The Mousetrap: 61 years
The Mousetrap is the world’s longest-running play, captivating London audiences since 1952. Packed with suspense, the classic whodunit takes place in a remote English country house hotel during a snow storm.

Les Miserables: 28 years
Now in its 28th year, Les Misérables is the longest running musical in the world.  This global stage sensation has been seen by more than 60 million people in 42 countries. Set in 19th-century France, Les Mis follows the plight of an ex-convict turned mayor who is hunted for decades by a ruthless policeman.

The Phantom of the Opera: 27 years
The Phantom of the Opera has reigned at Her Majesty’s Theatre for a whopping 27 years. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s epic musical, which opened on 9 October 1986,  tells the tale of a disfigured composer who terrorises the Paris Opera in an attempt to make his protégé a leading lady.

The Woman in Black: 24 years
The Woman in Black has been terrifying audiences since 1989, making it the second longest-running play in the history of the West End. Based on Susan Hill’s eponymous novel, the spooky show sees a malevolent ghost haunting a small English town, bringing devastation to the lives of anyone who lays eyes on it.

The Lion King: 14 years
Still a roaring success, The Lion King is celebrating its 14th year at London’s Lyceum Theatre. Bursting with colour and brilliant songs, the Disney-movie-turned-musical sees fearless lion cub Simba making his epic journey to fulfil his destiny as king of the lions. The Lion King is one of five musicals to play for 10 or more years on both Broadway and the West End.

Mamma Mia: 14 years
Mamma Mia is now well into its second decade, after first opening in the West End in 1999. Based on the catchy tunes of Swedish pop quartet ABBA and set on a Greek island paradise, this feel-good show follows a daughter’s quest to discover the identity of her father.

We Will Rock You: 11 years
Mega-musical We Will Rock You has been a permanent fixture at the Dominion Theatre since 2002. Based on the songs of rock legends Queen, the show is set in a futuristic world where rock music has been banned.

Stomp: 10 years
Celebrating its 10th year in London, Stomp has been kept fresh with new routines, choreography and music. As its title suggests, talented performers use everything from zippo lighters to bin lids to hammer out a feel-good rhythm.

Billy Elliot: 8 years
Billy Elliot has been dazzling London’s West End since 2005 with its heart-warming tale of a young boy who struggles against the odds to fulfil his dream of becoming a ballet dancer. The all-singing all-dancing musical features an acclaimed score by Elton John.

Wicked: 7 years
Wicked made its West End debut seven years ago in 2006. Still going strong, the show welcomed its five millionth audience member last month. The award-winning musical tells the story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two young trainee witches who meet at sorcery school.

Read more about all London’s theatre shows at visitlondon.com/theatre

A new charity initiative was launched this week that sees pop stars taking to the West End stage for special encores. Pop Goes The Musical raises money for Children in Need by offering special £80 tickets for fab West End shows, which are then followed by special performances by pop stars.

• Les Miserables followed by a performance by Alexandra Burke, 18 Sep
• Jersey Boys followed by a performance by Blue, 11 Oct
• Singin in the Rain followed by a performance by Geri Halliwell, 25 Oct
• Thriller Live followed by a performance by Macy Gray and Stooshe, 15 Nov

Tickets can be purchased exclusively at www.lastminute.com/pudsey and include a top price seat, signed programme, Pudsey bear toy, complementary drink and access to a VIP after show reception hosted by the famous bear himself.

Hampstead Downstairs has announced its autumn season this week. Three plays, Brain, Blue Sky and Ignorance will be produced by the theatre; both Brain and Ignorance are new shows, the first by writer Rona Munro; the second by Steve Waters. The space was created for new writers to showcase their work, so if you’re a fan of seeing and feeding back on new theatre, book now.

If you’re looking ahead to theatre production in London for the summer 2013, I’ve got some great news from the Open Air Theatre. Their summer season will contain a production of Harper Lee’s American classic To Kill A Mockingbird alongside the much-loved musical The Sound Of Music. Christopher Sergel’s adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Mockingbird will play from 16 May to 15 June. And the Von Trapp family will be encouraging you to Climb Every Mountain and consider your Favourite Things from 25 July to 7 September. These are just two of the four shows on offer at the venue next summer.

