Box office statistics from The Society of London Theatre for last year show a rise of 4% in attendance and 11% in revenue on 2012.
The success is attributed to major new musicals which opened during the year: The Book of Mormon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Commitments and Once, crowd–pulling plays TheAudience, Othello and the Michael Grandage season, together with the continued popularity of long-runners such as One Man, Two Guvnors and Matilda The Musical.
The average ticket price paid was £40.14 with figures showing greater parity between price asked and price paid.
VAT receipts for the Treasury amounted to £97,584,409 on gross sales of £585,506,455.
Mark Rubinstein, President of the Society of London Theatre, said: "I am delighted that we can announce a record year for London theatre attendances as well as a tenth year running of year-on-year growth in ticket income.
"These figures pay testament to the quality, vibrancy and enduring popularity of the London stage, which, despite a difficult economic climate, continues to pull in the crowds thanks to the world-class entertainment on offer and inclusive pricing structures.
"With the combined box office advance sales also reaching new heights in December, we are looking forward to another year of success stories for our theatres in 2014."
The figures relate to 52 commercial and grant-aided theatres in central London.