Shows & Events at the Sondheim Theatre
How to find the Sondheim Theatre
Sondheim Theatre
Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6BA
Call Customer Service on 0344 482 5151†
Phone lines are open
Monday - Saturday 10am - 7.30pm.
†Calls
to Delfont Mackintosh Theatres 03
numbers cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number.
Box office opening times:
From 2 hours and 30 minutes before the start of the show, until 15 minutes after curtain up. On matinee days the box office remains open in between performances.
Central Box Office at the Sondheim Theatre
Buy tickets for productions across all 8 of our theatres!
Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6BA.
Open Monday - Friday: Midday - 6:00pm.
Our theatres sell products which may contain allergens. Allergen information is available upon request from all bars or other staff selling refreshments around the venue.
Book your accommodation when visiting the Sondheim Theatre via the map below:
Getting to the Sondheim Theatre
By Train or Tube
The nearest train station is Charing Cross.
The nearest tube station is Piccadilly Circus.
By Bus
The nearest bus stops are serviced by numbers 14, 19, 38.
By Car
If you are driving, you can take advantage of the Q-Park Theatreland parking scheme with 50% off car parking after midday for up to 4 hours.
There are also 2 spaces for blue badge holders in Archer Street. There is also parking available at NCP at Lexington Street.
Accessibility at the Sondheim Theatre
For information on Hearing Enhancement Aids, Assistance Dogs, Autism and Social Stories and details of our currently available Access Performances, please refer to our main Accessibility page using the button below:
Parking
The theatre itself has no parking facilities but there are disabled bays nearby on Archer Street and Rupert Street. For more information visit the City of Westminster website.
Toilets
There is an adapted toilet in the foyer via a ramped corridor. There are toilets on all levels of the
auditorium.
Our access host will happily advise and guide should you require help.
Wheelchairs
Wheelchair access to the auditorium is through the fourth side door on Wardour Street. - Please make
yourself known to a member of staff on arrival at the main entrance of the venue. There will be an Access Host who will
be able to offer assistance and show you to your seating location.
The Schönberg Loge has step-free access
and is able to accommodate up to two wheelchairs with companions. The door to the Loge is suitable for wheelchairs which
are maximum 1m in length and 80cm wide (may not be suitable for very low seated wheelchairs).
Wheelchair
transfer seating is also available in the Dress Circle on the aisle of Row D (seats D2 or D29) with companion seats
along the row as required.
Limited Mobility: 18 steps from the foyer up to the rear Dress Circle. 21
steps from the foyer down to the Stalls. 39 steps from the foyer to up the Grand Circle (this area is quite
steep).
Hospitality at the Sondheim Theatre
If you would like to discuss venue hire then please
enquire using the button below:
Facilities at the Sondheim Theatre
Lost Property
If you have any enquiries regarding lost property at Sondheim Theatre please email customer services.
Lost property will be kept at the theatre for one month.
Facilities
There are four licensed bars, Foyer, Stalls, Dress and Grand Circle. View the full details of access information.
Cloakrooms
The cloakroom is able to accept coats and small bags for a small charge. We are
unable to accept larger bags or suitcases.
However, we also work with Stasher who offer bag storage in many hotels and shops across London (all
within close walking distance to our theatres).
HOW TO BOOK LUGGAGE STORAGE WITH STASHER
Bookings must be made online. Use the code "SHOWTIME" for a discount.
Additional Security Checks
Working with Global Support Services, we use highly trained detection dogs to provide additional security spot checks at our theatres.
Sondheim Theatre History
Production Highlights
Another Country (1982)
1907 The theatre opened on 8 October with The Sugar Bowl, a comedy by Madeleine Lucette Ryley. The architect was W G R Sprague who designed the theatre as a pair with the Gielgud Theatre on the adjoining corner of Shaftesbury Avenue.
1913 Tango Teas became a popular pastime. The stalls seats were replaced with tables and chairs where, for the sum of 2/6, people took tea while watching professional tango dancers and dress parades on stage.
1920 Elsie Janis altered the theatre so that the stalls were 'surrounded by a parterre and backed by a luxurious lounge'. A note in the programme for It's All Wrong, described as a 'musical complaint', read 'Miss Janis regrets that her name appears so often in the programme, but she does not wish to shirk any of the responsibilities'.
