The Lives of Others

The Adelphi Theatre is a well-known West End venue in London, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The building you see today is the fourth to exist on the spot. The theatre specialises in musicals and comedy. With 1,500 seats, it is one of the biggest theatres in London, and was designated a Grade II listed building on 1st December 1987.

Businessman John Scott and his daughter Jane founded the venue, and it was then called the “Sans Pareil” (Without Compare). John’s main idea was to showcase his daughter’s skills, and she was indeed very talented! Jane worked as a playwright, performer, and theatre manager and together they ran the theatre until Jane’s retirement in 1819.

The History of the Adelphi Theatre

Andrew Lloyd Webber is the current co-owner of the Adelphi Theatre. He bought the theatre in 1993 and renovated it before the world premiere of Sunset Boulevard, starring Patti LuPone. Subsequently, the venue also hosted the revivals of Evita (2006), Joseph And The Technicolor Dreamcoat (2007) and the World Premiere of Love Never Dies (2010).

Along with Lloyd Webber’s successful musicals, the theatre hosted  the Olivier-winning Chicago (November 1997) which became the longest-running production in its history and also the longest-running American musical on the West End. Hits at the Adelphi didn’t cease; in 2011, it hosted the highly successful One Man, Two Guvnors and later, in 2012, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, before the hugely successful Kinky Boots took up residence_._

The musical Waitress opened at the theatre in March 2019, and was then followed by the venue’s current occupant, Back to the Future: The Musical.

Where is the Adelphi Theatre

The Adelphi Theatre is located on the Strand, WC2R 0NS. It is a 5 minute walk from Trafalgar Square and a 3 minute walk away from the Savoy Hotel. 

Adelphi Theatre Nearest Train Station

The Adelphi Theatre is located a 4 minute walk away from Charing Cross Station and a 17 minute walk away from London Waterloo Train station.

Adelphi Theatre Nearest Tube Station

Charing Cross Underground (Bakerloo and Northern lines) is a 4 minute walk from the Adelphi Theatre and Embankment (Bakerloo, Northern and District lines) is a 5 minute walk away.

Buses to the Adelphi Theatre

The following buses have routes that pass near Adelphi Theatre; 139, 176, 26, 9, 91, N9, 15, N15, N21, N5, N20, 24, 29, N29.

Adelphi Theatre Seating Plan

The Adelphi Theatre has a capacity of 1,400. The seats are spread across three levels: Stalls, Dress Circle, and Upper Circle.

Adelphi Theatre Accessibility

The Adelphi Theatre has step free access to the theatre foyer and Stalls. The Stalls boasts two dedicated wheelchair spaces in Row X. In addition, any aisle seat in the Stalls can be used for customers who wish to transfer from their wheelchair to a seat. However, the Dress Circle and Upper Circle can only be accessed via stairs. There are 41 steps to the Dress Circle from the ground floor and 71 steps to the Upper Circle from the ground floor.

Trained access hosts are available to assist visually impaired customers throughout their visit, if required. For deaf or hearing-impaired patrons an Infa-Red audio enhancement system is available. Headsets and hearing aid loops for this are available from the cloakroom in the main foyer. The theatre also hosts periodic accessible performances including Audio-described, Captioned, BSL Interpreted and Relaxed performances.

Adelphi Theatre Safety Policy

The Adelphi Theatre has a range of robust security measures in place for the protection of theatregoers and employees. Their procedures have been developed over a number of years with the police and our security services provider, Pace Prestige Services, and remain under constant review.

You will need to go through a bag check before entering the venue. This is to ensure prohibited items are not brought into the venue. Prohibited items include alcoholic drinks, personal protection sprays/mace, laser pointers and sharp objects.

Adelphi Theatre Dress Code

The Adelphi Theatre doesn't require a specific dress code, and most theatregoers wear their everyday clothes. But that doesn’t mean you can’t dress up if you want to! Take a look at our guide to dressing for the theatre for more information. 

Recent Productions

• Derren Brown: Enigma (15th June 2009 – 23rd July 2009)
• The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas (24th September 2009 – 2nd January 2010)
• Love Never Dies (9th March 2010 – 27th August 2011)
• The Bodyguard, featuring the music of Whitney Houston  (6th November 2012 – 29th August 2014)
• Made In Dagenham, based on the British film (5th November 2014 – 11th April 2015)
• Kinky Boots (21st August 2015 – 12th January 2019)
• Waitress (8th February 2019 – 13 March 2020)
• Back to the Future: The Musical (21st September, 2021 – present)