Box Office Contacts

Box Office:020 7845 9300
Access Booking:020 7845 9300
Group Booking:020 7845 9300
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History

One of the West End's largest theatres, the London Coliseum first opened its doors on Christmas Eve in 1904, hosting a popular variety show that continued through the early years of the venue's life, including performing animals and circus acts. Interestingly, the Coliseum was the first theatre to house a revolving stage, causing the venue to be renowned for spectacle.

Quickly, the London Coliseum famously became home to W.S Gilbert productions, including The Hooligan (1911), which was staged at the theatre just four months before he passed away. One of the theatre's early successes was musical comedy White Horse Inn (1931), which ran for 651 performances.

Throughout the 1940's and 50's the Coliseum was best-known for hosting blockbuster musicals such as Annie Get Your Gun (1947), Kiss Me Kate (1951) and Guys and Dolls (1953).

Later in 1968, the theatre became resident home to Sadler's Wells Opera Company, which developed into the English National Opera in 1974. To this day, the ENO remain in residency at the Coliseum, with regular performances from the English National Ballet, including an annual performance of The Nutcracker.

Notable ENO productions in the recent years have included La Boheme (2012), as well as Giselle, Ou Les WilisDie Fledermaus, The Perfect American and Madam Butterfly all in 2013, with a highly-anticipated concert performance of New York's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2015), starring Bryn Terfel and Emma Thompson. This was followed by The Barber of Seville (2015).

2016 productions have included The Nutcracker, The Mikado, Don Giovanni, Tosca and The Pearl Fishers, with an award-winning revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, starring Glenn Close and Michael Xavier. The English National Ballet's Nutcracker rounds off the year.

In 2017, the ENO continues with operas such as Rigoletto, The Winter's Tale and Partenope, and Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, with a Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman's highly anticipated new musical Bat Out of Hell arriving at the venue in the summer. Prior to this, Alfie Boe and Katherine Jenkins starred in a semi-staged production of Hammerstein musical Carousel, directed by Lonny Price.

Further ENO productions included RodelindaAida, MarnieThe Barber of Seville, Satyagraha, Iolanthe and La traviata. A new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical Chess, played a strictly limited spring season in 2018, starring Michael Ball and Alexandra Burke. Other ENO productions included Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and the English National Ballet's Sleeping Beauty.

2018 continued with Opera North's production of musical Kiss Me, Kate, followed by the return of entertainer Tommy Steele in The Glenn Miller Show. The ENO season continues with St Petersburg Ballet's Swan Lake, Salome, Porgy and Bess, Lucia di Lammermoor, War Requiem, La Boheme and Nutcracker.

The English National Opera kick off 2019 with productions of Swan Lake, Akhnaten, The Merry Widow, The Magic Flute and Jack the Ripper, whilst smash-hit musical Notre Dame de Paris arrives at the London Coliseum in January. 2019 also sees musical Man of La Mancha at the venue, and Broadway musical On Your Feet! also transfers to the venue. The latter part of the year sees four operas based on the Orpheus myth play at the venue, alongside a production of favourite The Mikado. At Christmas,  English National Ballet's Nutcracker arrives, taking the theatre into the new year.

In January 2020, the English National Ballet's swashbuckling pirate ballet Le Corsaire returns to the Coliseum for nine performances only. This is followed by five operas, including Carmen, Madam Butterfly and The Marriage of Figaro.

The planned production of Hairspray the Musical at the Coliseum, with Michael Ball reprising the role of Edna Turnblad, was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The English National Ballet's annual production of Nutcracker returned to the venue in December for a festive run of performances.

In May 2022, the London Coliseum staged a major production of the classic musical My Fair Lady, starring Amara Okereke, Harry Haddon-Paton and Vanessa Redgrave. Nutcracker returned in December for a Christmas run of performances.

In 2023, Queen and Ben Elton musical We Will Rock You played a 12 week season at the Coliseum, with The Nutcracker returning for its now traditional festive season in December.

Past Shows

The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
(closed 7 Jan 2024)
We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You
(closed 27 Aug 2023)
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
(closed 7 Jan 2023)

 
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
(closed 27 Aug 2022)
Raymonda
Raymonda
(closed 23 Jan 2022)
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
(closed 8 Jan 2022)

 
Hairspray
Hairspray
(closed 29 Sep 2021)
Nutcracker Delights
Nutcracker Delights
(closed 3 Jan 2021)
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
(closed 16 Dec 2020)

 
The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
(closed 18 Apr 2020)
Madam Butterfly
Madam Butterfly
(closed 17 Apr 2020)
Rusalka
Rusalka
(closed 15 Apr 2020)