Gielgud Theatre

Gielgud Theatre

Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1V 8AR

Gielgud Theatre Safety Policy

Health & safety measures
  • Paperless or print at home tickets
Visitor measures
  • Cash free venue - contactless payments only

Getting here

Closest Tube Station

Picadilly Circus

Closest Train Station

Charing Cross

The Gielgud Theatre is a London West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, at the corner of Rupert Street. The house currently has 889 seats on three levels.

The Gielgud Theatre is owned by Delfont Mackintosh Theatres.
 
The Gielgud Theatre was opened on December 27, 1906 as the Hicks Theatre in honour of actor, manager and playwright Seymour Hicks, for whom it was built. Designed by W.G.R. Sprague in Louis XVI style, the theatre originally had 970 seats, but over the years boxes and other seats have been removed. The Gielgud is a pair with the Queen's Theatre, which opened in 1907 on the adjacent street corner.
 
The opening production at the Gielgud Theatre was The Beauty of Bath by Hicks and Cosmo Hamilton. My Darling, another Hicks musical, followed in 1907, followed by the successful London production of the Straus operetta, A Waltz Dream in 1908. An astonishing event occurred midway through the run of the Gielgud's next major work, The Dashing Little Duke (1909), which was produced by Hicks. Hicks' wife, Ellaline Terriss, played the title role (a woman playing a man). When she missed several performances due to illness, Hicks stepped into the role — possibly the only case in the history of musical theatre where a husband succeeded to his wife's role.
 
Refurbished in 1987, with extensive work on the gold leaf in the auditorium, The Gielgud Theatre is particularly notable for its beautiful circular Regency staircase, oval gallery and tower. The theatre has presented several Alan Ayckbourn premieres, including 1990's Man of the Moment. More recently, Oscar Wilde's classic comedy, An Ideal Husband (1992) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (2004) saw notable revivals.
 
In 1994, in anticipation of the 1997 opening of a reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on the South Bank by Sam Wanamaker, the theatre was renamed in honour of British actor John Gielgud. In 2003, Sir Cameron Mackintosh announced plans to refurbish The Gielgud Theatre, including a joint entrance foyer, with the adjacent Queen's Theatre, facing on to Shaftesbury Avenue. Mackintosh's Delfont Mackintosh Theatres took over operational control of the Gielgud from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatres in 2006. The Delfont Mackintosh group also consists of the Noel Coward Theatre, Novello Theatre,Prince Edward Theatre, Prince of Wales Theatre, Queen's Theatre, and Wyndham's Theatre.
 
Work on the facade of the theatre started in March 2007 and the interior restoration, including reinstating the boxes at the back of the dress circle, was completed in January 2008.


Gielgud Theatre: Recent Productions

2003: Tell Me on a Sunday by Andrew Lloyd Webber, starring Denise Van Outen

2004: The RSC's All's Well That Ends Well, starring Judi Dench

2004: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, starring Christian Slater, Frances Barber and Mackenzie Crook

2005: Don Carlos by Friedrich Schiller, starring Derek Jacobi

2005: Some Girls by Neil LaBute, starring David Schwimmer and Catherine Tate

2005: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, starring Tara Fitzgerald

2006: The RSC's The Crucible, starring Iain Glen

2006: The RSC's The Canterbury Tales

2006: Frost/Nixon by Peter Morgan, starring Michael Sheen and Frank Langella

2007: Equus by Peter Shaffer, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths

2007: Macbeth by William Shakespeare, starring Patrick Stewart

2007: Nicholas Nickleby

2008: Carl Rosa Opera presented a Gilbert and Sullivan season

2008: God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, starring Ralph Fiennes and Tamsin Greig

2008: Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello, starring Ian McDiarmid

2008: Bill Bailey's Tinselworm

2009: Enjoy by Alan Bennett, starring Alison Steadman

2009: Avenue Q by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx

2010: Hair

2010: Yes, Prime Minister by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, starring David Haig and Henry Goodman

2011: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

2011: Lend Me a Tenor

2011: The Ladykillers

2012: Chariots of Fire

2013: The Audience by Peter Morgan, starring Helen Mirren

 

The Gielgud Theatre: Current Production 

2013: Private Lives by Noël Coward, starring Toby Stephens and Anna Chancellor

 

Gielgud Theatre Seating Plan

Opening Night is the current production at Gielgud Theatre. The latest booking period for Opening Night at Gielgud Theatre started 06/03/2024 19:30:00 and runs until 27/07/2024 19:30:00. Tickets for Opening Night start at £25 and are available to book now.

Gielgud Theatre is located in London. The full address is Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1V 8AR.

Play

We Happy Few

Musical

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Play

Nicholas Nickleby (Part 1)

Play

Don Carlos

Play

Afterplay

Play

Canterbury Tales (Part 1)

Play

Some Girls

Musical

Lend Me A Tenor

Play

Canterbury Tales (Part 2)

Musical

Tell Me On A Sunday

Play

Chariots of Fire

Play

Nicholas Nickleby (Part 2)

Play

Bill Bailey - Tinselworm

Play

Frost/Nixon

Play

Crucible, The

Musical

OPERA: Mikado, The

Musical

Barbara Cook’s Broadway

Play

Enjoy

Musical

OPERA: Pirates of Penzance, The

Play

Strangers On A Train

Play

God of Carnage, The

Play

And Then There Were None

Musical

OPERA: Iolanthe

Musical

Avenue Q

Play

Six Characters In Search Of An Author

Play

Yes, Prime Minister

Play

To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee's critically-acclaimed coming-of-age classic at the West End's Gielgud Theatre!

Play

The Mirror and the Light

The Mirror and the Light is coming to the West End this autumn!

Play

Sweat

Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize winning Sweat has transferred to the Gielgud Theatre

Play

The Crucible

In this fable of power and dread, there's a witch hunt beginning - and no one is safe.

Musical

Les Miserables: The All-Star Staged Concert

Les Miserables: The All-Star Staged Concert brings Michael Ball, and Alfie Boe together for 16 weeks only at the intimate Gielgud Theatre

Play

The Ferryman

The Ferryman has been extended, get tickets now to see one of the West End's most sought after shows!

Musical

Girl from the North Country

Don't miss tickets to the West End return of Girl from the North Country

Musical

Hair

Play

Imperium II: Dictator

Don’t miss the epic conclusion to the theatrical event of the summer. Book Imperium II: Dictator now and save £10.

Play

Imperium I: Conspirator

RSC presents Olivier Award winner Richard McCabe as Cicero.

Musical

Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends

Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends makes its way to the West End!

Musical

Company

Stephen Sondheim’s legendary musical starring Patti LuPone and Rosalie Craig comes to the West End in 2018.

Play

Humble Boy

Concert

Frank Skinner - 30 Years of Dirt

Comic legend Frank Skinner brings Frank Skinner - 30 Years of Dirt to London!