant.
