Listings
Selected listings for London shows
PLAYS
Almeida Theatre
Roots
by Arnold Wesker, director Diyan Zora
Until 23 November 2024
Morfydd Clark stars as Beatie Bryant in Wesker’s radical drama about a young woman’s journey to self-discovery. Presented in repertory with Look Back in Anger as part of the Almeida’s Angry and Young Season of plays that transformed British theatre in the 1950s.
Look Back in Anger
by John Osborne, director Atri Banerjee
Until 23 November 2024
Billy Howle stars as Jimmy Porter in Osborne’s impassioned drama about class and gender conflict. Presented in repertory with Roots as part of the Almeida’s Angry and Young Season of plays that transformed British theatre in the 1950s.
Look Back in Anger | Almeida Theatre
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
by Tennessee Williams, director Rebecca Frecknall
10 December 2024–1 February 2025
Williams’s Pulitzer Prize winning play about a Southern US family in crisis as their patriarch’s life nears its end. Kingsley Ben-Adir and Daisy Edgar-Jones star as the unhappily married Brick and Maggie.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Almeida Theatre
Apollo Theatre
Fawlty Towers: The Play
by John Cleese and Connie Booth, adapted for the stage by John Cleese, director Caroline Jay Ranger
Booking to 4 January 2025
Stage adaptation of much-loved 1970s TV sitcom set in a chaotic Torquay hotel run by characters Basil and Sybil Fawlty, featuring an 18-strong cast.
John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers – The Play – | Apollo Theatre, London | Nimax Theatres
Barbican
The Buddha of Suburbia
Adapted from Hanif Kureishi’s novel and directed by Emma Rice
22 October–16 November 2024
Stage version of Kureishi’s semi-autobiographical 1990 novel about teenager Karim’s rite of passage in the multicultural South London of the late seventies. RSC/Wise Children co-production transferred from Stratford-upon-Avon.
The Buddha of Suburbia | Barbican
Donmar Warehouse
The Fear of 13
by Lindsey Ferrentino, director Justin Martin
Until 30 November 2024
Drama about the true story of Nick Yarris who spent 22 years on Death Row after being wrongfully convicted of murder and rape. Based on David Sington’s 2015 documentary. Academy Award winner Adrien Brody makes his London stage debut.
THE FEAR OF 13 — BY LINDSEY FERRENTINO | Donmar Warehouse
Duchess Theatre
The Play that Goes Wrong
by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shield, director Mark Bell
Booking to 1 February 2026
The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society are putting on a 1920s murder mystery, but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong … does! The original Mischief Theatre show, which won the 2015 Oliver Award for Best New Comedy, now the longest-running comedy in the West End.
The Play That Goes Wrong | Book Official Tickets | Duchess Theatre (nimaxtheatres.com)
Duke of York’s Theatre
Barcelona
by Bess Wohl, director Lynette Linton
21 October 2024–11 January 2025
An American tourist goes home with a handsome Spaniard. But what begins as a carefree, one-night stand becomes an invitation to danger, as the personal and political catastrophically intertwine. Lily Collins and Álvaro Morte star in a seductive thriller.
Barcelona (thedukeofyorks.com)
Gielgud Theatre
Juno and the Paycock
by Seán O’Casey, director Matthew Warchus
Until 23 November 2024
Revival of O’Casey’s tragicomic classic set in a tenement in Dublin, 1922 against the background of the Irish Civil War. J. Smith-Cameron plays tough matriarch Juno Boyle, who keeps her family together despite her feckless husband, ‘Captain’ Jack Boyle (Mark Rylance).
Juno and The Paycock at Gielgud Theatre
Gillian Lynne Theatre
The Lehmann Trilogy
by Steffano Massini, adapted by Ben Power, director Sam Mendes
Until 5 January 2025
Return of multi-award-winning epic drama about the rise and fall of the Lehman Brothers banking family over 150 years. Starring John Heffernan, Aaron Krohn, and Howard W. Overshown. Production first seen at the National Theatre in 2018.
The Lehman Trilogy London Tickets | Gillian Lynne Theatre (lwtheatres.co.uk)
Hampstead Theatre
Main Stage
Reykjavik
by Richard Bean, director Emily Burns
18 October–23 November 2024
Bean returns to his Hull roots in this rousing tale of the dangers of trawler fishing in the North Atlantic in the 1970s, which he previously explored in Under the Whaleback.
