The present home of Billy Elliot the Musical, the Victoria Palace Theatre has existed in some form on the present site since 1832 when it was known under the name of Moy’s Music Hall, becoming the Royal Standard Music Hall in 1863. In 1886 the building was demolished and rebuilt to match the innovations that were occurring in the local area with the introduction of the railways and the arrival of Victoria Station as a major transport hub. The theatre retained its Royal Standard name until 1910, when it was knocked down and rebuilt yet again to incorporate electricity and modern touches like a sliding roof under the direction of architect Frank Matcham. The new, and for the time hugely expensive theatre costing £12,000 to update, opened under the name of the Victoria Palace Theatre in 1911; aside from some necessary restorations, the theatre you see today with its gold mosaics and marble pillars is much the same building as the one that opened a century ago. The only notable addition is that of a gilded statue of ballerina Anna Pavlova to the cupola of the theatre – this was taken down in 1939 and lost, so the current version is a replica.

Over the decades the Victoria Palace Theatre has hosted a number of diverse productions in-keeping with its changing character. The origins of the theatre were firmly in the music hall, and consequently the theatre put on all the best variety and revue acts in its opening years. The slight drawback of this was that following productions were not taken very seriously; perhaps the best example of this is in 1934 play, Young England, which had such bad reviews that it became a cult hit and played 278 performances to packed audiences totalling more than a quarter of a million people! After this interesting start to more serious shows, the theatre enjoyed successes with the original London production of Me and My Girl (1937), further variety acts, The Black and White Minstrel Show (1960-72), The Little Foxes starring Elizabeth Taylor (1982), and Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story (1989-95).

In more recent years the theatre has focused more on musicals, with Fame, The Rocky Horror Show, Kiss Me Kate, Grease and the Rod Stewart musical all hitting the stage. The current production of Billy Elliot has been running since 2005 to great critical and public acclaim.

At Victoria Palace Theatre.org we provide a guide to the current show, Billy Elliot the Musical, including reviews and videos. We also describe the location of the theatre, including a map of the area, the seating layout and the best seats available, details on how to buy Billy Elliot tickets and information on hotels and restaurants near the Victoria Palace Theatre.