Yahoo News London theatre: the best musicals and plays to book now
London has a world-leading theatre scene, offering everything from plays, musicals and comedy to immersive and family-friendly entertainment. In the West End, and beyond, you’ll find both beloved long-running shows and cutting-edge new work, featuring A-list actors alongside rising stars.
If you’re trying to decide which are the best theatre shows in London to start with in 2024, our expert Telegraph critics can help you choose with their incisive reviews. All the latest articles are at Telegraph Theatre. Plus we’ve rounded up the best family shows and the best shows for half term.
You can also find discounted tickets on Telegraph Tickets for all of the capital’s best plays and musicals, such as Hamilton, Les Miserables, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and The Book of Mormon.
Check out our top picks of London theatre shows below and get booking.
The best London shows, at a glance
Best supernatural thrills – Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Best treat for the whole family – Starlight Express
Best high-flying special effects – Back to the Future
Best excitingly outrageous comedy – The Book of Mormon
Best joyful immersive musical – Guys & Dolls
Kiss Me, Kate, Barbican ★★★★
In a nutshell: “Mother of God! Line of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar can actually sing... This cleverly retuned classic show has all the makings of a sizzling summer hit.” Read the full review
Booking until: Sept 14
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Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder!, Ambassadors Theatre
In a nutshell: Best mates Kathy and Stella’s Hull-based true-crime podcast is a flop – until their favourite author is murdered nearby. Jon Brittain and Matthew Floyd Jones’s witty satire is a murderously good study of friendship.
Booking until: Sept 14
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Hello, Dolly!, London Palladium ★★★★
In a nutshell: “The way Imelda Staunton can expand to fill a space even while standing still, and can raise the roof without breaking into a sweat, reaffirms her as one of British theatre’s greats. She’s back where she belongs.” Read the full review here
Booking until: Sept 14
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Next to Normal, Wyndham’s Theatre ★★★★
In a nutshell: “A tale of a mother grappling with bipolar disorder may be an unusual premise for a rock musical, but Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt’s show proves an unstoppable force... Moving and gut-wrenching.” Read the full review
Booking until: Sept 21
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Slave Play, Noel Coward Theatre ★★★
In a nutshell: “Its contents have made it a cause célèbre, with racial slurs, nudity, simulated sexual activity and violence... Kit Harington – of Game of Thrones fame – bravely spends the final scene naked.” Read the full review
Booking until: Sept 21
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Death of England, @sohoplace ★★★★
In a nutshell: “In examining the notion of Englishness through the lens of working-class masculinity, identity, nationalism, friendship and race, the writers deftly weave an intimate portrait of a fractured family as a microcosm for the nation.” Read the full review here
Booking until: Sept 21
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The 39 Steps, Trafalgar Theatre
In a nutshell: It’s a hugely welcome return to the West End for this utterly ingenious stage comedy take on Alfred Hitchcock’s classic spy movie, which features four tireless actors playing 139 roles in 100 minutes.
Booking until: Sept 28
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Fiddler on the Roof, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “A masterclass in balancing innovation with tradition, beautifully attuned to the park’s natural magic. The shiver-inducing coup de théâtre is the sun actually setting during the bittersweet song Sunrise, Sunset.” Read the full review
Booking until: Sept 28
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The Real Thing, Old Vic ★★★
In a nutshell: “Though there are quotably succinct, comedically sharp lines, the piece aspires to unfold the ordinary mess of intimate relations, the way love can seem fixed and absolute, yet has to be continually renegotiated.” Read the full review
Booking until: Oct 26
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The Book of Mormon, Prince of Wales Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “This wild, thrilling, go-for-broke, genuinely hilarious musical comedy remains one of the funniest shows in the West End... I’m a believer!” Read the full review
Booking until: Nov 2
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A Raisin in the Sun, Lyric Hammersmith
In a nutshell: Tinuke Craig revives Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking work (the first play by a black woman on Broadway) about an African-American family battling inequality, and sometimes each other, in South Chicago.
Booking: Oct 8-Nov 2
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Giant, Royal Court
In a nutshell: John Lithgow stars as Roald Dahl in this incendiary new play by Mark Rosenblatt about the famous author facing an outcry because of an antisemitic article. Nicholas Hytner directs.
Booking: Sept 20-Nov 16
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Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Piccadilly Theatre ★★★★
In a nutshell: “The tireless company romps through Sonya Tayeh’s adrenaline and libido-fuelled choreography... This is beguilingly transporting, all-enveloping theatre.” Read the full review
Booking until: Nov 19
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Juno and the Paycock, Gielgud Theatre
In a nutshell: Mark Rylance is back, starring opposite J. Smith-Cameron (aka Gerri Kellman from Succession) in Matthew Warchus’s revival of Seán O’Casey’s powerful play set during the Irish Civil War.
