West End Theatre - Long-running Shows

Long-running Shows

The length of West End shows depend on ticket sales. Musicals tend to have longer runs than dramas. The longest-running musical in West End history is Les Misérables. It overtook Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, which closed in 2002 after running for 8,949 performances and 21 years, as the longest-running West End musical of all time on 8 October 2006. Other long-runners include Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and Willy Russell's Blood Brothers which have also subsequently overtaken Cats. However the non-musical Agatha Christie play The Mousetrap is the longest-running show in the world, and has been showing since 1952.

• The Mousetrap – opened 25 November 1952 at the Ambassadors Theatre, now playing at the St Martin's Theatre – 60th year
• Les Misérables – opened 8 October 1985 at the Palace Theatre, now playing at the Queen's Theatre – 27th year
• The Phantom of the Opera – opened 9 October 1986 at Her Majesty's Theatre – 26th year
• Blood Brothers – opened 28 July 1988 at the Albery Theatre, later transferring to the Phoenix Theatre and closed on 10 November 2012 – 24 years
• The Woman in Black – opened 15 February 1989 at the Strand Theatre, later moving to the Fortune Theatre – 23rd year
• Cats – opened 11 May 1981 at the New London Theatre and closed 11 May 2002 on its 21st anniversary
• Starlight Express – opened 27 March 1984 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre and closed 12 January 2002 – 17 years
• No Sex Please, We're British – opened 3 June 1971 at the Strand Theatre and closed 16 January 1987 – 16 years
• Chicago – opened 18 November 1997 at the Adelphi Theatre, transferring later to the Cambridge Theatre and the Garrick Theatre and closed 1 September 2012 – 15 years
• Mamma Mia! – opened 6 April 1999 at the Prince Edward Theatre, moving later to the Prince of Wales Theatre and now at the Novello Theatre – 13th year
• The Lion King – opened 19 October 1999 at the Lyceum Theatre – 13th year
• Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story – opened 12 October 1989 at the Victoria Palace Theatre, transferred to the Strand Theatre in October 1995 and closed 19 May 2002 – 12 years
• We Will Rock You – opened 14 May 2002 at the Dominion Theatre – 10th year
• Stomp – opened 25 September 2002 at the Vaudeville Theatre, later transferring to the Ambassadors Theatre – 10th year
• The Black and White Minstrel Show – opened in 1962 at the Victoria Palace Theatre and closed about 1972 – 10 years
• Miss Saigon – opened 20 September 1989 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and closed 30 October 1999 – 10 years
• Jesus Christ Superstar – opened 9 August 1972 at the Palace Theatre and closed about 1980 – 8 years
• Me and My Girl (revival) – opened 12 February 1985 at the Adelphi Theatre and closed 16 January 1993 – 8 years
• Billy Elliot the Musical – opened May 2005 at the Victoria Palace Theatre – 7th year
• Evita – opened 21 January 1978 at the Prince Edward Theatre and closed on 8 February 1986 – 7 years
• There's a Girl in My Soup – opened June 1966 at the Globe Theatre. Closed in 1973 after over a thousand performances – 6½ years
• Wicked – opened 27 September 2006 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre – 6th year
• The 39 Steps – opened 30 September 2006 at the Criterion Theatre – 6th year
• Oliver! – opened 30 June 1960 at the New Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre) and closed about 1966 – 6 years