How to Get to the Gielgud Theatre

Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 6AR, on the corner of Rupert Street, with Soho to the north and Chinatown a couple of streets south.

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Nearest tube station

Piccadilly Circus (Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines) is two minutes away and the one to use. Walk up Shaftesbury Avenue and the theatre is on your left, on the corner of Rupert Street. Leicester Square (Northern and Piccadilly lines) is about five minutes. Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern lines) is ten to fifteen minutes.

By train and on foot

Charing Cross is the nearest mainline station, ten to fifteen minutes' walk, with National Rail services across Kent and South East London. Walking from Covent Garden takes about ten minutes.

Buses to the Gielgud Theatre

The nearest stop is Trocadero / Haymarket (Stop K), just outside on Shaftesbury Avenue. Most other routes stop at Piccadilly Circus, three or four minutes away.

• From North London: the 19 (Finsbury Park, Highbury and Angel) stops outside. The 88 (Camden Town), 139 (Golders Green and Baker Street) and 453 (Marylebone) stop at Piccadilly Circus, and the 24 and 29 (Camden Town) at Leicester Square station.
• From West London: the 14 (Putney, Fulham and South Kensington) stops a minute away, and the 9 (Hammersmith and Knightsbridge), 23 (Paddington and Marble Arch) and 94 (Shepherd's Bush and Notting Hill) at Piccadilly Circus.
• From South London: the 12 (Camberwell), 88 (Clapham), 159 (Brixton) and 453 (New Cross) stop at Regent Street / St James's and Piccadilly Circus, and the 24 (Victoria) and 176 (Elephant & Castle and Waterloo) at Leicester Square station. From Waterloo, the 139 as well.
• From Bloomsbury: the 14 from Russell Square stops outside.

Late at night, the N19 stops on Shaftesbury Avenue, and the N9, N15, N18, N109, N113 and N136 are among the night routes at Piccadilly Circus.

Parking near the Gielgud Theatre

There's no parking at the theatre, but three car parks are about five minutes' walk away:

• Q-Park Chinatown, with EV charging
• Q-Park Leicester Square, with EV charging
• NCP London Soho, Brewer Street, open 24 hours, but with only 20 spaces

Book a space ahead if you can.

You are inside the Congestion Charge zone. It costs £18 a day. On weekdays it runs from 7am to 6pm, at weekends from midday to 6pm, so a matinee is inside it and an evening performance isn't. ULEZ is a separate charge that runs at all hours, and it applies only to vehicles that don't meet the emissions standards.

For a drop-off or a taxi, pull up on Shaftesbury Avenue or just round the corner on Rupert Street. Blue Badge bays are nearby on Archer Street and Rupert Street. The nearest taxi rank is at Charing Cross, so hailing a black cab on Shaftesbury Avenue is usually quicker.

What time to arrive

Arrive 15 to 20 minutes before the show, no later. There are bag checks on the way in, and the bars and foyers open about 45 minutes before the performance.

Arrive late and staff may keep you waiting until a suitable break in the performance. Oliver! opens in the workhouse with Food, Glorious Food, so that is the first thing a late arrival misses, and the production doesn't publish when latecomers are let in.