Booking: Sept 21-Nov 23
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ABBA Voyage, ABBA Arena ★★★★
In a nutshell: “A wide-ranging audience of all ages is unified in giving a heartfelt thank you for the music. Surrender to this pop-tastic retrofuturism and you’ll have the time of your life.” Read the full review
Booking until: Nov 25
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The Forsyte Saga, Park Theatre
In a nutshell: John Galsworthy’s epic comes to the stage in this new two-part adaptation by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan. Going from the Victorian era to the Roaring Twenties, it’s a towering drama of love, sex, power and family secrets.
Booking until: Dec 7
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The Duchess, Trafalgar Theatre
In a nutshell: Doctor Who and Broadchurch star Jodie Whittaker is back on stage, leading Zinnie Harris’s contemporary version of Webster’s dark family tragedy The Duchess of Malfi. Harris also directs.
Booking: Oct 5-Dec 20
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Dr Strangelove, Noel Coward Theatre
In a nutshell: Steve Coogan leads this new theatrical adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s jet-black comic masterpiece about a rogue general triggering a nuclear crisis, brought to the stage by Armando Iannucci and Sean Foley.
Booking: Oct 8-Dec 21
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Waiting for Godot, Theatre Royal Haymarket
In a nutshell: The potentially brilliant double act of Lucian Msamati and Ben Whishaw star in this new production of Samuel Beckett’s modern masterpiece, directed by James Macdonald.
Booking until: Dec 21
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Hadestown, Lyric Theatre ★★★
In a nutshell: “The show is imbued with a passionate sense that here is a tale worth hearing and that something happens in the act of shared story-telling that’s akin to Orpheus’ fabled way with a lyre: everyone in earshot gets spellbound.” Read the full review
Booking until: Dec 22
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Oedipus, Wyndham’s Theatre
In a nutshell: Robert Icke, who previously gave us a remarkable Oresteia, brings his explosive contemporary take on Sophocles’s great tragedy to the West End. Mark Strong stars as Oedipus and Lesley Manville plays Jocasta.
Booking: Oct 4-Jan 4 2025
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Fawlty Towers – The Play, Apollo Theatre ★★★
In a nutshell: “John Cleese has welded together three vintage episodes (Hotel Inspectors, Communication Problems, The Germans) to form one indisputably funny evening... Wall-to-wall nostalgia and copper-bottomed mirth.” Read the full review
Booking until: Jan 4 2025
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Guys & Dolls, Bridge Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “Nicholas Hytner’s box of tricks, the Bridge, unleashes the show all around you if you’re one of the 380 punters standing in the thick of it... It’s an extravaganza that explodes every which way.” Read the full review
Booking until: Jan 4 2025
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The Lehman Trilogy, Gillian Lynne Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “I urge you to see this extraordinary theatrical experience – at once epic and intimate – which works simultaneously as a primer on the history of capitalism, a reflection on the American dream and a deeply moving portrait of a family.” Read the full review
Booking until: Jan 5 2025
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Magic Mike Live, Hippodrome Casino
In a nutshell: “‘I wanted to create a space where men really listened to women,’ says creator Channing Tatum. What emerges is undoubtedly entertaining and one of the best fun nights London has to offer.” Read the full article
Booking until: Jan 5 2025
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Operation Mincemeat, Fortune Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “A plucky British success story... This Olivier Award-winning musical about the wartime operation is the perfect mix of ingenious, silly and moving.” Read the full review
Booking until: Jan 25 2025
Why Am I So Single?, Garrick Theatre
In a nutshell: Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, co-creators of the world-conquering Six, bring us a meta-musical about two musical theatre writers, who spill the details of their love lives.
Booking until: Feb 13 2025
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ambassadors Theatre ★★★★
In a nutshell: “F Scott Fitzgerald’s mind-blowing conceit gets a marvellous makeover... The ensemble of five ply a variety of instruments, dart between characters, synchronise movements and wield puppets fashioned from washed-up flotsam.” Read the full review
Booking: Oct 10-Feb 15 2025
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Mean Girls, Savoy Theatre ★★★★
In a nutshell: “ Just as there was a winning comic zest to the film (scripted by Tina Fey), so this musical spin-off has a rare combination of warmth, goofiness, snarky wit and perceptiveness... A welcome splash of summer fizz.” Read the full review
Booking until: Feb 16 2025
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Mrs Doubtfire, Shaftesbury Theatre ★★★★
In a nutshell: “Fear not, dearies – this exuberant show is still one of the biggest treats in the West End... Gabriel Vick is on fire in his utterly astonishing tour-de-force performance.” Read the full review
Booking until: Feb 16 2025
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The Mousetrap, St Martin’s Theatre
In a nutshell: The longest-running play in the world, Agatha Christie’s fiendish murder mystery has been bamboozling audiences since 1952. Can you match wits with the Queen of Crime and figure out whodunit?
