‘You are not asked to like “Les Misérables”. You are asked to admire it.’
So declared former Time Out theatre editor Susie MacKenzie in a terse third-of-a-column review of a musical that opened at the Barbican in October 1985 (no star rating, we were too highbrow back then).
It’s now part of the myth of ‘Les Misérables’ – enthusiastically burnished by its lead producer Cameron Mackintosh – that the critics hated it but the public lapped it up, propelling it to world dominance on the back of pure people power. In fact, the reviews were mixed and McKenzie’s response is typical: the musical – a co-production between Mackintosh and the RSC – was so disorientingly bombastic that reviewers seemed a bit dazed and confused by the whole thing. This was long before ‘Les Misérables’ became ‘Les Mis’, and nobody had any inkling it would go on to become the longest-running London musical of all time.
That’s exactly what Trevor Nunn’s production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s all-singing Victor Hugo adaptation became, though. Following Jean Valjean – a humble French peasant who spends 19 years in jail then battles appalling odds to make something of his life – ‘Les Mis’ has become a true London icon. It hopped from its short stint at the Barbican to 19 years at the Palace Theatre, then on to a further 15 at the Queen’s Theatre. It’s been seen around the world – it’s the sixth-longest-running Broadway show of all time – but London is its real home, where it’s the longest-running musical ever. Maybe the stratospheric UK success of a show about the little-known Paris Uprising of 1832 is a sign that we’re a truly international city. Maybe it just proves that musical theatre – which lest we forget, also gave us ‘Starlight Express’ – is just pretty random.
Whatever the case, with still-ubiquitous tunes such as ‘One Day More’ and ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, ‘Les Mis’ has indeed experienced one day more, then another day more, then several thousand other days more. What’s its secret? Lots of things. There are undoubtedly some stone-cold bangers in the song list. Serious, emotional musicals tend to have more success than silly, lightweight ones, and ‘Les Mis’ is very, very serious. Success begets success: in part it’s popular because it’s now so famous. And Mackintosh has kept it in good order: it continues to makes use of world-class performers, and it’s been discreetly tweaked over the years, with the somewhat ’80s-tastic original score updated a few years back. The recent blockbuster film didn’t hurt either.
However. The last year has been the weirdest one in the show’s history, as – and you might want to take notes – the original production closed in July, to be temporarily replaced by a concert version, which has in turn been replaced by the ‘new’ version that’s been rolled out across the globe over the last few years, leaving London the last place in the world where you could catch Trevor Nunn’s RSC production. Cameron Mackintosh would like us to accept the ‘new’ version of ‘Les Mis’ as pure continuity, and although you can understand why Nunn is fuming, the fact is that Mackintosh has a point. As it turns out, the changes are fairly superficial: broadly speaking, the iconic revolving stage is out, some fancy new projections are in, and that’s about the size of it.
So why do it? A cynical soul would perhaps speculate that Mackintosh no longer wanted to share credit with the RSC, which had enjoyed a solid stream of revenue from the show over the last 34 years. But the superproducer is a notorious perfectionist, and we should probably take him at his word when he says that he sincerely thinks this is a better version.
The truth, though, is that while Mackintosh made ‘Les Misérables’, it is now much bigger than him, and I suspect he’d only dare tweak it so far. It is not just a musical. Here in London it is the musical, and it will live on a long time after its producer is gone – and perhaps the rest of us too.
‘Les Misérables’ is booking at the Sondheim Theatre until Oct 17.
What is it? Avenue Q was a ’00s musical theatre phenomenon, a profane, puppet-driven mash up of Sesame Street and Rent. Centring on young puppet Princeton, it follows the misadventure of him and the assortment of humans and puppets he encounters as he moves into the titular run down New York suburb. And now it’s back, for a twentieth anniversay British revival that has been billed as a strictly limited revival run.
Where is it? Shaftesbury Theatre.
