30 years of LondonTheatre.co.uk in numbers
From the children in Matilda to Judi Dench's Olivier wins, here are some vital stats to mark our 30th anniversary.
This is a very special year for LondonTheatre.co.uk – we’re turning 30! Yes, the site has devoted a wonderful three decades to celebrating everything London’s theatre scene has to offer, in the West End and beyond. Thank you to all our brilliant readers: we look forward to spending another 30 years with you (or more!).
To mark us hitting the big 3-0, we thought it would be fun to count down some of the interesting stats associated with the city of London, its theatre district, and its famous shows. What will be our number one? Read on to find out…
Book tickets to shows in our 30th Anniversary Celebration.
30,000 performances of The Mousetrap
So far! The iconic Agatha Christie whodunit is the longest-running play in the world, and it celebrated its 30,000th show on 19 March 2025 at St Martin’s Theatre. The story sees a group of strangers trapped by a storm at the Monkswell Manor guesthouse, with a potential murderer in their midst, and the fiendish twist ending is still astonishing audiences.
29 children in the West End Matilda cast
Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly’s brilliantly naughty Roald Dahl adaptation has been a London musical hit since 2011. Hundreds of children have come through its cast since then, and currently there are 29: four playing Matilda, four Bruce, and three each for Alice, Nigel, Amanda, Eric, Tommy, Lavender, and Hortensia.
28°-50° cocktails in Oxford Circus
You’re never far from a decent drink in London, whether a pint, a glass of wine, or an artisanal coffee. There’s even a Cornish pub popping up at The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But for particularly stylish cocktails, and a well-priced pre- and post-theatre menu to boot, head to wine bar 28°-50°.
27 slices of cake to beat
Take on the capital’s most delicious challenge at Jack & Beyond bakery in Battersea. How many cake slices can you eat in 90 minutes? The current record for the Bottomless Cake contest is 27. Mouth-watering flavours include red velvet, pistachio and raspberry, chocolate and peanut butter, and lemon and blueberry.
26 competitive categories at the Olivier Awards
In the prestigious awards’ current line-up, 22 awards are given out to theatre productions, plus two for opera and another two for dance. There is also a Special Award and an Industry Recognition Award. In 2025, the big winners included The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fiddler on the Roof, Giant, and Titanique.
25 years of the London Eye
The iconic riverside landmark was originally meant to be a temporary attraction, built to mark the Millennium. Instead it has become a key part of the capital’s skyline. Its 32 capsules represent the London boroughs, and it attracts around 3.5 million visitors annually. The Eye is also close very convenient for Southbank venues like the National Theatre.
24-hour bagels at Brick Lane Beigel Bake
London really does have something going on at all hours of the day and night, but it’s especially luxurious that you can order these traditional New York Jewish-style bagels at Beigel Bake 24/7. Classic fillings include smoked salmon and cream cheese, and salt beef, pickle and mustard. Plus there’s cheesecake for dessert.
23 ABBA songs in Mamma Mia!
Which is plenty of reason to say a big thank you for the music – and the winner takes it all, since this sun-kissed show recently celebrated 25 years in the West End. There are more hits from the Swedish supergroup over at ABBA Voyage, which is revamping its setlist in honour of its third anniversary. The band have promised to add “a little something to our concert” this May.
22 Monets at the National Gallery
London boasts several world-leading galleries, including Tate Modern, the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Academy, and Tate Britain, as well as the National Gallery. Each boasts a mammoth collection of renowned artists, including 23 works by Claude Monet at the latter, and you can easily pair an art trip with a theatre outing.
21 per cent of London is trees, making it a forest
Seriously! The United Nations definition of a forest is an area with at least 20 per cent trees, so leafy London handily qualifies; it has around eight million trees total. You can do the maths while enjoying the city’s many green spaces, including Kensington Gardens, Hampstead Heath, Clapham Common, and Regent’s Park – also home to a bucolic outdoor theatre.
20 new ladies’ loos at Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Given how often female theatregoers are subjected to long queues for the toilet in the interval, this is a very important stat. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s £60 million refurbishment of the historic venue gave it a beautiful makeover – and, to the relief of many, added 20 loos to the existing provision.
19 years of Wicked in London
Yes, next year is going to be a major milestone for everyone’s favourite West End witches! Not only do we have the second part of the Hollywood movie adaptation to look forward to in November 2025, but the celebration will continue into 2026 with Wicked marking 20 extremely popular years in London.
18 major wholesale markets in London
These include: New Covent Garden Market, Borough Market, Smithfield Market, Old Billingsgate Market, Spitalfields Market, Leadenhall Market, Columbia Road Market, and Portobello Road Market. London has a proud history of market trade, and these stalls serve up everything from flowers to fruit and veg, fish, and vintage goods.
17.1 million theatregoers attended a West End show in 2024
…as the sector’s popularity continues to soar, according to statistics released by the Society of London Theatre. That’s far more than attended the Premier League, and also more than Broadway! With plenty more brilliant theatre shows to come in 2025, we’d expect similarly sky-high attendances this year.