Booking until: Mar 1 2025
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Palace Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “British theatre hasn’t known anything like it for decades and I haven’t seen anything directly comparable in all my reviewing days... It raises the benchmark for family entertainment.” Read the full review
Booking until: Mar 2 2025
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MJ The Musical, Prince Edward Theatre ★★★
In a nutshell: “Goodness can Myles Frost dance, capturing precisely Michael Jackson’s sublime, peculiarly agitated grace, his limbs seemingly made from tensile liquid as he thrusts and coils, shimmers and spins.” Read the full review
Booking until: Mar 29 2025
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Les Miserables, Sondheim Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “In its density and epic ambition, its mixture of high-powered ideas and gut-wrenching emotions, it’s a show that feels lastingly revolutionary.” Read the full review
Booking until: Mar 29 2025
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The Phantom of the Opera, Her Majesty’s Theatre ★★★★
In a nutshell: “It’s the slew of coups de théâtre, the no-nonsense pacing and the gorgeous spectacles that make this tale of a disfigured man of musical genius lurking beneath the Paris Opera House so effective.” Read the full review
Booking until: Mar 29 2025
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The Lion King, Lyceum Theatre ★★★★
In a nutshell: “Watching the show alongside my rapt children, I was struck by how much it succeeds in speaking to the heart rather than the head... A deeply felt celebration of life.” Read the full review
Booking until: Mar 30 2025
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Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Phoenix Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “Netflix gives the West End its event of the year... The jaw-dropping coups range from the infernal, supernatural engulfing of a hulking US battle-ship to acts of levitation.” Read the full review
Booking until: Apr 6 2025
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Six, Vaudeville Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “This infectiously fun production is packed with witty touches... A heart-warming, air-punching finale has everyone up on their feet. I expect these queens to rule the West End for years to come.” Read the full review
Booking until: May 4 2025
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The Play That Goes Wrong, Duchess Theatre ★★★★
In a nutshell: “Seldom has disaster delivered so many belly laughs... This spoof am-dram staging of an Agatha Christie whodunit is the perfect recipe for absurd slapstick.” Read the full review
Booking until: May 4 2025
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Matilda The Musical, Cambridge Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “Matthew Warchus’s thrilling, warm-hearted production, exuberantly designed by Rob Howell and with pin-sharp choreography by Peter Darling, constantly combines comedy with a sense of wonder.” Read the full review
Age recommendation: 6+
Booking until: May 25 2025
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Cabaret, Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “An absolute knockout... With its combination of all-encompassing decadent beauty and thunderous moral force, there’s simply nothing else in town quite like it.” Read the full review
Booking until: May 31 2025
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The Devil Wears Prada, Dominion Theatre
In a nutshell: The fabulously fashionable fable, a thinly veiled takedown of Vogue editor Anna Wintour, has become a stage musical with songs by Elton John. Vanessa Williams stars.
Booking: Oct 24-May 31 2025
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Wicked, Apollo Victoria Theatre ★★★★
In a nutshell: “Joe Mantello’s production has satisfyingly old-school bombast: instead of screens, its impact comes from the detailed, fabulously over-the-top steampunk design. The orchestra is the biggest in the West End – and it shows.” Read the full review
Booking until: June 1 2025
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Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster musical makes a spellbinding return... Skating around a state-of-the-art theatrical environment, the energy and bravura of it all are frankly out of this world.” Read the full review
Booking until: Jun 8 2025
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Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Aldwych Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “An Anglo-American triumph. It combines the aesthetic finesse of British director Phyllida Lloyd with the political instincts of Memphis-born, Olivier-nominated playwright Katori Hall.” Read the full review
Booking until: Jul 27 2025
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Back to the Future: The Musical, Adelphi Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “Thanks to video and illusionist wizardry, the steam-spouting DeLorean skids into view from nowhere and takes off over the stalls, achieving a kind of 3D Hollywood magic... A feelgood triumph.” Read the full review
Booking until: Jul 27 2025
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Mamma Mia!, Novello Theatre ★★★★
In a nutshell: “Phyllida Lloyd’s slick production is still a tremendous crowd-pleaser... Buoyed by Abba’s enduring brilliance, it’s a welcome shot of pure sunshine.” Read the full review
Booking until: Sept 27 2025
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Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre ★★★★★
In a nutshell: “Lin-Manuel Miranda’s construction is just a marvel – one of the artistic wonders of the world... History is made to feel risky, uncertain and fresh: young people fumbling their way towards freedom.” Read the full review
Booking until: Sept 27 2025
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Witness for the Prosecution, London County Hall ★★★★
In a nutshell: “Not just a whodunit, but a wheredunit... Agatha Christie’s bravura twisty plotting is still second to none. Combined with the inspired use of an historic location, it’s criminally entertaining.” Read the full review
Booking until: Sept 28 2025
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Frequently asked questions
How do I find what’s on in the West End?
