The theatre
A plain modern frontage hides an ornate auditorium, which catches most people out on a first visit. The theatre seats 1,074, small enough that the balcony still feels close to the stage. Les Misérables has played here since 2004, having moved from the Palace Theatre after eighteen years there.
History
It opened on 8 October 1907 as the Queen's Theatre, one of a pair with the Gielgud next door, and spent its early decades on drama. The front of the building was destroyed by bombing in 1940 and rebuilt in a deliberately plain style in 1959, which is why the exterior and interior look like they belong to different buildings. It was renamed the Sondheim Theatre in 2019.
Good to know
Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square are both close. Shaftesbury Avenue is the densest run of theatres in London, so allow extra time to get through the crowds before curtain.
