Theater dress in London's West End

Anything, basically, unless the performance is at one of the 'premier' venues (eg Royal Opera House or during a particular season (maybe Xmas or Last Night of the Proms), when a smarter code (no jeans or t-shirts for instance) might be preferable. Most of the time though, if you aim for 'middle of the road' attire you'll be fine. Jeans and t-shirts are generally no problem either. Don't bother to pack special clothes unless you want to make a sartorial statement :-)

Just about anything they want. And that's not a sarcastic reply - it's the truth. If you want to dress up, you can. But you will see the same variety you see on London streets. So, there's no need to bring special clothes, or even to wear your best stuff that day, just because you're going to the theater. Whatever you're wearing for the rest of your theater day or evening is fine.

Edit: Cross-posting with Mark, but as you see, we said the same thing.

In the past, in repertory theaters like the National, I felt many locals were in business attire, as they probably had just come from work. Other theaters have a higher proportion or tourists in tourist attire. Everyone's getting more casual these days. Any clothes I'm wearing around the city have always been fine for the theater.

I was VERY surprised to see teeshirts, shorts, sleeveless shirts ( on ladies, did not see 'wifebeaters' on any men) at two theatres last month. It was warm in the 'airconditioned' theatres and my sons were not comfortable in polo shirts and dark trousers. I drank 2 bottles of cold water during intermission. Much more casual than I have ever seen- must have been tourists. There were some adults well attired in sports jackets and some young men in summertime plaids with long sleeves.

I was also very surprised at the casual clothing that people wore to the theatre in London.
Lot of jeans, very casual shirts - t-shirts, etc.
Even flip flop shoes !!!

People wearing T-shirts or sleeveless tops in London theatres are very likely to be locals, not tourists. Seriously, apart from possibly the Royal Opera House, nobody dresses up specially for the theatre nowadays.

London's magnificent theatre industry depends, particularly in the West End, on tourist dollars. That's no knock, simply a financial fact of life. So wear what makes you comfortable, as long as you feed the boxoffice. And if you feel Shakespeare deserves a bit more sartorial effort, then that will please you too. A more rewarding challenge is to do some research and go to see something more distinctively English, rather than international mega-musicals which may eventually tour to a theatre near you back home.