16 surviving Banksy works to visit
Such is the nature of street art, sadly not all of the notoriously illusive Banksy’s pieces are still intact. But London has plenty of great examples of his witty, striking and thought-provoking artwork to seek out, such as the two elephants in Chelsea, the monkeys swinging over Brick Lane, and the hungry pelicans at Bonner’s Fish Bar in Walthamstow.
15 years of London’s bikes for hires
The city’s hugely successful cycle scheme launched in July 2010. Mayor of London Ken Livingstone instigated it, but the bikes became known as “Boris bikes” because it officially launched during his successor Boris Johnson’s term. Now sponsored by Santander, it’s a quick and easy way to get around town.
14 years of Larry the cat
Just as much of an institution as Boris bikes, Larry has served as Chief Mouser at 10 Downing Street since 2011, and cohabited with six prime ministers. The inscrutable tabby, who was adopted from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, saw off his Foreign Office rival Palmerston and is now top, er, cat. Perhaps Andrew Lloyd Webber should immortalise him?
13 resident West End ghosts
London’s historic theatres are renowned for their colourful hauntings, from the infamous Man in Grey at Theatre Royal Drury Lane to a ghost dolphin (it was used in a revue and sadly died in its tank) at the Peacock Theatre. The Palace Theatre actually used to rope off two seats for its famous phantoms: ballerina Anna Pavlova and actor Ivor Novello.
12 pictures of beautiful women in Cleopatra’s Needle
The Ancient Egyptian obelisk was brought from Alexandria to London and installed on the Embankment in 1878, and a time capsule was placed in its pedestal. As well as those portraits of Victorian beauties, the items included: a map of London, a box of hairpins, a shilling razor, a collection of British coins, and 10 daily newspapers.
11 London Tube lines
The London Underground serves most of this busy city, so is often your best bet for travelling to the theatre – especially the West End. There are 11 Tube lines total: Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, and Waterloo & City.
10 duel commandments in Hamilton
I am not throwing away my shot! So declares the passionate revolutionary, frequent duellist and Founding Father Alexander Hamilton in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s electrifying musical. Despite this being the story of America breaking free from England, it’s been just as big a hit in the West End as on Broadway, although King George III is a definite scene-stealer.
9 record-setting Olivier wins for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
The magical continuation of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter story has proved spellbinding for audiences and awards voters alike. In 2017 the incredible two-part play, created by Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, set a record at the Oliviers by nabbing nine gongs, including Best New Play.
8 West End theatres designed by W. G. R. Sprague
The astonishingly prolific architect is responsible for many of the London theatre gems that we still enjoy today. His eight West End theatres, erected at the end of the 19th century/beginning of the 20th century, are: Wyndham’s Theatre, Noël Coward Theatre, Aldwych Theatre, Novello Theatre, Gielgud Theatre, Sondheim Theatre, Ambassadors Theatre, and St Martin’s Theatre.
7 Olivier Awards won by Dame Judi Dench
The extraordinary Dench holds the record for the most competitive Olivier wins by an individual, triumphing for shows such as A Little Night Music, Antony and Cleopatra, and most recently The Winter’s Tale. She’s tied with designer William Dudley and choreographer Matthew Bourne, also on seven; Andrew Lloyd Webber is close behind with six.
6 African languages heard in The Lion King
The Disney musical remains the pride of the West End (it celebrated 25 years in 2024!) and a firm favourite of family audiences. As well as its breath-taking puppetry and beloved songs, it’s also a show that honours cultural heritage. You can hear six indigenous African languages in The Lion King: Sotho, Swahili, Zulu, Congolese, Xhosa, and Tswana.
5 West End theatres renamed for icons
It’s one of the most amazing tributes that the industry can pay. London’s Gielgud Theatre changed its name from the Globe for John Gielgud in 1994, and more recently we’ve seen the New London become the Gillian Lynne Theatre, the Comedy become the Harold Pinter Theatre, the Albery become the Noël Coward Theatre, and the Queen’s become the Sondheim Theatre.
4 UNESCO World Heritage sites in London
That’s showing off really, isn’t it? The capital has a quartet of impressive attractions: the Tower of London, Maritime Greenwich, the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey, and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. You can reach them all via public transport – and you’ll get a particularly Greenwich experience if you rock up by boat.
3 showbiz legends interred at the London Palladium
They’re gone but definitely not forgotten. The beloved entertainers Bruce Forsyth and Des O’Connor, plus the doyen of theatrical agents, Billy Marsh, all had the honour of their ashes being laid to rest beneath the stage. Each also has a plaque commemorating their incredible careers, and it’s considered good luck for performers to pay a respectful visit.
2 hours of make-up for the Phantom
You can’t just pop on that iconic mask and head to the stage! As the stars of the West End’s production of The Phantom of the Opera know well, it’s a painstaking process that involves shaving, fitting of prosthetics, and then make-up applied on top. However, the actor does get the honour of having a bespoke mask made just for them.
1 London theatre with a thatched roof
That sole theatre? Shakespeare’s Globe, the beautiful reconstructed Elizabethan playhouse at Bankside. The ban on thatched-roof theatres dates back to the Great Fire of London in 1666, and in fact the original Globe Theatre was also destroyed by fire in 1613. Happily, the new version is perfectly safe, so you can enjoy a traditional Shakespearean experience there without reaching for a hose!
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