The British Theatre Guide

About the Guide

The British Theatre Guide began life in April 1997 as the Mining Company British Theatre site, later changing to the About.com site, About British Theatre.

About.com closed the site in September 2001 as part of its restructuring after its merger with Primedia and so Peter Lathan, who had run the site from the beginning, decided, under pressure from many regular visitors, to re-establish it under its present name and in its present location.

A number of regular visitors had described the closure as "a tragedy" and this, and other comments by industry professionals, persuaded him to resurrect it:

"The best theatre site on the web..." (George Dillon, actor)

"an invaluable treasure trove of information" (a regular visitor)

"a very good source/service..." (Horla Theatre Company)

"impeccably run..." (The Theatre in Wales website)

"very influential..." (Guy Masterson: actor, director, producer)

Now it's online again, independent of any company and with a different design which we feel - we hope! - is clearer and easier to navigate.

Running the site is hugely time-consuming and expensive, so advertising is essential for our survival, but it will never overwhelm the content, and adverts will always be clearly labelled, never confused with editorial.

I hope you enjoy the site. It'll be updated every week, so keep coming back for more! And if you're a former visitor to the About British Theatre site, click here for a personal message!

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