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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
Which UK venue has the widest proscenium opening?
- Barbican Theatre: 16.5m (maximum)
- Exeter Northcott: 15.63m (with no false proscenium masking), 12.23m with standard false proscenium.
- London Coliseum: 15.24m wide
- Edinburgh Playhouse: 14.98m
- Liverpool Empire: 14.63m
- Lyric Theatre, The Lowry, Salford: 14.5m
- Bristol Hippodrome: 14.36m adjustable
- London Palladium: 14.33m
- Apollo Victoria: 14.02m
- Blackpool Opera House: 13.72m
- Theatre Royal Drury Lane: 12.8m
- Birmingham Hippodrome: 12.79m
- Royal Opera House: 12.2m wide
- Theatr Clwyd, Mold: 10.65m
- Adelphi Theatre, London: 10.5m
How about the tallest? (Height from stage to grid)
- Royal Opera House: 37m
- Barbican Theatre London: 33.5m
- Birmingham Hippodrome: 21.95m
- London Coliseum: 21.33m
- Apollo Victoria: 21.64m
- Theatre Royal Drury Lane: 21.3m
- Bristol Hippodrome: 20.12m
- Theatr Clwyd, Mold: 18.48m
- Adelphi Theatre, London: 18.03m
- London Palladium: 16.76m
- Exeter Northcott: 14.63m
Where is the oldest stage machinery still in operation?
Drottningholm Court Theatre, Sweden (1766)
Which has the most trapdoors?
Revolving stages
- London Coliseum – first in Britain. Installed in 1904, and composed of three concentric rings which could move in either direction. Cost £70,000.
The largest stage lift?
- Royal Opera House, London
- Radio City Music Hall, New York
The most adaptable space?
How about international venues?
Proscenium Opening:
- Gershwin Theatre, Broadway, NY, USA: 19.81m
Largest Seating Capacity
- Gershwin Theatre, Broadway, NY, USA:1933 seats
Smallest Proscenium Theatre
Sources: Guinness Book of Theatre Facts and Feats, 1982
Many thanks to Mark Lovell for additions, 2021