New London Theatre

Located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, The New London theatre features a cabaret venue, a basement nightclub, shops and a residential tower.

Although the New London theatre is a modern building, the site it stands on has been a place of entertainment since Elizabethan times and Nell Gwynne, mistress of Charles II, was associated with the tavern that stood on the same spot at the end of the 17th century. This tavern was called the Great Moguland had an adjoining hall in which glee clubs and singsongs were held. In 1847 the Mogul Saloon, which was sometimes known as the Turkish Saloon or the Mogul Music Hall, was built on the site.

The Middlesex Music Hall

In 1851, the Mogul Saloon became the Middlesex Music Hall, however, in 1911 this was rebuilt as the New Middlesex Theatre of Varieties. In 1919, the theatre was sold to George Grossmith, Jr. and Edward Laurillard, who refurbished it and renamed it the Winter Garden Theatre.

In 1959 the theatre closed its doors to the public when the Rank Organisation sold it to a developer. The building was gutted and remained vacant until 1965 only to be replaced in 1973 by the current building and rechristened as The New London Theatre. Paul Tvrtkovic designed the current theatre which seats 960 on 2 levels.

The theatre officially opened on January 2, 1973 with a production of The Unknown Soldier and His Wife starring Peter Ustinov, after first opening for a television recording of Marlene Dietrich's one-woman show.

The next show was the London production of Grease, starring Richard Gere as Danny. After Grease closed the theatre was mainly used as a television studio. In 1977 the theatre hosted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards and Queen shot the video for We Are the Champions on the stage after performing a 70-minute concert for fans. Between 1976 and 1978the Masters Snooker tournament was even held there before it was returned to use as a theatre. 

War Horse

Currently packing them in at the New London Theatre is War Horse, the spectacular stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's prize-winning novel. Already realised by Steven Spielberg as smash hit film, the National Theatre's award-winning take on Morpurgo's moving story of a boy and his beloved horse has won just as many plaudits. The production's innovative use of spectacular life sized puppetry to bring the equine characters to life is especially breathtaking.