REYKJAVIK (hampsteadtheatre.com)
Harold Pinter Theatre
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare, director Max Webster
Until 14 December 2024
Innovative production of Shakespeare’s Scottish tragedy first seen at Donmar Warehouse last year in which the audience is immersed in an atmospheric soundscape via headphones. Starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo as the murderous Macbeths.
Macbeth | Official Box Office | Harold Pinter Theatre
Kiln Theatre
Pins and Needles
by Rob Drummond, director Amit Sharma
Until 26 October 2024
Drummond puts science and scepticism to the test in his new metatheatrical play exploring the politics around vaccines, and the human stories behind them. Apparently based on research with interviewees – but one of them is father of modern vaccinations Edward Jenner, who died two hundred years ago.
Pins and Needles | Kiln Theatre
The Purists
by Dan McCabe, director Amit Sharma
14 November 2024–21 December 2025
Subcultures and generations collide in this New York comedy. An emcee, a DJ, and a musical lover are forced to confront their convictions on race, sexuality, and music when two young women put their rap-battling skills to the test.
Lyric Hammersmith
A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry, director Tinuke Craig
Until 2 November 2024
Revival of the 1959 classic (the first play on Broadway by a black woman), which follows the effects of a black family moving into a white neighbourhood on Chicago’s South Side.
A Raisin in the Sun – Lyric Hammersmith
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Cabinet Minister
by Arthur Wing Pinero, adapted by Nancy Carroll, director Paul Foster
Until 16 November 2024
Pinero’s late-Victorian farce about a dodgy politician whose family is in debt is given a new a new breath of life by Nancy Carroll, who also stars.
Buy The Cabinet Minister tickets | Menier Chocolate Factory Official Box Office
National Theatre
Dorfman
A Tupperware of Ashes
by Tanika Gupta, director Pooja Ghai
Until 16 November 2024
An ambitious Michelin-star chef, Queenie (Meera Syal) is used to having the last word. But when her children notice gaps in her memory and her grip on reality loosening, they are faced with an impossible choice.
A Tupperware of Ashes | National Theatre
Lyttelton
The Other Place
Written and directed by Alexander Zeldin
Until 9 November 2024
Zeldin’s retelling of the classical story of Antigone in which long-festering tensions and secrets cause a modern family to implode.
The Other Place | National Theatre
The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde, director Max Webster
Reimagining of Wilde’s “trivial comedy for serious people” starring Sharon D. Clarke, Ncuti Gatwa, and Hugh Skinner.
21 November 2024–25 January 2025
The Importance of Being Earnest | National Theatre
Olivier
Coriolanus
by William Shakespeare, director Lyndsey Turner
Until 9 November 2024
Modern-dress version of Shakespeare’s political tragedy with David Oyelowo in the title role as the Roman warrior who turns against his own people.
Ballet Shoes
by Noel Streatfeild, in a new version by Kendall Feaver, director Katy Rudd
Until 23 November 2024
Streatfeild’s much-loved children’s novel is revitalized for the stage. Three adopted sisters are learning who they are and what they want to be as they fight to pursue their individual passions – including dancing.
Ballet Shoes | National Theatre
Noël Coward Theatre
Dr. Strangelove
Co-adapted from the film by Armando Iannucci and Sean Foley, director Sean Foley
Until 25 January 2025
First adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 celebrated black comedy film satirizing mutually assured destruction in the nuclear age. Steve Coogan stars in the three roles originally played by Peter Sellers.
Dr. Strangelove at Noël Coward Theatre in London’s West End (noelcowardtheatre.co.uk)
Old Vic
The Real Thing
by Tom Stoppard, director Max Webster
Until 26 October 2024
Revival of Stoppard’s comedy of love and infidelity between an actress and a playwright, with layers of play and performance, reality and deceit. Starring James McArdle and Bel Powley.
The Real Thing | Old Vic Theatre
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, a version by Jack Thorne, director Matthew Warchus
9 November 2024–4 January 2025
Dickens’s dark but feelgood fable haunts the Old Vic stage once again this Christmas, this time with John Simm as miser Ebenezer Scrooge undergoing a conversion.
A Christmas Carol | Old Vic Theatre
Palace Theatre
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts I & II
by Jack Thorne, director John Tiffany
Booking to 29 June 2025
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a brand new stage play inspired by the Harry Potter franchise written by Jack Thorne based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany. Set “nineteen years later” after the last novel, it is presented in two parts intended to be seen in order on the same day (matinee and evening), or on two consecutive evenings.
