From Emma Corrin's gender-bending journey through time to Amelia Clarke's swap of dragons for a seagull, and Dawn French and Julian Clary's embrace of the Christmas pantomime, London's West End Theatre is the ultimate destination for the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Famous film actors, both British and international, often take to the stage in plays, comedies and musicals. Tom and Jerry or Life in London (182) was the first London production to reach 100 consecutive performances, while Les Misérables, produced by Cameron Mackintosh, holds the record for the longest-running musical in the history of the West End. Theatreland provides a comprehensive guide to all theatrical, musical and performing arts events and venues in London, from Broadway in New York to the West End of London and from the showrooms of Las Vegas to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
The fringe venues range from small, well-equipped theatres to rooms above pubs, and performances range from classical plays to cabaret plays or in the languages of London's ethnic minorities. Daniel Radcliffe has an impressive theatrical career, having starred in plays and musicals such as How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Rosencratz and Guildenstern Are Dead. In the early 19th century, concert hall shows became popular, and presenters found a legal loophole in restrictions on theaters without patents in the melodrama genre.
