Tube

Covent Garden or Holborn are the closest London tube stations.

Train

ondon Charing Cross is the closest National Rail station.

Bus

Bus Routes: 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 26, 68, 76, 77A, 168, 171, 171A, 176.

Parking

Single yellow lines in Catherine Street and Russell Street. NCP

The first theatre on the site of Drury Lane theatre was opened in 1663 as the Theatre Royal Brydges Street with an audience capacity of about 700. It was built by Thomas Killigrew who held one of only two charters granted by Charles II at his Restoration to the throne in 1662. (Theatres had been banned during Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth). The theatre survived the Great Fire of London in 1666 but burnt down in 1672 (in the days of wooden framed buildings and candles, fire was a perennial problem).

The second theatre, which opened in 1674, was much larger and could seat 2,000. The theatre struggled against stronger competition for a few years and was even forced to close, but in 1682 the Drury Lane company and their rivals joined forces under the management of Thomas Betterton. After a few successful years the theatre again found itself in difficulty and it was not until the famous actor David Garrick took over the management in 1747 that the theatre’s fortunes began to rise. Garrick was succeeded in 1777 by the playwright Richard Brindsley Sheridan.

In 1791 the theatre was again rebuilt and opened in 1794 with a seating capacity of 3,611. This lasted only 15 years and was burnt down in 1809. Sheridan could not afford to rebuild it, but the brewer Samuel Whitbread who was one of the shareholders raised £400,000 and the fourth theatre - still there today - opened in 1814.

Some of the most famous luminaries of British Theatre performed in the historic theatres on this site, including Nell Gwynne, Mrs Siddons, Garrick, Kean and Grimaldi. The theatre has hosted musicals including Rose Marie, Show Boat, My Fair Lady and most recently Oliver! Visitors to the Upper Circle during matinees, however, be warned the Theatre Royal has its own Phantom, the notorious Man in Grey, said to be the ghost of the man whose body was found in the walls of the Theatre Royal in 1840.

Café Theatre Royal - open one and a half hours before performance. There are 6 bars.