London has a fantastic mix of long-running shows, like Wicked, Matilda and The Play That Goes Wrong, and new productions. We will be constantly updating this page with top picks for the best London musicals and plays from our critics, so keep checking back to see all of the latest reviews and recommendations of upcoming theatre shows.
You can also find a range of reviews, interviews and preview features at Telegraph Theatre.
How much is the average West End ticket?
West End ticket prices vary depending on the seating and the venue. You can usually find some cheap ticket for London shows from around £20, up to £60 for seats closer to the stage, and then some premium pricing of £100 or more for the very best seats in the house. However, there are also great West End discounts to be found – check out Telegraph Tickets for all the current London ticket deals.
What are the newest West End shows?
Some of the latest additions to London’s West End include the acclaimed stage adaptation of A Little Life, starring James Norton; British wartime musical Operation Mincemeat; and the glorious toe-tapping musical Crazy For You. Book tickets for all the best new shows now.
Can I change the date/time of my theatre show ticket?
Many theatres have a policy whereby once you’ve booked a ticket, you cannot cancel it or change it to another date. However, it does vary: some venues are able to be more flexible about this, especially if it’s a sold-out show. Check the terms and conditions on the website where you booked, or call the box office.
What is the best way to travel to the theatre?
If you’re seeing a show in the West End, the easiest way to get to the theatre is usually by public transport. Traffic tends to get very busy in the centre of London, especially around rush hour. There are numerous Tube stations close to West End theatres, such as Charing Cross, Leicester Square, Piccadilly and Tottenham Court Road, servicing Tube lines like the Central, Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee. Visit the TfL website to plan your route. You can also try buses (although they’re slower moving at rush hour), or if the weather is pleasant, walking or cycling.
Can I bring my child to a theatre performance not specifically for children?
Many shows have specific age recommendations and won’t admit younger children – you can find that information in our family theatre guide or on booking websites for productions, like Telegraph Tickets. Those recommendations are made based on the content and any potentially scary, disturbing or mature elements. However, each child is different, so it’s also up to parents to decide whether their child can cope with a particular show. Think about the story, the production elements (like loud noises), and the length – even adults may struggle with longer shows!
Do theatre performances have age ratings?
Yes, they do. Just like films, theatre shows have recommended age ratings – normally suggesting a minimal age for audience members, like 6+, and asking that any children by accompanied by adults. We’ve got age recommendations for all family-friendly shows in our family theatre guide and on the Telegraph Tickets booking site, and you can also find that information on individual theatre websites or by calling the box office.
How do I book theatre tickets for a large group of people?
Lots of theatre websites will offer help and advice for group bookings – some even have dedicated box office phone lines. In fact, it can be a great way to get a good deal on tickets or to book cheap tickets for big shows. Plus it’s fun to do a group outing with lots of friends or family members. Check out all the latest shows that would suit group bookings on Telegraph Tickets.
What items can’t I bring to the theatre?
Nearly all theatres, particularly in the West End, operate bag checks on entry. Security officials will be checking for any dangerous items – so potential weapons or other sharp objects, fireworks or pyrotechnics, or hazardous substances. Most also prohibit you from bringing in drugs or alcohol, and some prefer you not to bring in outside food or drink (other than sealed bottles of water), since they provide both in the theatre. Some venues also ask you not to bring large bags. You can find the latest information on theatre websites.
Can I still watch the performance if I am late?
Generally yes – ushers will tend to wait until an appropriate time in the production, like a scene change, to show you to your seats. If you’re really late, some theatres might ask you to watch the remainder of that first half on a screen just outside the auditorium, and then you can enter after the interval. If you are on time but your companion is running late, you should be able to leave their ticket with the box office.
What is the difference between stalls, grand circle and dress circle seats?
Stalls tickets mean you are seated on the ground level of the theatre, with seats beginning right next to the stage and extending to the back. These tend to be the more expensive tickets, since you’re closest to the action. The dress circle is one level up. Seats here are usually a bit cheaper, but you can still get a great view from the dress circle: it tends to extend over the back half of the stalls, and it’s particularly good for something like a musical with big song-and-dance numbers since you have an aerial view of the whole stage.
The grand circle is another level up, so this is usually where you find the cheap tickets. However, grand circle seats can be a great deal – you might not have the best sightlines, but you still feel like part of the show, and for less. So, if you want the best guaranteed seats, central stalls or near the front of the dress circle is best. But if you’re looking for cheap tickets, grand circle is a good pick.
