The Piccadilly Theatre is a west-end theatre located in Denman Street, just behind Piccadilly Circus. The venue was built by Edward A. Stone and Bertie Crewe for Edward Laurillard and is currently owned by the Ambassador Thetre Group.
The building has a simple facade that conceals a grandiose Art Deco interior designed by Gaston Laverdet and Marc-Henri Levy, and has an auditorium that can seat 1232 at full capacity that is decorated in shades of pink. In the bars and foyer at the venue, it is gold and green that are the dominant colours, which still have original light fittings.
The opening production at the Piccadilly Theatre was Jerome Kern's musical 'Blue Eyes' in April 1928, and the souvenir brochure claimed, "If all the bricks used in the building were laid in a straight line, they would stretch from London to Paris."
The theatre was taken over by Warner Brothers and briefly operated as a cinema and premièred 'The Singing Fool' which was the first talking picture to be shown in the UK. The venue reopened as a theatre in November 1929, staging a production of 'The Student Prince' and finally having a major success in 1931 with 'Folly To Be Wise' which ran for 257 performances.
In 1936 the theatre was converted into a caberet restaurant and it reopened as 'The London Casino' and was noted for its lavish stage shows. During World War II, the building sustained considerable damage when it was hit by a stray German bomb but after renovations took place in the early 1950s, it returned to its original name and once again became a venue for revues, musicals, and plays,
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Piccadilly Theatre enjoyed success with a series of successful Broadway transfers, notably including both 'A Streetcar Named Desire', and 'Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf'. The Beatles also recorded a number of songs at the venue for the BBC Radio show, "From Us to You".
The venue became the setting for the popular TV variety show 'Live From The Piccadilly' in 1986 and in the 1990s witnessed an expansion into ballet and dance, notably with what was possibly the most successful commercial ballet season ever to play in London, with Mathew Bourne's production of 'Swan Lake'.
Musicals followed as the theatre hosted the Donmar Warehouse production of 'Guys and Dolls' which ran from May 2005 - April 2007 which was then followed by a production of 'Grease' from August 2007 and became the longest-running show in the theatre's history before eventually closing in 2011 to make way for the incumbent 'Ghost the Musical'. Other recent successes at the Piccadilly Theatre have been the long running hit musical, Jersey Boys, a revival of 'Death Of A Salesman' and 'Pretty Woman' which opened in February 2020 to strong advance ticket sales before being forced to close along with the rest of the west-end due to the Covid-19 pandemic. before being relocated to the Savoy Theatre.
London theatre tickets to all productions at the Piccadilly Theatre can be purchased securely online through this website.
FAQ's About Booking Tickets At The Piccadilly Theatre
How Can I Book Cheap Tickets To The Piccadilly Theatre?
If you are bargain hunting for lastminute tickets then it is definitely recommended to avoid both weekends, school holidays and any other peak periods throughout the year as prices for performances during these times will be high and are unlikely to go down anytime soon! For midweek performances during off peak weeks though there is definitely value to be found moving forward and studying the seating plan to look for the different price bands and where they cut off can pay dividends.
Do They Ever Discount Tickets To The Piccadilly Theatre?
It is rare to find any official discounts for tickets to popular productions as demand is strong however if you are flexible with dates and can book for midweek performances to see the show during the weeks following school holidays then discounts could become available through decent online operators and the official retail outlets in and around Leicester Square.
Should Upper Circle Tickets To The Piccadilly Theatre Be Avoided?
The second floor of the Piccadilly Theatre has several different price bands and very few seats that feature a restricted view of the stage so even though you are quite high up, there is value to be found for upper circle tickets if you take the time to study the seating plan prior to purchase. Very often it is possible to make big savings on the price of your ticket by looking for the cut off points in the seating plan for the different price bands as two seats literally next to each other could have as much as a 30% difference in the price!
Will There Be Any Additional Fees When I Book Tickets To The Piccadilly Theatre?
This will depend on when and where you book your tickets? By purchasing tickets directly from the box office at the Piccadilly Theatre there should be no booking fees attached as you are buying effectively from the source. By booking through a third party though such as a website or through retail outlets there could be booking fees attached as during peak periods such as weekends and school holidays the producers will charge full price to the agents who will then have to add on a booking fee to make a profit. During quiet periods though then the opposite is the case as the theatre will sell to agents at a negotiated discount which can then in turn be passed onto the customer. It is always advisable that when booking online or through a retail outlet that you check that they are members of the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailer (STAR) which should be clearly marked. This will ensure full transparency for all sales and give peace of mind.
