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There’s one name on everyone’s lips in Theatreland this month: Cynthia Erivo, who trades witchcraft for vampirism as she returns to the London stage for the first time in a decade with a one-woman take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. That’s the splashiest show of the month, though if it sounds dauntingly hip a new Yes, Minister play starring Griff Rhys Jones and a reviewal of CS Lewis bio-drama Shadowlands starring Hugh Bonneville ought to offer more traditional delights. The other big news is a rare revival of the late Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece Arcadia – a generational event even without the poignant timing.
Elsewhere the London stage is as eclectic as ever: the UK premiere of a play by the late Chadwick Boseman at Shakespeare’s Globe? Yes please! A drama about cavemen called The Shitheads? Why not? Read on to find out more.
The best new London theatre openings in February 2026
1. Dracula
Cynthia Erivo was a rising star of the British stage before the tiny Menier Chocolate Factory’s 2015 production of The Color Purple set off a chain of events that would make her one of the biggest actors on the planet. She hasn’t performed on said British stage since. But now she finally makes her return home in style: playing all 23 roles in a stage version of Bram Stoker’s vampire classic. It might sound a touch hubristic, but she’s in safe hands with Australian multimedia whizzkid director Kip Williams, who was responsible for the excellent Sarah Snook-starring Dorian Gray a couple of years back. Expect a tour-de-force acting performance – but also expect a dazzlingly techy production.
Noël Coward Theatre, Feb 4-May 30. Buy tickets here.
2. Arcadia
The late, great Tom Stoppard (pictured above) personally signed off every British cast for every major production of one of his plays. And this will be the last one. He passed away in November, but not before offering his input into this revival of what is almost universally agreed to be his masterpiece. Carrie Cracknell directs a cast headed by rising star Isis Hainsworth in Stoppard’s dizzyingly clever but powerfully emotional drama about Thomasina Coverly, a precocious Georgian teenager with visionary ideas about maths and physics.
Old Vic, now until Mar 21. Buy tickets here.
3. Man and Boy
One sign of regime change at the National Theatre is that the smaller Dorfman venue – which has had a new-writing only policy for years – has now expanded its repertoire slightly to include the odd classic revival. Indeed, due to a programming hiccup that delayed the end of Rufus Norris’ final season in the Dorfman, this rare revival of Terrence Rattigan’s 1963 drama about a selfish banker and his estranged son will be the first piece of programming in the theatre from Indhu Rubasingham. Anthony Lau directs Ben Daniels and Laurie Kynaston in a piece long due a reappraisal.
National Theatre Dorfman, now until Mar 14.
4. Deep Azure
Chadwick Boseman wasn’t just a great actor: the late Black Panther star had strings to his bow, a significant one of which was a short playwriting career that culminated in 2005 with the Deep Azure, which received considerable cult acclaim in the US. A poetic drama about Azure, a woman left reeling from the murder of her boyfriend Deep, this UK premiere is directed by Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu and will be possibly the first contemporary American play to run in the Globe’s indoor theatre.
Shakespeare’s Globe, Feb 7-Apr 11. Buy tickets here.
5 Bird Grove
It’s been a decade since the last play from Alexi Kaye Campbell, but his new one looks promising, a drama about Mary Ann Evans – that’s the real name of the future novelist George Eliot – as her father tries to marry her off at young age, while she chafes at social rules and contemplates defying the convention of marriage. Anna Ledwich directs Andor break-out star Elizabeth Dulau as Evans/Eliot, with Owen Teale as her father Robert.
Hampstead Theatre, Feb 13-Mar 21. Buy tickets here.
6. Here There are Blueberries
This acclaimed US play was a finalist for the Pulitzer and comes to us in a brand-new production that’s directed by its co-writer, Moisés Kaufman. Based on true events, it’s about the 2007 discovery of a disturbing cache of wartime photos that show the staff of a concentration camp living happy, joyful lives. It’s the first production in new Stratford East artistic director Lisa Spirling’s inaugural season.
Stratford East, now until Feb 28.
7. I’m Sorry Prime Minister
The classic Thatcher-era political sitcoms Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister still have formidable reputations and have enjoyed a considerable afterlife on stage thanks to the popularity of a successful 2010 adaptation that begat a low key 2013 TV series. This, however, is the end of the road for the franchise as Griff Rhys Jones plays former PM Jim Hacker, whose attempts to enjoy a quiet retirement as dean of his own Oxford college are undermined when he gets cancelled by the college committee. Original show writer Jonathan Lynn writes and directs.
Apollo Theatre, now until May 9. Buy tickets here.
8. Shadowlands
This revival for William Nicholson’s ’80s play about the great CS Lewis and his meeting and marriage to vibrant younger American poet Joy Gresham was a hit at Chichester Festival Theatre pre-pandemic. Now it finally transfers to London complete with its big star: Hugh Bonneville, in his first West End performance performance in decades.
Aldwych Theatre, Feb 5-May 8. Buy tickets here.
9. The Shitheads
The Royal Court is trying something a little different for its 70th birthday season: the plays in the small Upstairs theatre are all by first-time playwrights who submitted the work for consideration rather than having them specifically commissioned by the Court. It’s a bold way to programme and naturally we don’t know much about Jack Nicholls as a playwright because he’s not done anything else. But his debut is a drama about cavemen called The Shitheads, which let’s be honest, sounds pretty good.
Royal Court Theatre, Feb 6-Mar 14. Buy tickets here.
10. Evening All Afternoon
Playwright Anna Ziegler is a big deal in the US and almost unknown over here with the exception of one massive hit: 2015’s Photograph 51, which starred Nicole Kidman. Can she do it again 10 years on? Evening All Afternoon is the world premiere of a drama about a woman and her mistrustful soon-to-be daughter-in-law and while there’s no Kidman-grade star, it marks the stage debut of hotly tipped young Bone Temple star Erin Kellyman.
Donmar Warehouse, Feb 14-Apr 11.
The best new London theatre shows to book for in 2026.
Plus: the National Theatre has announced a celebrity-filled year of work.
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