Since the 1660s Covent Garden has never missed a chance to put on a performance. The first record of Covent Garden street entertainment came in 1662, when Samuel Pepys’ diary notes that a marionette show featuring a character named Punch took place on the Piazza. Today, the custom continues.
From fast paced juggling to lying on a bed of nails all the way to riding on a 10 foot unicycle the Street Performers on the West Piazza are iconic for their legendary perforances. Stay for ten minutes and watch all day, you always know you're going to see an amzing show.
At the North East corner of the Market Building you will discover bench seating surrounding a covered performance pitch. Here you will see everything from singers, jugglers, ventriloquist and more.
Get truly swept up in the theatrics of Covent Garden with the performances in the South Wells of the Market Building. At this pitch you will discover the classical performers. From breathtaking renditions of Les Mis, to a can-can from a string quartet the acoustics of the grade two listed building make this the best venue in the world.
All the world is a stage and none is more famous than the cobbles of Covent Garden.
For centuries, culture vultures have swooped on Covent Garden. They obviously relished the area’s eclectic, ever-changing mix or opera, ballet , musical theatre and drama, from highbrow and mainstream to fringe and beyond, all tastes are catered for and all emotion are stirred. No other urban quarter in the world has two great opera house and more than twenty thriving theatres.
Shaftesbury Capital has a clear process for auditioning to be a Street Performer within the Market Building, which they own.
Any other performance sites, including the West Piazza, James Street, and outside the LTM fall within Westminster City Council (WCC) remit.
Covent Garden holds live auditions all year round (dates below) seeking talented vocalists, dancers, or variety /circus acts to perform at our world-famous destination.
SHC’s audition process is as follows:
All auditioned performers will be contacted within one week of their audition in writing. They will receive feedback and confirmation of the audition result. All decisions are final.
The auditions are managed and judged by a panel made up of representatives from the Courtyard Musicians Association, Street Performers Association & the Shaftesbury Capital Covent Garden Management Team
Please note:
There are different pitches allocated to specific types of performances:
The next dates for auditions are as follows:
To perform on James Street, the West, East and North Piazza and The Market Building please contact Westminster Council or speak to one of the performers
Covent Garden South Wells is home to Classical Performances (filmed in 2019)
Rob Falsini singing a cover of Chasing Cars in Covent Garden
West Piazza Performance from 2019
