One of the more popular walking tours in the city’s West End, where all of the most famous theatres can be found, is the Theatre-Land tour. This is organized by The Society of London Theatre, and offers a unique look at the city’s most prized theatre district. You’ll get a look at the architecture of the large venues, hear about the history and myths surrounding the theatres, and even find some of the lesser known gems hidden in the side streets of London. What better way to experience this area than through a guided, leisurely walking tour?

Other tours include a Shakespeare centric walking tour, that covers different aspects of his life, and his work. Tours of the theatres themselves can also be found, which offers you an exclusive, back stage pass to the most historic and beloved venues in the city. Hear the history, share in the gossip, and experience the theatre in a whole new way. The National Theatre, as well as Shakespeare’s Globe can be toured, which are two of the most popular theatres in the city, and have work recognition for their history and shows. If you’re a fan of the theatre, this is a chance for you to see it in a whole new light.

London is host to thousands of venues, big and small, spread throughout the city. From large scale productions, to cozy little theatres, you will have your choice of ticket prices and performances. When you’re ready to book a show, you’ll have a few methods to choose from. Here are just a few of your options.

Online booking agents are easily one of the most popular choices for ticket purchases of any kind. You can easily browse through the latest show times, the hottest performances, and best seating in the house. The one thing to keep in mind when going with an online booking agent is to make sure they are apart of a reputable agency. This method is ideal if you are visiting London on holiday, and need to book your tickets before arriving.

Booking tickets by phone, via the theatre’s box office is another option. Though you may be subject to extra fees for booking directly with the theatre itself, especially long distance charges if you’re calling outside the country, which makes it difficult for travelers planning in advance.

Last minute tickets can be purchased in person, near the venues themselves, at a box office that offers a variety of seats. This is perfect for those who want to catch a show without any plans, as you can still get ahold of tickets the day of.

The result was one that the critics didn’t like at first, but that received the general praise of the public – the greatest reward a musical can get. “We Will Rock You” tells the story of a future dystopian society where Rock music has been lost, and the struggle of one man to bring back the spirit of Rock. Sounds like it’s a bit cliché, but the message that is passed through the story and the amazing songs is one that has spoken to many people.

The show opened at London’s famous West End Theater, one of the biggest venues in town, in 2002. And despite what the critics had to say about it at first, it is still going strong. It is, in fact, the longest musical to run in that theater, a feat that’s far from easy to achieve. And it may remain so for quite some time. In fact, the musical will still be on during 2011 and there is no official date for it to stop running. Adding to the success, several international adaptations have already been made in countries such as Russia, Australia, the United states and even Japan and Spain, along with a tour of the United Kingdom.

The place to be in London for entertainment is the West End. This area, near Leicester Square more specifically, is the entertainment hot spot in the city. All productions here are high end and on a large scale, which can also mean ticket prices can be expensive. However, depending on a few key aspects, you can find tickets that are very affordable as well. For example, the day of the week, or the venue, can heavily affect the ticket price. All of the most successful plays in the city are performed in this area, and you shouldn’t be surprised to see some big celebrity names on stage.

In other parts of town, you can also find the National Theatre, which offers some unique and offbeat plays by often unknown writers. In addition, there is the Shakespeare Globe Theatre as well, which of course offers Shakespeare’s work, among other presentations.

For smaller venues, you have your choice of theatres spread through out town. The size can range from seating for mere fifty, to five hundred, depending on the location. These places often feature low ticket prices, and at the same time offer fantastic performances and shows. No matter what your interests may be, you can find the cozy, or large scale venue and production of your choice, and at a price you can handle.

Nowadays the purchase of tickets can all be done online, and it has simplified the process to a great extent. Selling the tickets online gives the ticket sellers much needed control over the ticket sales because it’s not just a simple cash interaction. The buyer must provide some of his or hers personal data and that makes the sale definitely more trustworthy. It also helps with organizing ticket sales and overall seating. Instead of a ticket stub sold at the theater you have a computer system that organizes people in their seats, which is great when dealing with excursions, for example. It has also revolutionized the last minute sales market. Setting up last minutes ticket sales on a website means that the people can look it up at any time and probably find some good last minute deals. There’s even the chance of setting up an alarm system that tells you when tickets for the show you want to watch becomes available.

The story is adapted from a movie of the same name, itself adapted from a book named “The Stars Look Down”. People who have already watched the musical will by now have recognized the title of the novel as the same as the musical’s opening number: this was a nudge by musical to that wonderful piece of literature.