Harry Potter London (harrypottertheplay.com)
Phoenix Theatre
Stranger Things: The First Shadow
by Kate Trefy, the Duffer Brothers, and Jack Thorne, director Stephen Daldry
Booking to 6 April 2025
This new play is set within the mythology and world of Netflix’s hugely popular sci-fi horror series Stranger Things, a prequel that features the characters when young living in the fictional small town of Hawkins, Indiana in 1959.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow Tickets | Phoenix Theatre in London West End | ATG Tickets
Royal Court Theatre
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Giant
by Mark Rosenblatt, director Nicholas Hytner
Until 16 November
New play that focuses on the fallout from anti-Semitic comments made by one of the world’s bestselling children’s authors, Roald Dahl. Starring John Lithgow, Elliot Levey, Rachael Sterling, and Romola Garai.
Giant – Royal Court (royalcourttheatre.com)
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Brace Brace
by Oli Forsyth, director Daniel Raggett
Until 9 November 2024
After surviving the hijacking of their aeroplane, a couple’s relationship breaks down as they react differently to the trauma.
BRACE BRACE – Royal Court (royalcourttheatre.com)
Expendable
by Emteaz Hussain, director Esther Richardson
21 November–21 December 2024
New play about the sexual abuse scandal in northern England between the 1990s and the 2010s that spotlights the often-overlooked voices of Pakistani women.
Expendable – Royal Court (royalcourttheatre.com)
Shakespeare’s Globe
Globe Theatre
Princess Essex
by Anne Odeke, director Robin Belfield
Until 26 October 2024
Comedy about the first woman of colour to enter a seaside beauty pageant in England, as a princess from Senegal aims to become Princess Essex in Edwardian Southend-on-Sea.
Princess Essex | What’s On | Shakespeare’s Globe (shakespearesglobe.com)
The Comedy of Errors
by William Shakespeare, directors Sean Holmes and Naeem Hayat
Until 27 October 2024
Farcical mix-ups with mistaken identities in Shakespeare’s early comedy that features not just one but two pairs of twins – so double trouble.
The Comedy of Errors | What’s On | Shakespeare’s Globe (shakespearesglobe.com)
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
All’s Well That Ends Well
8 November 2024–4 January 2025
The Globe’s candlelit indoor winter season begins with Shakespeare’s problem play of obsession, game-playing, and deception
All’s Well That Ends Well | What’s On | Shakespeare’s Globe (shakespearesglobe.com)
@sohoplace
White Rabbit Red Rabbit
by Nassim Soleimanpour
Until 9 November 2024
Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour’s experimental drama with no rehearsal, no director, and a script waiting in a sealed envelope on the stage for a different celebrated actor to perform each night with unpredictable results. Premiered in 2011.
White Rabbit Red Rabbit Tickets | West End Theatre | @sohoplace
St Martin’s Theatre
The Mousetrap
by Agatha Christie, director Ian Talbot
Booking to 3 May 2025
Agatha Christie’s 1952 murder mystery is the world’s longest-running play. A group of people gathered together in a remote part of the countryside discover there is a murderer in their midst. The question is which one of them is the guilty party.
Theatre Royal Haymarket
Waiting for Godot
by Samuel Beckett, director James Macdonald
Until 21 December 2024
The double act of Ben Whishaw (Vladimir) and Lucian Msamati (Estragon) star in Beckett’s seminal absurdist drama where “nothing happens, twice”.
Waiting For Godot | Official Theatre Website (trh.co.uk)
Trafalgar Theatre
The Duchess
Adapted from Webster and directed by Zinnie Harris
Until 20 December 2024
Jodie Whittaker plays the eponymous heroine punished by her controlling brothers because she has married beneath their family’s class in Harris’s contemporary spin on Webster’s Jacobean tragedy.
The Duchess Tickets | Trafalgar Theatre in London West End | ATG Tickets
Wyndham’s Theatre
Oedipus
Created and directed by Robert Icke, after Sophocles
Until 4 January 2025
Icke follows his much-acclaimed previous production of Oresteia with another reimagining of Greek tragedy. Starring Mark Strong and Lesley Manville.
Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre in London’s West End (wyndhamstheatre.co.uk)
MUSICALS
Adelphi Theatre
Back to the Future the Musical
Music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, book by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, director John Rando
Booking to 27 July 2025
New musical adapted from the iconic 1985 film. The story follows a teenager who via a time-travelling DeLorean finds himself back in 1955 where he meets his high school-aged parents, but his meddling with time threatens his own existence.
