“Is this coming to Scotland?”: Why is theatre so London-centric?

Illustrations by Grace McKenna

Over Christmas I was lucky enough to see The Hunger Games: On Stage in London. Before attending the show, I saw an advertisement for it on social media where an unknowing person had commented: “Is this coming to Scotland?” This would be a reasonable question if you hadn’t, like me, been following every step of this show’s creation, including the construction of a one-of-a-kind theatre in Canary Wharf. But, nevertheless, I kept this question in mind while watching the performance: could this be a toured show? 

Quite frankly, no, it could not. What made this performance outstanding was its innovative and creative use of the custom-built theatre to move gravity-defying set pieces and completely immerse the audience in the show. The phenomenal stagecraft made up for what I thought was a somewhat lacklustre performance from a handful of the actors. It appears that The Hunger Games: On Stage will be a London-exclusive experience for the foreseeable future. 

But – for those who can’t travel to London – how can a show that can’t be toured be made accessible to a wider audience? The same question arises for shows like Cabaret, which also rely on a unique, one-of-a-kind, London-based theatre. With ticket prices already being high, the added cost of travelling and staying in London makes seeing shows like this out of the question for many, and renders many theatre experiences capital-exclusive. 

So why is London chosen as the hot-spot of UK theatre? It may seem like an obvious question, what with it being the largest city in the UK and having a plethora of existing theatres which are able to house new and existing shows. But when The Hunger Games: On Stage goes to all the effort of building a theatre from scratch (not even in the theatre district, might I add), it forces you to question why London is continually chosen. 

It’s not as if other parts of the country don’t also boast a rich theatre culture. In Edinburgh especially, theatre is flourishing. Over the past year, major shows like Moulin Rouge, Miss Saigon, Mamma Mia, and Kinky Boots have all come to Edinburgh, with more major shows set to take to the stage in 2026. That’s not to mention the Festival Fringe, which has made Edinburgh into a renowned theatre hub. 

This is certainly not an attack on the West End – I, for one, love the dazzling streets filled to the brim with a multitude of historic theatres – but it is a call to consider the exclusion that this southern centricity of the theatre world causes. Whilst many shows do go on national tours, it still remains that London is the true ‘home’ for theatre. Considering a movement away from London could bring new theatre experiences to wider audiences. For once, it would be nice to see people question “is this coming to London?” for a change.