The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the London borough of Westminster. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The current building is the most recent in a line of four theatres which were built at the same location, the earliest of which dates back to 1663, making it the oldest theatre site in London. For its first two centuries, Drury Lane could "reasonably have claimed to be London's leading theatre". For most of that time, it was one of a handful of patent theatres, granted monopoly rights to the production of "legitimate" drama in London.
The first theatre on the site was built at the behest of Thomas Killigrew in the early years of the English Restoration. Initially known as "Theatre Royal in Bridges Street", its proprietors hired a number of prominent actors who performed at the theatre on a regular basis, including Nell Gwyn and Charles Hart. In 1672 the theatre caught fire and Killigrew built a larger theatre on the same plot, designed by Sir Christopher Wren; renamed the "Theatre Royal in Drury Lane," it opened in 1674. This building lasted nearly 120 years, under the leaderships of Colley Cibber, David Garrick and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the last of whom employed Joseph Grimaldi as the theatre's resident Clown.
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Shows
- Sun 22 Dec
- Mon 23 Dec
- Tue 24 Dec
- Wed 25 Dec
- Thu 26 Dec
- Fri 27 Dec
- Sat 28 Dec
- Sun 19 Jan
- Mon 20 Jan
- Tue 21 Jan
- Wed 22 Jan
- Thu 23 Jan
- Fri 24 Jan
- Sat 25 Jan
- Sun 19 Jul
- Mon 20 Jul
- Tue 21 Jul
- Wed 22 Jul
- Thu 23 Jul
- Fri 24 Jul
- Sat 25 Jul
- Sun 23 Aug
- Mon 24 Aug
- Tue 25 Aug
- Wed 26 Aug
- Thu 27 Aug
- Fri 28 Aug
- Sat 29 Aug
- Sun 30 Aug
- Mon 31 Aug
- Tue 1 Sep
- Wed 2 Sep
- Thu 3 Sep
- Fri 4 Sep
- Sat 5 Sep
- Sun 6 Sep
- Mon 7 Sep
- Tue 8 Sep
- Wed 9 Sep
- Thu 10 Sep
- Fri 11 Sep
- Sat 12 Sep
- Sun 27 Sep
- Mon 28 Sep
- Tue 29 Sep
- Wed 30 Sep
- Thu 1 Oct
- Fri 2 Oct
- Sat 3 Oct
- Sun 25 Oct
- Mon 26 Oct
- Tue 27 Oct
- Wed 28 Oct
- Thu 29 Oct
- Fri 30 Oct
- Sat 31 Oct
- Sun 15 Nov
- Mon 16 Nov
- Tue 17 Nov
- Wed 18 Nov
- Thu 19 Nov
- Fri 20 Nov
- Sat 21 Nov
Past shows
See all the shows that have been performed here at the venue history page.