New London Theatre
Drury Lane , London , WC2B 5PW

Nearest underground:
Holborn (Central Line, Piccadilly Line) Covent Garden (Piccadilly Line)

Nearest rail:
Charing Cross

The concrete, glass and steel structure that is the New London Theatre on Drury Lane certainly looks an unlikely theatre building. In fact, its architect Michael Percival was inspired by the modern theatres of Europe . The auditorium is unusual in that a third of its floor is built on a revolve and its walls are moveable panels, allowing a highly flexible performance space. It is a far cry from its previous incarnations; as the celebrated Middlesex Music Hall it was rebuilt by architect Frank Matcham in 1911. Before this, it was a public house called the Mogul which provided live entertainment, and where actress Nell Gwynn drank. And from 1919 the theatre had a spell as the Winter Garden, and enjoyed a series of hits before it was demolished to build shops and apartments in 1965.

The New London opened with a performance by Marlene Dietrich and its first play was Peter Ustinov’s The Unknown Soldier And His Wife (1973). In the same year, an unknown actor named Richard Gere came to attention for his part as Danny Zuko in the musical Grease. But it was Cats that the New London really made an impact with; it ran for 21 years, making its slogan ‘Now and forever’ feel like less of an exaggeration than it would appear.

What's on at New London Theatre

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