List of the longest-running West End shows explained

This is a list of the longest-running shows (3,000 performances or more) in the West End, a well known professional theatre district in London. Nine currently running shows (two plays, seven musicals) have played more than 3,000 performances: The Mousetrap, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia!, The Lion King, Wicked, Matilda, The Book of Mormon, and The Play That Goes Wrong.

List

Unless otherwise stated, the number of performances listed is for the original West End production of the show. M denotes a musical, P denotes a straight play, R denotes a revue, D denotes a dance musical, and S denotes a special case. An asterisk indicates an announced closing date for a currently-running show. All shows that are currently running are bolded.

TitleGenreOpening
date		Closing
date		PerformancesComment
1The MousetrapP25 November 195229,547Currently running at the St Martin's Theatre
  • 6 October 1952 – Production premiere at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham
  • 25 November 1952 – Opened in the West End at the New Ambassadors Theatre
  • 13 September 1957 – Longest-running West End play
  • 12 April 1958 – Longest-running West End show overall, 2239 performances
  • 9 December 1964 – 5,000 performances
  • 1965 & 1999 – Sets, costumes and props replaced
  • 23 March 1974 – Closed for 2 days to transfer to the St Martin's Theatre, retaining initial run status
  • 17 December 1976 – 10,000 performances
  • 16 December 2000 – 20,000 performances
  • 18 November 2012 – 25,000 performances
  • 16 March 2020 – closed for 1 year, 2 months and 1 day due to COVID-19 pandemic, re-opened 17 May 2021
2Les MisérablesM8 October 198515,000 [1] Currently running at the Sondheim Theatre (formerly the Queen's Theatre)
  • Opened at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Barbican Centre
  • Transferred to the Palace Theatre on the West End on 5 December 1985
  • Transferred to the Queen's Theatre in April 2004
  • The longest-running West End musical
  • The original production closed on 13 July 2019. It was replaced by a concert version at the Gielgud Theatre from 10 August 2019 until 2 December 2019 and subsequently a new staging at the refurbished Queen's Theatre (now Sondheim Theatre) from 16 January 2020
3The Phantom of the OperaM9 October 198615,000 [2] Currently running at His Majesty's Theatre
  • The original production played its final performance on 15 March 2020, just before the shutdown of West End theatres as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It was replaced in 2021 with an updated staging, which played its first performance on 27 July 2021.
4The Woman in BlackP11 January 19894 March 202313,232Premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough on 12 December 1987
5Blood Brothers (revival)M28 July 198810 November 201210,013Opened at the Albery Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre)
  • Transferred to the Phoenix Theatre on 21 November 1991
  • The longest-running West End revival
6Mamma Mia!M6 April 199910,000 [3] Currently running at Novello Theatre
7The Lion KingM19 October 19999,638 [4] Currently running at Lyceum Theatre
8CatsM11 May 198111 May 20028,949Opened in London at the New London Theatre (now the Gillian Lynne Theatre)
  • The show closed on its 21st anniversary, when it was broadcast in Covent Garden for those who could not acquire a ticket
  • It held the record for longest-running West End musical for 17 years before it was overtaken by Les Misérables, the current record holder.
9Starlight ExpressM27 March 198412 January 20027,406
10WickedM27 September 20066,762 [5] Currently running at Apollo Victoria Theatre
11No Sex Please, We're BritishP3 June 19715 September 19876,761Opened at the Strand Theatre, transferred to the Garrick and Duchess Theatres during the run.
12StompD25 September 20027 January 20186,512Opened at the Vaudeville Theatre
13Chicago (revival)M18 October 19971 September 20126,187Opened at the Adelphi Theatre
14Buddy – The Buddy Holly StoryM12 October 19893 March 20025,140Opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre
15MatildaM24 November 20114,670[6] Currently running at Cambridge Theatre
16We Will Rock YouM14 May 200231 May 20144,659
17Thriller - LiveR26 January 200915 March 20204,657
18Billy Elliot the MusicalM11 May 20059 April 20164,566
19Miss SaigonM20 September 198930 October 19994,264
20The Book of MormonM21 March 20134,000[7] Currently running at Prince of Wales Theatre
21Oh! Calcutta!R30 September 19702 February 1980[8] 3,918[9]
22Jersey BoysM18 March 200826 March 20173,787
23The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)P7 March 19963 April 20053,744
24The 39 StepsP14 September 20065 September 20153,731 [10]
25Jesus Christ SuperstarM9 August 197223 August 19803,357
  • It held the record for longest-running West End musical before it was overtaken by Cats in 1989[11]
26Me and My GirlM12 February 198516 January 19933,303 This is a revival of the 1937 musical.
27EvitaM21 June 197818 February 19863,182 [12]
28The Play That Goes WrongP14 September 20143,000 [13] Currently running at Duchess Theatre

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. As of 28 September 2023, according to the show's official twitter. Source
  2. As of 8 June 2024, according to the show's official twitter. Source
  3. As of 17 July 2024.
  4. As of April 2024. Source
  5. As of 24 April 2024. Source
  6. As of 23 June 2024
  7. As of 6 June 2024, according to the show's official twitter. Source
  8. http://www.thisistheatre.com/londontheatre/duchesstheatre.html "The Duchess Theatre, London"
  9. Tynan, Kenneth, The Diaries of Kenneth Tynan, A&C Black (2002), p. 76, footnote 1
  10. According to the show's official Facebook. Source
  11. Book: Sternfeld, Jessica. The Megamusical. 2006. Indiana University Press. 978-0-253-34793-0. 169.
  12. Exact number came from musicalheaven.com and This Is Theatre; 2900 given by Society of London Theatre is an estimate.
  13. According to the show's official website, which announced it was celebrating the 2,999th performance on 19 January 2023.

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