5 Awesome Theatres in London

by Heather on April 16, 2012

It does not matter for what reason you’re visiting London; do take your time out in exploring some of the best theatres present here. This city has got plenty of theatres to its credit and each of them has got their own identity. Most of these places of entertainment are dotted all across West End of London and only a taxi ride away.  However, rest of these theatres can be found elsewhere in the city. Given below are some of the best theatres in London. Make sure you visit them while you’re in London. Check out the latest  listings with the Time Out theatre guide

1. Shaftesbury Theatre

This is one of the theatres located in the West End of London. The theatre was designed by Bertie Crewe for Frederick and Walter Melville. This theatre was inaugurated in 1911 and had a seating capacity of 2,392 to begin with. However, over the years, the capacity has got reduced and is currently at 1,400. In 1914, the theatre got renamed as the Prince’s Theatre. Since 1984, the theatre has been owned by The Theatre of Comedy Company. An internal refurbishment was recently carried out on the theatre.

2. Palace Theatre

Located in the City of Westminster region of London, Palace Theatre is one of the oldest places for entertainment in the city. The magnificent and imposing red building virtually dominates the area of Cambridge Circus in the West End theatre area. This theatre is located on the intersection of Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue. This four level theatre has a seating capacity of 1,400. The theatre was commissioned by Richard D’Oyly Carte. The designing of the theatre was carried out by Thomas Edward Collcutt.

3. The Royal National Theatre

This popular theatre is also known as The National and as the National Theatre. This is one of the two publicly funded entertainment places in the United Kingdom. The theatre was opened for the general public in 1976. In fact, the company was initially located at Waterloo. The building as we see it today was designed by Peter Softley and Sir Denys Lasdun and has three different stages in it. Each of the auditoriums present in this theatre can support three different shows.

4. Royal Court Theatre

This theatre that can be located on Sloane Square is a non-commercial one. The contribution made by the Royal Court Theatre to the modern theatre is immense. It was acquired by the English Stage Company in 1956. The capacity of the theatre upstairs is 85 and at Downstairs 380. When the theatre was opened in 1870, it was known as New Chelsea Theatre. The following year it was called as Belgravia Theatre. The fine red brick theatre building was designed by Bertie Crewe and Walter Emden.

5. Lyceum Theatre

This theatre can be located at the Westminster area of London and is owned by Ambassador Theatre Group. Samuel Beazley was the main architect of this theatre that has three different levels in it. The total seating capacity is 2,100. The theatre was opened for the general public in 1834. Covent Garden is the nearest underground station for this theatre.

 

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London by Taxi

by Heather on April 8, 2012

 

The City of London is a vast place with so many attractions to see and places of interest to visit, sometimes it is difficult to fit everything in on a visit to England’s great Capitol.

There is a variety of ways in which to discover London including:

• Tube – A good, cheap way to travel around London, but because of the tube being underground, tourists may miss out on a host of interesting architecture, sights and sounds that can be seen all over the City. If you plan to use the tube a lot, don’t forget your Oyster card!

• Bus – Again, a reasonably priced option for travelling and visitors will be able to take in the splendour of the City on single or double decker buses. However the buses are not flexible so visitors may have to go slightly out of their way sometimes in order to get to where they are going.

• Walking – A great way to enjoy London, although a map will be needed to make sure visitors do not get lost within the bustling City Centre and also, if on a tight schedule, walking will not allow all of the sights to be seen.

One of the best and most favoured ways to enjoy the sights of London is by taxi. Taxis have been around since the original days of the horse drawn Hackney Cabs and have remained one of the most popular ways in which to see the City.

london taxi

With the growth of the City has evolved the growth in responsibility for the taxi driver. All London taxi drivers take an extremely difficult exam entitled “The knowledge” before they gain their licence.

Benefits of London by Taxi

There are many benefits to be had by using taxis as the main mode of transport to see the sights in London.

• Comfort – Taxis are by far the comfiest form of transport compared to buses and trains. After hours of shopping of walking around museums and art galleries, the last thing visitors will feel like doing is squeezing themselves onto an overcrowded tube or bus.

• Air conditioning – If it’s cold outside, the taxi drivers will have the heating on to keep the cab nice and cosy. Perhaps more importantly though, if it is hot, the windows can be opened and the air conditioning can be turned on fully. This is not an option available for public transport and they can become quite uncomfortable.

• Convenience – Without any effort at all, people can step out of the door of their hotel, into a taxi and be dropped off at the exact location they are going to. They can do this as many times as they want with little fuss and as long as they remember the name of the hotel, they will never need to carry a map!

• Speed – Taxi drivers call on their wide expanse of knowledge of every street and alley in London to be able to transport their customers in the quickest time possible.

• Experience – The very of experience of being in one of London’s iconic black cab’s is worthwhile in itself. These Cabs form part of the rich tapestry which makes up the history of the City.

 

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