The national companies The Royal National Theatre (in London) and the Royal Shakespeare Company (in Stratford and London). Both companies produce a range of plays, from the classics to ground-breaking new writing, and also tour nationally. Both tend to employ a semi-permanent company of actors on fixed-term contracts, supplemented by additional actors as required.

West End theatres Presenting predominantly commercial productions of musicals and plays. There is also a significant number of transfers into the West End from regional and London-based producing companies.

Regional repertory theatres Situated in the UK's major towns and cities. Some may have a resident company which is supplemented as productions demand by additional actors. They produce a range of plays, and often combine popular material with new writing targeted at their local communities. Some have attached Theatre-in-Education or Community Outreach programmes.

Producing companies These vary from commercial companies supplying the West End or civic theatre circuit, to subsidised companies such as the Royal Court or the Almeida Theatre, operating out of their own venues but also transferring to the West End or to regional venues.