Back to the Future: The Musical | Adelphi Theatre (lwtheatres.co.uk)
Aldwych Theatre
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
Book by Katori Hall, with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, director Phyllida Lloyd
Booking to 25 October 2025
Jukebox musical about the life and works of superstar singer Tina Turner.
Nederlander Theatres – TINA – The Tina Turner Musical
Ambassadors Theatre
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Book and lyrics by Jethro Compton, music and lyrics by Darren Clark, director Jethro Compton
Booking to 15 February 2025
Musical version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic short story about a baby born old who gets younger as the years pass is relocated to a fishing village on the north coast of Cornwall. First seen at Southwark Playhouse.
Apollo Victoria Theatre
Wicked
Songs by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman, director Joe Mantello
Booking to 1 June 2025
Two friends become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch of the South. Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel that re-imagined the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Bridge Theatre
Guys & Dolls
Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, director Nicholas Hytner
Until 4 January 2025
Revival of Frank Loesser’s Tony Award-winning 1950 musical based on short stories by Damon Runyon about hustlers in the underworld of 1920s New York City.
Guys & Dolls (bridgetheatre.co.uk)
Cambridge Theatre
Matilda
Songs by Tim Minchin, book by Dennis Kelly, director Matthew Warchus
Booking to 24 May 2026
Royal Shakespeare Company musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s novel about a precocious girl growing up in difficult circumstances.
Matilda The Musical | Official London Website
Dominion Theatre
The Devil Wears Prada
Music by Elton John, lyrics by Shaina Taub, book by Kate Wetherhead, director Jerry Mitchell
Booking to 18 October 2025
New musical based on the popular film and book set in the offices of a fashion magazine, as a young aspiring journalist gets a job working for the formidable editor-in-chief.
The Devil Wears Prada ⋆ Nederlander Theatres
Fortune Theatre
Operation Mincemeat
Book, lyrics, and music by SpitLip, director Robert Hastie
Booking to 25 January 2025
Operation Mincemeat is a musical comedy based on the extraordinary but true story of the plan to fool the Nazis using a dead body and a dossier of fake plans in 1943, which helped the Allies to win the Second World War. After sold-out runs at New Diorama Theatre and Southwark Playhouse, plus an extended Riverside Studios last summer, the show transfers to the West End.
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical (thefortunetheatre.com)
Garrick Theatre
Why Am I So Single?
by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, director Lucy Moss
Booking to 13 February 2025
New musical from the creators of the highly successful Six about two besties trying to work out why they are not in relationships.
Why Am I So Single? – Garrick Theatre (thegarricktheatre.co.uk)
His Majesty’s Theatre
The Phantom of the Opera
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, director Harold Prince
Booking to 27 September 2025
Based on Gaston Leroux’s gothic novel, this haunting musical traces the tragic love story of a beautiful opera singer and a young composer shamed by his physical appearance into a shadowy existence beneath the majestic Opera Paris House.
The Phantom of the Opera London Tickets | His Majesty’s Theatre (lwtheatres.co.uk)
Lyceum Theatre
The Lion King
Music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, with additional songs by Lebo M, Julie Taymor, Mark Mancina and Hans Zimmer, book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, director Julie Taymor
Booking to 30 March 2025
A re-imagining of Disney’s 1994 animated adventure film which brings the African jungle to life.
The Lion King | The Lion King Musical: London Home
Lyric Theatre
Hadestown
Music, lyrics, and book by Anais Mitchell, developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin
Booking until 28 September 2025
Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical Hadestown finally makes its West End premiere. The show takes the audience on a journey to the underworld and back, intertwining two mythic love stories – that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone.
HADESTOWN – Lyric Theatre (thelyrictheatre.co.uk)
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Producers
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, music and lyrics by Mel Brooks, director Patrick Marber
26 November 2024–1 March 2025
New production of 12 Tony Award winning musical based on Mel Brooks’s own 1967 satirical comedy film in which a bad-taste Broadway show becomes an unexpected hit.
Buy The Producers tickets | Menier Chocolate Factory Official Box Office
Novello Theatre
Mamma Mia!
Book by Catherine Johnson, songs by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, director Phyllida Lloyd
Booking to 27 September 2025
Sofia invites all three of her possible fathers to her wedding on the Greek island where she lives with her mother. Inspired by the songs of ABBA.
Mamma Mia! at Novello Theatre (delfontmackintosh.co.uk)
Piccadilly Theatre
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Book by John Logan, director Alex Timbers
Booking to 1 March 2025
Moulin Rouge! The Musical is based on the Academy Award-winning Baz Luhrmann film set in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris at the turn of the twentieth century. It follows the show’s run on Broadway, which unveiled the jukebox musical’s eclectic pop score with songs by the likes of Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Elton John.
Playhouse Theatre
Cabaret
Songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb, book by Joe Masteroff, director Rebecca Frecknall
Booking to 4 October 2025
Celebrated musical based on Christopher Isherwood’s short stories set in early 1930s Berlin, where American writer Cliff Bradshaw meets English cabaret singer Sally Bowles, a performer at the Kit Kat Club. But the rise of Nazism threatens this hedonistic Weimar Republic haven. This immersive production won seven Olivier Awards.
Cabaret | Official Box Office | The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Prince Edward Theatre
MJ
Book by Lynn Nottage, director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon
Booking to 26 April 2025
Book by multi-Tony Award-winning musical about Michael Jackson centred around his 1992 Dangerous World tour, featuring many of his most famous songs. Broadway star Myles Frost plays the lead role.
MJ – Prince Edward Theatre (delfontmackintosh.co.uk)
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Book of Mormon
Book, music, and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone, directors Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker
Booking to 22 February 2025
Tony and Olivier Award-winning musical satire from the creators of South Park which follows two Mormon missionaries who are sent from the comfort of Salt Lake City to Uganda in Africa in order to spread the word of their church.
The Book of Mormon at Prince of Wales Theatre (delfontmackintosh.co.uk)
Savoy Theatre
Mean Girls
Book by Tina Fey, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, music by Jeff Richmond, director Casey Nicholaw
Booking to 6 April 2025
American high-school musical based on the 2004 Mark Waters film about the rivalries of teenage girls.
Mean Girls | Savoy Theatre | Official Box Office (thesavoytheatre.com)
Shaftesbury Theatre
Mrs. Doubtfire
Music and lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, director Jerry Zaks
Booking to 26 April 2025
Out-of-work actor Daniel will do anything for his kids. After losing custody in a messy divorce, he creates the alter ego of Scottish nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire in a desperate attempt to stay in their lives. As his new character takes on a life of its own, Mrs. Doubtfire teaches Daniel more than he bargained for about how to be a father. Based on the 1993 movie, this musical was premiered in the US in 2019.
Mrs. Doubtfire – Shaftesbury Theatre
@sohoplace
A Christmas Carol (ish)
Book and lyrics by Nick Mohammed, music by Oliver Birch, director Matt Peover
16 November–31 December 2024
When Santa cancels Christmas on Christmas Eve, he’s visited by three ghosts who must convince him to see the error of his ways and rediscover the magic of Christmas. An all-singing, all-dancing comedy retelling of Dickens’s festive classic.
A Christmas Carol (ish) | West End Theatre | @sohoplace
Sondheim Theatre
Les Misérables
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg with original text by Alain Boublil and English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, directors Trevor Nunn and John Caird
Booking to 6 September 2025
Victor Hugo’s epic tale of passion and destruction in 19th-century France told in the West End’s longest-running musical.
Les Misérables at Sondheim Theatre
Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
Starlight Express
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, director Luke Sheppard
Until 8 June 2025
Revival of Lloyd Webber’s megahit musical about a steam engine racing against modern diesel and electric locomotives trains, with the cast performing on roller skates.
Starlight Express • London (starlightexpresslondon.com)
Vaudeville Theatre
Six
by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, directors Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage
Booking to 30 November 2025
From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an 80-minute celebration of 21st-century girl power.
Victoria Palace Theatre
Hamilton
by Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Thomas Kail
Booking to 27 September 2025
Inspired by the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, this multi-award-winning Broadway show tells the story of the American founding father who rose from humble origins to become head of the Treasury after independence.
Hamilton at Victoria Palace Theatre
Young Vic
A Face in the Crowd
Music and lyrics by Elvis Costello, book by Sarah Ruhl, director Kwame Kwei-Armah
Until 9 November 2025
When radio producer Marcia Jeffries (Anoushka Lucas) meets drifter “Lonesome Rhodes” (Ramin Karimloo), she immediately gives him a slot on her show. But as his fan base grows and the politicians take notice, Marcia realizes she has unleashed a force she can no longer control. New musical based on the 1957 film satire of celebrity, power, and politics by Budd Schulberg and Elia Kazan.