Theatres and cinemas in London

London’s theatres and cinemas

The majority of London's "theatre land" theatres are around Shaftsbury Avenue

The Dominion Theatre is a theatre located on Tottenham Court Road. Originally a cinema, it is still sometimes used for movie premieres, but mainly hosts live stage shows and concerts.

Theatre Royal Drury Lane a cockpit of a large house owned by Drury family was converted into a theatre during the reign of King James 1 of England and many of Shakespeare’s plays were on. After the Great Fire of London it was rebuilt by Christopher Wren. Nowadays it is one of the West End’s largest seating a audience of well over 2,000. It is now used for major productions such as Miss Saigon and My Fair Lady.

London’s Palladium is the most famous of London’s West End theatres. If you top the bill at the Palladium, you’re a star. In the 1950s it was the setting for the top-rated ITV variety show Sunday Night at the London Palladium which was broadcast live every week. Since 2002, the Palladium has played host to a theatrical version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Prior to this, the theatre was home to a theatrical version of The King and I for several years. The Palace Theatre is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus. It has been the home of Les Mesérables for 16 years. Sadler’s Wells is a theatre complex on Rosbery Avenue. The name Sadler’s Wells originates from the founder Thomas Sadler and the medicinal wells that were originally on the site. It is best known for its ballet, but modern dance and opera are also part of the repertoire. The current theatre is the fifth on this site and opened in 1998 after being rebuilt with money from the National Lottery. Savoy Theatre is on the site of the old Savoy Palace in London as a showcase for the works of Gilbert and Sullivan which became known as the Savoy Operas as a result. Originally the theatre’s building was a palace in which ruins, later was built hospital and part was used for a military prison. After fire burnet everything except the stone walls, and the property sat empty until in 1880 the Savoy Theatre was built there. Cinemas

If you want to go out to the cinema in London you will be spoilt for choice. From cutting edge art-house movies to Hollywood blockbusters, there is something to suit everybody's taste, and wallet.

A big night out
It can be difficult to go to the cinema in London, because there are too many films and cinemas to choose from! Most of the central cinemas are around Leicester Square, showing big blockbuster movies, you can wander around and see which film takes your fancy. There's lots of information telling you what's on if you look on the Internet or in 'Time Out' magazine. Films on a budget
The cheapest cinema in Leicester Square is 'The Prince Charles'. This cinema often shows films a few weeks later than some of the others, so if you don’t mind being a bit behind the times and want to save a couple of quid this could be the place for you. The stars come out at night
Leicester Square is also the home to star studded opening nights. People think waiting (often out in the cold) is worth a glimpse of Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts or Brad Pitt as they step out of their Limousines to attend the first night of their new movie. Watch out for the screaming fans.

Arty
There are other smaller art-house cinemas in town; one of these is 'Metro Cinema' on Rupert Street in Soho. It shows a wide variety of movies but tends not to show more mainstream films. These films are made by independent filmmakers and are not aimed at mass audiences. Every year it also has the Latin American Film Festival. Another art-house cinema is the 'Curzon Soho';

See the films first
Every year London has it's own film festival in November, you can see lots of premieres, listen to directors discussing the film and maybe see some stars too! There is also the lesbian and gay film festival, which runs in April. You usually need to book tickets well in advance.

A London classic
London's oldest Cinema institution is the NFT (National Film Theatre). In October 2002 it celebrated its 50th birthday. It shows all kinds of films from silent classics to film festival hits. Many big name film-makers have visited, from Woody Allen to Quentin Tarantino to Jaques Tati (who couldn't find the toilet and was photographed using the wall outside!). As you can see, going to the cinema in London requires a lot of thinking about, maybe you want to see a famous star, or perhaps a film by your favourite director, or just sit, eat popcorn and enjoy the latest Hollywood action movie. If you take the time to look, there's something for everyone.

Linky:

http://www.bbc.co.uk - www.bbc.co.uk