1930 The Old Vic production of Hamlet transferred to Queen's and John Gielgud gave his first Shaftesbury Avenue performances of the role he made almost his own with Donald Wolfit as a strong Claudius.
Read more about the theatre and its history...
1934 Moonlight in Silver, an 'ultra-modern problem play' by Clemence Dane, starred Gertrude Lawrence and Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. This glamorous couple attracted much media attention especially as they were having an affair both on and off stage.
Ages of Man (1959)
1935 Robert Morley's first play Short Story combined a host of talent in Marie Tempest, Sybil Thorndike, Margaret Rutherford and Rex Harrison.
1937 The Gielgud season of Richard II, The School for Scandal, Three Sisters and The Merchant of Venice brought glittering casts and outstanding performances to the theatre. Those who appeared included Leon Quartermaine, Michael Redgrave, Glen Byam Shaw, Anthony Quayle, Alec Guinness, Peggy Ashcroft and George Devine.
1940 The Queen's was the first West End theatre to be put out of action by enemy bombing on 24 September, bringing to a premature close the highly successful run of Rebecca with Owen Nares, Celia Johnson and Margaret Rutherford.
1959 The theatre reopened on 8 July with John Gielgud's Shakespearean recital Ages of Man. Architects Westwood Sons & Partners reconstructed it at a cost of £250,000, with Sir Hugh Casson acting as consultant on the décor.
Hurlyburly (1997).
1961 Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse's thought-provoking musical Stop the World I Want to Get Off, about the value of personal versus career choices, ran for 478 performances before transferring to Broadway.
1966 Noël Coward made his final West End appearance in A Suite in Three Keys. In August and September Laurence Olivier's National Theatre presented their first West End season, including famous productions of The Royal Hunt of the Sun and Othello.
1972 Marlene Dietrich appeared for a short season in cabaret. She had first sung in cabaret at the Queen's in 1964, and her performance can be heard on a live recording. Later in the year Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens appeared in an acclaimed production of Private Lives.
1974 Franco Zeffirelli directed Joan Plowright in a notable production of Saturday, Sunday, Monday by Eduardo de Filippo.
Les Miserables (Poster from 2004)
1982 Another Country, Julian Mitchell's story about Guy Burgess's schooldays, starred Rupert Everett and launched Kenneth Branagh's career. Everett was subsequently replaced by Daniel Day Lewis and Colin Firth.
1986 A major revival of Leonard Bernstein's musical about New York, Wonderful Town, won both Olivier and Variety Club Awards.
1990 Two sisters, Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave, and their niece Jemma appeared in Three Sisters. It was the first time the sisters had acted on stage together.
1996 Stephen Sondheim's love triangle Passion ran for 232 performances and won Maria Friedman an Olivier Award for her role as Fosca.
Three Sisters (1990)
1999 Maggie Smith 'acted with every muscle' as Miss Shepherd, the smelly, eccentric Lady in the Van, who lived in playwright Alan Bennett's drive for many years.
2004 The RSC gave a short London season of The Taming of the Shrew and The Tamer Tamed prior to Les Misérables, the West End's longest-running musical, moving from the Palace Theatre to its new home at the Queen's.
2010 Delfont Mackintosh refurbished Queen’s Theatre for the 25th Anniversary of Les Misérables. On 8 October 2015 the show celebrated the 30th anniversary of its original opening at the Barbican Centre in 1985 and on 4 September 2019 celebrated its 14,000th performance.
2019 Following major refurbishment the theatre reopened as the Sondheim in celebration of the composer Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday with a new production of Les Misérables featuring sets inspired by original paintings by Victor Hugo.
General Theatre information
Please note: You may not bring any food or drink purchased elsewhere to our theatres. All our theatre bars serve drinks and snacks, but not hot food.
Our theatres sell products which may contain allergens. Allergen information is available upon request from all bars or other staff selling refreshments around the venue.
For your comfort and security, you will be subject to additional checks on your visit - we appreciate your patience and understanding while these are taking place. Please note that latecomers will not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance.