Shaftesbury Theatre Announces Next Phase of Refurbishment
London – November 4, 2025 -- Eleanor Lang, Chief Executive of Shaftesbury Theatre—the largest independent theatre in the West End—today announces the next phase of scheduled refurbishment, which will begin from February 2026 through to early 2027. The theatre will remain open during this period, performing to two levels while the work is carried out.
Previously, the Shaftesbury Theatre has undergone work primarily to upgrade areas of the original building for a modern audience and modern productions. This included, in 2016, a new RIBA award-winning fly tower constructed above the original theatre, allowing for greater loading on the grid as well as providing additional backstage space. Between 2020 and 2023, the theatre undertook a major expansion of its front-of-house areas—building a new stalls bar beneath the pavement outside the theatre, improving accessibility to the Stalls, increasing the number of toilets, and creating two new hospitality rooms.
This next phase of renovation will include restoration of the theatre’s ornate dome in the auditorium, featuring a newly commissioned painting inspired by the original, renewal of some of the unique decorative designs, and further auditorium redecoration and recarpeting. Additional improvements will include enhanced backstage areas, auditorium ventilation, and increased accessibility in the foyer.
The Shaftesbury Theatre, built in 1911, was the first steel-frame theatre in the West End. It is a Grade II listed building and remains the only London theatre with a dome that opens.
Chief Executive Eleanor Lang said:
“We are delighted to be continuing our work to ensure the Shaftesbury Theatre remains a beautiful theatre in the West End—a wonderful place for audiences to come and a good home for world-class theatre. We are so fortunate that DLT, the owners of the Shaftesbury, continue to reinvest in the building, allowing us to be custodians of the theatre and ensure its survival for future generations. We look forward to welcoming audiences throughout 2026, and showing off our lovingly rejuvenated dome ceiling in 2027.”
Chairman Donald Taffner Jr. added:
“We remain committed to restoring and improving the Shaftesbury Theatre for audiences for years to come. The theatre is a much-loved part of the DLT portfolio, and we are proud to be able to support its continued development.”
Recent productions at the theatre include & Juliet, Mrs Doubtfire, and the currently running Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical, which plays until 7 February 2026. Programming for 2026 will be announced in due course.
The Shaftesbury Theatre is owned by DLT Entertainment.
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Further information:
Nikki Murray, on behalf of DLT Entertainment: nikki.murray@premiercomms.com | +44 (0) 20 7292 5094
Emily Souders, Riot Communications: emily@riotcommunications.com | +44 (0) 7732 646145
NOTES TO EDITORS
Shaftesbury Theatre:
The Shaftesbury Theatre is the largest independent theatre in the West End and is owned by parent company DLT Entertainment, an international entertainment company engaged in a broad range of television production and distribution, talent agencies, and live performance.
The theatre, commissioned by Frederick and Walter Melville, was designed by Bertie Crewe and opened in 1911 as the New Princes Theatre. Originally specialising in melodrama, the early years saw a wide variety of productions including a series of Gilbert & Sullivan productions and Fred and Adele Astaire in Funny Face.
In 1962 the theatre changed its name to the Shaftesbury Theatre, and later Hair opened, running for just under 2,000 performances. In 1983, Ray Cooney leased the Shaftesbury Theatre as a home for his company, the Theatre of Comedy, aiming to produce the very best comedy in the West End. Successes included Run for Your Wife and Two in One. In 1986, Don Taffner of DLT Entertainment bought shares in the theatre, and later DLT Entertainment became sole owners.
Over the past twenty years, the Shaftesbury Theatre has welcomed countless Tony Award and Olivier Award-winning productions to the West End. Recent successes have included musicals Hairspray, Memphis, Motown: The Musical, & Juliet and Mrs Doubtfire.
Under James Williams’ leadership as Chief Executive, the theatre underwent significant upgrades to make the venue fit for the 21st century, including adding a new RIBA award-winning fly tower and additional public spaces.
In 2022, the Shaftesbury Theatre entered into an agreement with Jamie Wilson Productions and the US production company Alchemation for them to become the principal producer of the theatre. Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical is currently playing until 7 February 2026.
In 2024, Eleanor Lang took over as Chief Executive to continue the theatre’s commitment to welcoming audiences and to preserving and improving the building.
About DLT Entertainment:
Production activities expanded through an investment in Mark Watson’s Impatient Productions and the acquisition of Vera Productions whose productions include Getting On, Bremner, Bird, Fortune, and numerous Dispatches Including The King, The Prince and Their Secret Millions. In 1986 DLT expanded into stage production in the US and in the UK, where it owns and manages London’s Shaftesbury Theatre, the London home of Mrs. Doubtfire, The Musical opening in May Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical. Later, DLT added talent representation to its portfolio with ownership positions in Milburn Browning Associates, The Soho Agency, Blue Book Artist Management, The Galton Agency, Bedford Square Voices and Gag Reflex.
2020 saw the creation of an audio division with the release of Very Modern Quests starring Alice Levine's for Audible, DLT recently for BBC Radio 4 / BBC Sounds Time of The Week, created by award-winning comedian Lorna Rose Treen and Jonathan Oldfield and starring BAFTA award winner Sian Clifford and The Many Wrongs Of Christian Brighty featuring Jessica Knappett, Colin McFarlane and Christian Brighty.
DLT has expanded its commitment to comedy by sponsoring this year’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards for a third year