The storyline follows the life of Billy Elliot, a boy that lost his mother. His father’s greatest wish is that he becomes as established boxer, and he seems to be a natural at it. But his true passion is ballet dancing, and he has to struggle with the indecision between pleasing his father and pleasing his own heart. The backdrop of the story is the 1984-85 coal miners’ strike, something that has shaken the core of British society at the time, with violent clashes between the miners and the police.

The musical itself has been playing in London’s West End since 2005, and is still running strong. Its success has lead to productions being made in Sydney, Melbourne, Seoul and, of course, Broadway, as well as successful tours. Adding to the general wave of praise that the musical gets are nominations to nine 2006 Laurence Olivier Awards, of which it won four, including Best New Musical. The Broadway production received 15 Tony Award nominations, making it the most nominated musical ever, along with The Producers. Out of these 15 nominations, it won 10 awards, including best musical. Truly a modern day grand musical and more than worth watching if you are around London.

And recent years have brought about forms of entertainment that seem to pick up on the limitations of the stage and turn in a lot more entertainment possibilities. We’re talking, of course, of film and television. So why is the theater still popular, and understood as a medium of its own, while television and cinema are seen as something that complements each other? Perhaps the explanation resides on the words of one of theater’s greatest men, and an example of how timeless a theater play can be: William Shakespeare. His play “As You Like It” may not be as famous as his historical plays or “Romeo and Juliet” or “Much Ado About Nothing”, but it will forever be famous by one particular sentence: “All the world’s a stage / and the men and women merely players”. This is perhaps why we enjoy theater so much: because we are, ourselves, actors in our own stage – our lives. And theater speaks to the soul in a way that movies and television often don’t, its aim often to enlighten and to arouse thought as well as entertain. And theater has a way of re-inventing itself like no other genre can, something that may see this stuffy old way of telling a story endure and succeed for years to come.

When considering watching a show in Theatreland there is a lot that needs to be considered. Going there by yourself or with your family is relatively straightforward, but the more people involved the harder it gets to pick a play that everyone will enjoy. At this time, old favorites like Chicago, the Phantom of the Opera, Grease and Les Miserables are playing at theaters there, alongside new musicals like Billy Elliot, Dirty Dancing, We Will Rock You, The Lion King and Mamma Mia!. So, in the matter of musicals that people have easily heard about alone, the choices are already many. If you add to that all the upcoming and less known musicals being played there, then you’ve got yourself a list that may be too big to navigate.

The final choice will never be easy, and what people tend to do is let each individual decide. It’s relatively easy to find tickets online, especially if you book early, and so people can simply go out and enjoy whatever they like. As long as everyone gets to enjoy a musical of their choice, they will all be happy, and you can share experiences later.

Controversy has spanned through the entire life of Michael Jackson, but the musical only tries to convey the idea of how talented of a performer he was from a very early stage until his late years and how effective of an entertainer he was also. When the greatest criticism given to a musical is that it is “maybe” a bit too long, then you know that you are in for a good show.

Casting for a show like this, as you can surely imagine, was not easy. It wouldn’t be realistic to have one performer singing all the songs in a show that spans across the singer’s 30 years of show business history. In fact, a total of six people were cast to play the singer, in a total cast of 21 members. The musical also hosts, naturally, a very talented band.

People looking to see a faithful rendition of Jackson’s music may be disappointed with this show. What is conveyed is a celebration of his work. The dance routines and the singing are made not to directly impersonate Michael Jackson, but to pay homage to his career. But if there’s one thing that anyone can agree on is that this musical has incredible energy. You can feel that all performers and dancers love the work of Michael Jackson and they perform to their limit. Fans of the singer will enjoy reliving old classics such as Beat It, Smooth Criminal, Billie Jean, among many others. And it’s something that can appeal to the younger generations as well.

But this would not be the end of The Globe. Its role in English history and its pull on the collective imagination of its people were too great to let a theater like this be forgotten. But it was the actions of one man – actor, director and producer Sam Wannamaker, who was also a great admirer of the works of William Shakespeare – that would ultimately see the theater brought back to its glory. In 1970, Sam Wannamaker launched the Shakespeare Globe Trust, which would go on to gather over 10 million dollars towards the building project. Thanks to his efforts, the Globe Theater has now been rebuilt close to its original site and following plans that are as historically accurate as possible.

Sadly, Sam Wannamaker wouldn’t live long enough to see his dream come true, for he died in 1993. But in 1997 the new Globe Theater was opened in a ceremony presided by none other than Queen Elizabeth II.