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- Runs of several thousand performances were familiar in West End theatres in the 21st century. The closure of London theatres in the Covid-19 pandemic halted the continuous runs of eight shows that had been running for more than 4,000 performances. Such long runs were a phenomenon not seen before the late 20th century: in earlier years, much shorter runs were the norm, even for shows considered great successes. The ballad opera The Beggar's Opera ran for 62 performances in 1728, and held the record for London's longest run for nearly a century. Another musical show, Tom and Jerry, or Life in London (1821), was the first production to reach 100 consecutive performances. In the second half of the 19th century longer runs became familiar. The 1860s saw the first production to reach 300 performances, and in the 1870s came the first runs in excess of 1,000. Among them was the farce Charley's Aunt, which ran for 1,466 performances, a record that remained unbroken for 25 years. The upward trend continued in the 20th century. The first show to reach 2,000 performances was Chu Chin Chow which opened in 1916. It held the record for London's longest run until 1958. By far the West End's longest run is that of the murder mystery The Mousetrap, by Agatha Christie. It opened in 1952 and by 1958 was the longest-running stage work seen in London; it was still running in 2020 when the theatres closed. Its record of more than 28,000 continuous performances has not been rivalled by any other production. London's second-longest-running show, and longest-running musical, Les Misérables, totalled 14,156 performances during its run from 1985 to 2020. (en)
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