What is it? Technically known as Beetlejuice The Musical. The Musical. The Musical, this massive scale Broadway adaptation of the classic Tim Burton comedy horror movie has been a big hit in the States and now it’s repeated the feat over here with a limited – but lengthy – West End run
Where is it? Prince Edward Theatre.
What is it? A titantic West End and global smash in the ’00s and ’10s, the stage musical version of Billy Elliot is conceivably a bigger hit than the well-liked 2000 Britflick that it’s based upon. Tracing the adventures of young Billy – a working class lad from Durham coming to grips with his love of ballet at the hight of the miners’ strike – the musical adaptation retains the film’s director (Stephen Daldry) and writer (Lee Hall) but adds flamboyant theatricality, added rage at Thatcher, and songs by Elton John. It returns for 2027, with a long-ish West End stint the centrepiece of a national tour.
Where is it? Adelphi Theatre.
What is it? South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Broadway-munching musical is a somewhat improbably big-hearted affair that sails close to the wind at times but nonetheless pays note-perfect homage to the sounds and spirit of Broadway’s golden age.
Where is it? Prince of Wales Theatre.
What is it? A stage adaptation of the Christina Aguilera screen vehicle Burlesque was a limited run hit in the West End in 2025. Now it’s back for a longer stint in new pop-up theatre The Arts at Marble Arch, though there’s reason to think this will be a heavily revised version with a different creative team.
Where is it? The Arts at Marble March.
What is it? Years after its original superstar leads Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley moved on, Rebecca Frecknall’s stylish take on the Kander & Ebb classic keeps going, thanks to Tom Scutt’s virtuosic delight and a steady stream of talking point leads.
Where is it? Playhouse Theatre.
What is it? It’s finally happened: human civilization has finally lasted long enough that there is a second British production of Cats. Audaciously bagged by the Open Air Theatre as its big 2026 summer musical, but embarking on a UK tour thereafter, it’ll be directed and chroegraphed by OAT boss Drew McOnie. He’s a slick, commercial director with something of a dance focus, but he’s unlikely to do a Jamie Lloyd-style deconstruction of it, but any new take will probably feel inherently radical purely by dint of trying something different in any way.
Where is it? Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.
What is it? This is a fun one: Death Note the Musical is an adaptation of the hit manga that tells the story of one Light Yagami, a brilliant student who is given a notebook by a capricious magical being. The book has one very specific function: anyone whose name is written in it will die within 40 seconds. The power goes to Light’s head, as he comes to see himself as a god tasked with eliminating evildoers from the planet. But the world’s governments hire a secretive detective to try and find the person responsible for the inexplicable deaths.
Where is it? Barbican Centre.
What is it? The Devil Wears Prada is an all-singing adaptation of the 2006 millennial classic about a mousy young journalism graduate who blunders into the job of PA to a tyrannical, Anna Wintour-alike fashion editor. The songs are by none other than Elton John. The director-choreographer is Broadway veteran Jerry Mitchell. There’s some serious talent involved. And yet being turned into a musical does… almost nothing for it.
Where is it? Dominion Theatre.
What is it? UK premiere for this off-Broadway hit, an all-singing stage adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s meta graphic novels for primary schoolers, which comprise a wilfully dumb saga of a police officer whose head is replaced with that of a dog.
Where is it? Southbank Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hall.
What is it? What a long, strange trip it’s been. Indie-folk musician Anaïs Mitchell’s musical retelling of the Orpheus story began life in the mid-’00s as a lo-fi song cycle – going through the next 14 years blow-by-blow would be time-consuming, but in short thanks to what I can only describe as THEATRE MAGIC, Hadestown is now a full-blown musical directed by the visionary Rachel Chavkin, its success as a show vastly outstripping that of the record.
Where is it? Lyric Theatre.
What is it? Okay, let’s just get this out of the way. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ludicrously hyped rap musical Hamilton is stupendously good. Even if it’s become a slight victim of its own cultural ubiquity, it is undoubtedly the musical of our age.
