The Time Out London blog team

My one rule of theatre is that while it’s nice to travel to see shows out of town, there’s never any point in having FOMO because everything that’s actually any good will probably end up coming to London anyway. And March 2026 certainly proves the hell out of that rule, as we’re treated to transfers of the most acclaimed Broadway show of last year (John Proctor is the Villain), the first production from Michael Sheen’s Welsh National Theatre (Our Town), and transfers from such exotic locales as Bristol (Choir Boy) and Leicester (Kinky Boots). Plus plenty of homegrown magic including a massive luxury National Theatre production of Maxim Gorky’s Summerfolk, and the great director Robert Icke helming a new production of Romeo & Juliet starring Sadie Sink. The 10 best new London theatre openings in March 2026 Photo: Empire Street ProductionsNoah Jupe and Sadie Sink 1. Romeo & Juliet What a joy it is to live in an era in which Robert Icke and Jamie Lloyd – arguably the two most exciting mainstream theatre directors alive – are basically now in charge of West End celebrity Shakespeare. Following Lloyd’s superlative Much Ado last year, Icke picks up the baton again with his own take on Romeo & Juliet, this one with Stranger Things starlet Sadie Sink as one half of of the doomed teenage power couple and Noah Jupe – best known for his role in the Quiet Place films – as her Romeo. Expect (as ever with Icke) an emotional but unsentimental production that’s liable to find new...

When people talk about settling down with a family, it’s normally assumed that they’re talking about ditching city life to go and raise kids somewhere greener and quieter. But there is something to be said for bringing children up in a place like London.  For one, they’ll hardly ever be bored. And they’ll be exposed to far more culture than if they were growing up in a tiny town a few hundred miles away. Don’t just take our word for it – according to a new report, London is the second best city in entire the world for raising a family.  The study by Compare the Market AU looked at nine different factors across 50 cities: safety, happiness, things to do with kids, cost of living, parental leave, family benefits spending, green spaces, vaccination rates and education spending. With an overall score of 5.992 out of 10, London won the silver medal, losing out on first place to Brisbane.  The Big Smoke’s high ranking is largely thanks to its huge amount of things to do with kids. The study counted 758 child-friendly activities listed for London on TripAdvisor, which was the most of all the cities besides Rome (which has 771 ways to keep kids entertained). Loads of those things, like the Natural History Museum, the Young V&A, the city farms and the Science Museum, are completely free. It also scored well in the green spaces per capita category, with the sixth highest number out of all the cities assessed.  Photograph: Art Fund / Young V&A   On top of all that, next to all of...

Londoners who grew up pretty much anywhere north of the Thames will be familiar with the charms of Brent Cross. Whether you trawled its hallowed halls after your mum as she did the yearly Christmas shop or hung around the Fenwick parking lot with mates, it’s been a well-trodden staple for north Londoners for exactly half a century. It seems hard to believe that when Brent Cross first opened in 1976 it was an entirely novel concept, becoming the first out-of-town shopping centre not just in London, but in the entire UK. As the decades have passed, BX has lost much of the glitzy newness of its early days. But that could all be about to change.  Now celebrating its 50th birthday, Brent Cross is receiving a well-earned facelift. Plans for up to 150 news shops, 50 restaurants, a cinema complex and hotel will restore the shoppers’ paradise to the glory of its heyday. The exact details and timescale for the new development haven’t yet been announced, but plans will be finalised by spring 2026. Barnet Council originally released redevelopment plans for Brent Cross in 2019, at which time the revamp was estimated to cost a whopping £1.4 billion. The shopping haven’s transformation formed part of the borough’s wider vision for Brent Cross Town, which included ambitions for a new high street and town centre and a sparkly new Thameslink railway station.   Photograph: TK Kurikawa / Shutterstock.com   Brent Cross West station opened in 2023, becoming the capital’s biggest new rail stop...