Let's Visit the West End Trivia Quiz

Answer: Theatre Royal Drury Lane

The front of the Theatre Royal is actually in Catherine Street, and it only backs onto Drury Lane. The first theater here was built during the Restoration and has claims as London's leading theater for much of the next 200 years. Nell Gwynn performed here regularly. The theater has hosted numerous blockbuster musicals including "Oklahoma!", which ran from 1947 until 1950 here, "Carousel" (1950-1951), "South Pacific" (1951-1953) and "The King and I" (1953-1956).

More recently, The longest-running show here was "Miss Saigon", which ran for more than 10 years from 1989 until 1999.

More recently, it has staged "The Lord of the Rings" (2007-2008), "Shrek the Musical" (2011-2013) and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical", which opened in 2013.

Answer: Her Majesty's Theatre

Her Majesty's Theatre, located on Haymarket just around the corner from Trafalgar Square, originally opened as the home for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (later known as 'RADA'). Between 1901 and 1952 it was called "His Majesty's Theatre", but reverted to its original name when Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne.
In the early days, the theater staged works by Shakespeare, Dickens, Moliere, Shaw and Tolstoy. The amazing run of the musical comedy "Chu Chin Chow" (based on the story of "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves") began in 1916 and lasted for a word-record 2,235 performances. This record was eventually surpassed by "Salad Days" in 1955.
Musicals were the name of the game after WWII and the theater hosted "Follow the Girls", "Brigadoon", "Paint Your Wagon" and "West Side Story". "Fiddler on the Roof" began a run of more than 2,000 performances in 1967 here. The first of "The Secret Policeman's Balls" was staged here in 1976.
The world premiere of "The Phantom of the Opera" was staged at "Her Majesty's" on October 9, 1986 and has run here continuously, with the 10,000th performance in 2010.

Answer: Criterion Theatre

Opening in 1936, "French Without Tears" ran for 1,039 performances at the Criterion Theatre, launching Terence Rattigan's writing career. Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" ran here immediately after WWII. More recently, the Criterion has been the home to the 'Reduced Shakespeare Company'. Between 1996 and 2005, they staged "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)", a parody in which shortened versions of all of Shakespeare's plays are performed by just three actors. Since 2006, John Buchan's "39 Steps" has been interrupted only during special Christmas seasons of "Peppa Pig's Party".

Answer: London Palladium

State of the art when it opened in 1910, the London Palladium was the first British theater with a revolving stage. It even had its own telephone system, so that people in boxes could call each other.
The first Royal Variety Performance (officially called the 'Royal Command Performance') was staged at the Palace Theatre in 1912. Staged at numerous theaters in its early years, it moved to the Palladium in 1928 and stayed there for the next decade. The Palladium hosted its record fortieth Royal Variety Performance in 2014.
Notable theatrical runs at the Palladium include Jason Donovan in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (1991-93), Cameron Mackintosh's revival of "Oliver!" in 1994, Andy Garcia in "Saturday Night Fever" in 1998, Elaine Paige in "The King and I" in 2000, Michael Ball in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" in 2002 and "I Can't Sing! The X Factor Musical" in 2014.

Answer: Novello Theatre

Welsh composer/actor Ivor Novello (real name David Ivor Davies) lived in the flat above the Strand Theatre from 1913 until 1951. In 2005, the theater's centenary year, it was renamed in his honour.
Significant shows which have been staged here include "Arsenic and Old Lace", which ran for more than 1,300 performances in the 1940s and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", which ran from 1963 until 1965. The comedy "No Sex Please, We're British" opened here in 1971 and ran for ten years before relocating to the Garrick Theatre, where it ran for six more years. More recent shows include Cheryl Baker in "Footloose" in 2006.
"Mamma Mia!", the story of ABBA, transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre in 2012.

Answer: New London Theatre

The New London Theatre opened in January 1973 with Peter Ustinov in "The Unknown Soldier and His Wife". Richard Gere in "Grease" preceded a period where it was used as a television studio, particularly the 1977 "BBC Sports Personality of the Year" show and Masters Snooker a couple of times. In May 1981, the biggest sensation to hit the West End for many years opened here, and stayed for the next 21 years -- that was Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Cats".

Another Weber composition, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", ran here from 2003 until 2005.

After two years at the National Theatre, the show dubbed "the theatrical event of the decade", "War Horse", relocated to the New London in 2009. In 2010 it set a new West End record for the "highest weekly gross for a play".

In 2011, the show performed for its millionth audience member.

Answer: Queen's Theatre

Many of the greatest performers to grace the West End stage have performed at the Queen's Theatre: as Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Tallulah Bankhead, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Sir Noël Coward, Marlene Dietrich, Robert Donat, Dame Edith Evans, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Sir John Gielgud, Sir Nigel Hawthorne, Dame Celia Johnson, Sir Alec Guinness, Dame Rachel Kempson, Robert Morley, Stephen Fry, Sir Anthony Quayle, Sir Michael Redgrave, Dame Margaret Rutherford, Dame Maggie Smith and Dame Sybil Thorndike amongst them. After eighteen years at the Palace Theatre, "Les Miserables" transferred to the Queen's Theatre in 2004.

In October 2006, it overtook "Cats" as the longest-running musical of all time. In October 2010, the show celebrated its 30th anniversary in the West End.

Answer: Ambassadors Theatre

One of the smallest theaters in the West End, with just under 500 seats on two levels, the Ambassadors Theatre was where Vivien Leigh made her West End debut in 1935. Known as the "New Ambassadors" for many years, it returned to its original name in 2007.
"The Mousetrap" began its epic run here in 1952, running for 22 years before it transferred to the nearby Saint Martin's Theatre. Comfortably the longest initial run of any play ever, it celebrated its 25,000th performance in 2012.
Recent shows at the ambassadors include "Sweeney Todd" (2004-2005) and "Little Shop of Horrors" (2007) before the arrival of "Stomp" in September 2007. Having transferred from the Vaudeville Theatre, "Stomp" celebrated its 10th anniversary in the West End in September 2012.

Answer: Dominion Theatre

Since it opened in 1929, the Dominion Theatre has spent time as a cinema and a concert venue as well as the host of long-running shows such as "We Will Rock You". German electronic music group Tangerine Dream recorded an album here in 1982 and "Dolly in London" was a video of a Dolly Parton concert filmed here in 1983.
Shows staged here include "Grease" from 1993 until 1996, "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" (1997-99), the 12-year run by "We Will Rock You" and, more recently, "Evita", "White Christmas" and Michael Flaherty's "Lord of the Dance".

Answer: Palace Theatre

Dominating the west side of Cambridge Circus at the junction of Shaftsbury Avenue and Charing Cross road, the Palace Theatre began life as a venue for Gilbert & Sullivan operettas in the 1890s.
Since the 1920s it has been known primarily for musicals. "The Sound of Music" opened here in 1961 and ran for 2,385 performances. Then came "Cabaret", Danny La Rue's "Danny at the Palace", which played for two years, and then 3,358 performances of "Jesus Christ Superstar" between 1972 and 1980.
Recent runs here include "Monty Python's Spamalot" (2006-2009), "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" (2009-2011) and "Singin' in the Rain" (2012-2013). Roddy Doyle's "The Commitments" opened at the Palace in August 2013.