Why West End's biggest stars are drawn to the East

London's Chinatown is in the middle of the British capital city, but it is also at the heart of another very distinctive city within a city: Theatreland.

What is collectively known as the West End comprises many venues across central London, but three of the most theater-packed roads, Shaftesbury Avenue, Charing Cross Road and St Martin's Lane, run close to Chinatown and are also financial arteries for London's tourist economy.

According to trade association the Society of London Theatre, for every one pound ($1.33) spent on a ticket, an additional 1.27 pounds are spent at local businesses such as hotels and restaurants, and with 17.1 million people attending West End shows in 2024, the West End's economic contribution to city life, as well as its cultural one, is huge.

With offerings ranging from the Agatha Christie murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has run at the St Martin's Theatre for 73 years, and Shakespeare plays, to musicals such as Just for One Day and comedies such as The Producers, there is something for all tastes.

As well as being popular with locals, 24 percent of all overseas visitors to London go to see a show, and with travelers from China making up a significant number of the capital's visitors, and being among its biggest spenders, a lot of those seats will be occupied by Chinese tourists.

So it is no surprise that, increasingly frequently, West End producers and performers are looking to build on that interest by performing in China.

Matilda, based on the Roald Dahl story about a book-loving young girl with magic powers, and the hugely popular The Phantom of the Opera are two shows that have recently toured China, to great acclaim. Two more award-winning hits that recently came to Shanghai Culture Square are Six and Life of Pi.

Six is an all-female pop musical, telling the story of the six wives of England's 16th century king Henry VIII, which has grown from a student theater project to an international phenomenon.

With a running time of 80 minutes and no interval to break its momentum, its exuberance and energy have seen Six win rave reviews around the world — and 23 major awards. A perfect fit for the social media era, it has built such a huge global fan community, known as the Queendom, that later this year there will be Japanese language performances of the show in London.