London Theatre Casting News:

• Stephen Campbell Moore and Dominic Rowan will appear on stage at the Donmar Warehouse in Berenice this autumn.
• Sian Phillips joins Will Young and Michelle Ryan in the revival of Rufus Norris’ Olivier Award-winning production of Cabaret this autumn. Other cast members include Harriet Thorpe, who was in the original production, as Fraulein Kost; and Matt Rawle, who plays the young American writer Cliff Bradshaw. Cabaret opens at the Savoy Theatre in October.
• Marcus Lovett is taking over from Peter Joback as the eponymous lead in The Phantom Of The Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre next month. Joining him are Lara Martins as Carlotta, Anna O’Byrne who plays Christine, taking over from Sofia Escobar, and Simon Thomas, who replaces Killian Donnelly as Raoul.

• Long runners extending their booking periods include:
  Wicked, Jersey Boys, Les Mis, Phantom, and We Will Rock You
• New blockbusters getting in on the forward planning include:
  The Wizard of Oz, Shrek, Ghost

For a full list of shows that have extended their booking into 2012, check out the Official London Theatre website.

Edward Hall’s all-male theatre company Propeller have also announced their 2012 plans. They’ll perform their Shakespearean pairing of Henry V and The Winter’s Tale at the Hampstead Theatre from 4 to 21 July.

Before we get to that all-important Olympic year, there’s still exciting casting news to think about. This week’s announcements include:

• Hollywood star Thandie Newton, who’ll appear in Ariel Dorfman’s Death And The Maiden at the Comedy Theatre from October
• Doctor Who star Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) is making her professional stage debut in Inadmissible Evidence at the Donmar, also in October
• Another debut, this time from Hannah Spearritt (who you’ll know from Primeval, or if you’re my age, S Club 7!) in The Belle’s Stratagem at the Southwark Playhouse from September
• And finally, a real favourite of mine, David Suchet’s going to be back on the London stage in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, at the Apollo Theatre. You’ll have to wait til next April for that one, I’m afraid.

Last of all if you’re a fan of London theatre: don’t forget Kids Week, next month!

The Woman in Black is currently celebrating its 21st year in London’s West End; the rather dingy building and dangerously intimate Fortune Theatre has become its home. The performance combines theatrical illusion and trickery with a disturbing narrative, scaring even the coolest of hearts.

Ghost Stories was written only recently and is more contemporary in every way. The production feels more like an experiment in fear, presenting archetypal myths and using clever technology to make them come alive. As you take your seat, there is no light or programme sellers to welcome you in, instead the dimly lit Duke of Yorks Theatre is haunted with a soundtrack of drips and rumbles and eerie screeches. There is no interval, which builds up tension and you are warned: if you leave the theatre during the performance you will be unable to return.

What both shows have in common is a real talent for inducing terror through all the senses. Employing mostly sound and sight, but also touch and smell as scare tactics.  As for taste, I know I left both theatres with the taste of fear in my mouth.

More spooky shows to see in London:

• Phantom of the Opera: a masked man haunts the Paris Opera House in this well-loved musical
• Wicked: the tale of the Wicked Witch of the West
• Deathtrap: this onstage thriller plots the ideal murder and cuts close to the bone
• Alice Cooper: the grandaddy of shock rock comes to London’s Roundhouse for Halloween
• Terror 2010: Death and Resurrection: four scary short plays

Halloween is only a week away, so book your tickets to London’s scariest shows now!

On 21 March at the Grosvenor House Hotel, the Laurence Olivier Awards 2010 will be announced.

The annual award ceremony is the most prestigious in London theatre, and the highlight of the theatrical year in London.

You can read a full list of the runners and riders on the Official London Theatre website. The judging panel consists of dedicated theatregoers and experts.

But there’s an exciting new award for 2010 where YOU can vote for the winner. The Audience Award goes to the long-running London show with the most votes from the following shortlist:

• Wicked
• The Phantom Of The Opera
• We Will Rock You
• War Horse
• Billy Elliot The Musical

Vote for your favourite, and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win four tickets to the winning show. You’ve got until 5pm on 17 March to have your say.

Lots has changed since then: who would’ve thought you could follow The Phantom on twitter when Michael Crawford first created the part in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s gothic musical?

Love it or hate it, The Phantom of the Opera, based on the French novel by Gaston Leroux, is one of the most successful “entertainment entities” in history.

For a youthful 23-year-old, these figures are pretty staggering:

• Seen by more than 100 million people
• Translated into 15 languages
• Performed in more than 25 different countries
• Won 50 awards worldwide

And what better birthday present could a show wish for than an eagerly anticipated sequel? Yesterday, details about the forthcoming Love Never Dies were announced.

You can watch the press launch online on the official Love Never Dies website.

And if that whets your appetite for more, book your tickets to see Love Never Dies when it opens in London next year.