The Gillian Lynne Theatre, previously known as the New London Theatre, opened in 1973 and was designed by architect Paul Tvrtkovic. An entertainment building, of one kind or another, has been situated on the site of the theatre since Elizabethan times. It is known that famed comic actress Nell Gwynn performed regularly on the stage of the Great Mogul Tavern in the late 17th Century.
The modern theatre forms part of a large complex of buildings including shops, flats, restaurants and a car park. It is renowned for having a third of the entire auditorium on a large revolve, including several rows of seats in the front stalls. This was used to great acclaim when Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats opened in 1981. The musical remains the venue’s longest-running production where it ran for over 20 years.
More recently, the theatre housed War Horse from 2009-2016 and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash-hit School of Rock: The Musical. In May 2018, the theatre was renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre in honour of the legendary choreographer. The name change marks the first West End theatre to be named after a non-royal woman.
