Venue Sizes – The Theatrecrafts Book Of Records

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At the moment, we’re concentrating on UK venues

London Coliseum during charity song cycle (photo by Richard Hubert Smith)

Which UK venue has the deepest stage?

London Coliseum: 28.04m
Theatre Royal Drury Lane: 24.4m
Royal Opera House: 24m
Birmingham Hippodrome: 20.73m
Blackpool Opera House: 18.288m
Bristol Hippodrome: 18.28m
Theatr Clwyd, Mold: 15.57m (from back wall to front of forestage)
London Palladium: 14.33m
Barbican Theatre London: 13.5m (maximum)
Edinburgh Playhouse: c.13m
Adelphi Theatre, London: 12.3m
Lyric Theatre, The Lowry, Salford: 10.2m
Exeter Northcott: 9.62m (from back wall to upstage edge of orchestra lift)
Apollo Victoria: 7.32m

Blackpool Opera House

Which UK venue has the most seats?

Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith: 3311 or 3655 seats on 2 tiers (to be confirmed)
Edinburgh Playhouse: 3059 seats
Blackpool Opera House: 2813 seats on 3 tiers
Mayflower Theatre, Southampton: 2703 seats
Globe Theatre, Stockton on Tees: 2429 seats
London Coliseum: 2358 seats on 4 tiers (largest theatre in London)
London Palladium: 2286 seats
Royal Opera House, London: 2268 seats
Theatre Royal Drury Lane: 2196 seats
Dominion Theatre, London: 2007 seats
Lyceum Theatre, London: 2000 seats
Edinburgh Festival Theatre: 1915 seats
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff: 1850 seats
Apollo Theatre, Oxford: 1826 seats
Prince Edward Theatre, London: 1619 seats
Royal Court Liverpool: 1612 seats
Sadler’s Wells, London: 1568 seats
Victoria Palace Theatre, London: 1550 seats
Leeds Grand Theatre: 1550 seats
Theatre Royal, Glasgow: 1547 seats
Derngate Theatre, Northampton: 1500 seats
Adelphi Theatre, London: 1486 seats
Milton Keynes Theatre: 1400 seats
Palace Theatre, London: 1400 seats
Kings Theatre, Edinburgh: 1350 seats
Theatre Royal, Norwich: 1312 seats
Shaftesbury Theatre, London: 1305 seats
Theatre Royal, Newcastle On Tyne: 1294 seats
Cambridge Theatre, London: 1283 seats
Glyndebourne Festival Theatre, Lewes: 1242 seats
Piccadilly Theatre, London: 1232 seats
Her Majestys Theatre, London: 1210 seats
Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury: 1200 seats
New Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury: 1196 seats (Main Space)
Theatre Royal, Nottingham: 1186 seats
Barbican Theatre: 1150 seats on 4 tiers

How about the fewest seats?

The Arts Theatre is the smallest commercial theatre in the West End of London, at around 350 seats.

The Donmar Warehouse is the smallest West End producing house in London, at 251 seats plus room for 20 standing.

Pub Theatres around the UK often have small capacities. Theatre503 at The Latchmere pub seats 63, The Hen & Chickens pub Theatre has seats for 54, the Finborough Theatre in Brompton seats 50 and the EtCetera Theatre at the Oxford Arms in Camden seats 42.

The Theatre of Small Convenience in Malvern, England, UK is the worlds’ smallest commercial theatre, with up to 12 seats. It is a converted public convenience.

There’s a list of London’s Smallest Theatres here.

Internationally, the Teatro della Concordia in Italy is the smallest Italian-style theatre in the world, at just 99 seats.