Where is it? Victoria Palace Theatre.
What is it? A cult hit that’s been running on and off in London for years, this somewhat saccharine musical version of the classic Winona Ryder/Christian Slater black comedy will be the inaugural show at the new Arts at Marble Arch pop-up.
Where is it? The Arts at Marble Arch.
What is it? Disney’s latest stage musical is a solidly entertaining, kiddie-orientated adaptation of its beloved Greek mythology based 1997 animated smash.
Where is it? Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
What is it? The Barbican scored a walloping post-pandemic hit with its revival of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes and another one with his Kiss Me, Kate in 2024. For its 2026 summer musical slot it turns to another giddy Porter classic in the form of the stage adaptation of 1956’s High Society. As ever with Porter, the plot is almost entirely irrelevant but it revolves around a fancy Rhode Island society wedding that descends into chaos for various reasons. Helen George and Felicity Kendal star.
Where is it? Barbican Centre.
What is it? The second musical to be staged at the Bridge is a revival of the late, great Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, his puckish musical subversion of the Brothers Grimm fairytales. Jordan Fein’s stunning production will transfer to the West End later in the year.
Where is it? Noël Coward Theatre.
What is it? The Open Air Theatre production of Lloyd Webber’s Biblical classic transfers to the West End at long last, with pop star Sam Ryder in the title role and a rotating series of celebrity Pilots.
Where is it? London Palladium then Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
What is it? A big coup for Hampstead Theatre here, as it bags the UK premiere of the wildly acclaimed US indie musical Kimberley Akimbo. It follows the eponymous 16-year-old girl afflicted by a rare/essentially magical disease that makes her age four times faster than usual. It’s headed over here in a brand new production from Michael Longhurst.
Where is it? Hampstead Theatre.
What is it? The big summer musical at the London Coliseum is a revival of Kinky Boots, Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper’s musical adaptation of the 2005 Britcom about an ailing Northampton shoe factory that finds a new lease of life when a series of convoluted shenanigans lead to owner Charlie designing a range of high heels designed to take the weight of drag queens.
Where is it? London Coliseum.
What is it? The Last Ship is about the most British-sounding musical ever: it concerns the decline of the Swan Hunter shipyard in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear. Sounds… absolutely nothing like a Broadway hit, right? Well, yes, but it was written by Gordon Sumner – aka Sting – and very serious attempts were made to make it a Broadway hit. Now it finally comes to London in a large scale production that stars Sting himself in the lead part of Jackie White, a role insoiured by his own ship engineer father.
Where is it? Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
What is it? Technically the longest running musical of all time (despite basically getting replaced by a new production a few years back) Les Mis could be transposed to space, or underwater, or to the height of the Hittite empire and it would basically be the same show as long as the singing was on point.
Where is it? Sondheim Theatre.
What is it? Nothing prepares you for the sheer impact of The Lion King’s opening sequence. Yes, the musical is a long-established West End hit, adapted from a popular Disney film. But director Julie Taymor’s boldly expressionist use of masks and costumes still stuns to this day, even if it’s a little dispiriting that she has to work in all the farting warthog stuff.
Where is it? Lyceum Theatre.
What is it? The original jukebox musical (or certainly the longest lasting), it may be basic as hell but it's impossible not to fall for Mamma Mia!'s twinkling charms.
Where is it? Novello Theatre.
What is it? Matilda must be making its creators, playwright Dennis Kelly and comedian-songsmith Tim Minchin, a very pair of proud parents. The last truly massive British musical, the Roald Dahl adaptation has been up and running at the Cambridge Theatre since 2010.
What is it? Cameron Mackintosh’s bombastic Vietnam musical Miss Saigon was one of the last of the proper blockbuster ’80s musicals, running at the massive Theatre Drury Lane for a decade, a genuinely unthinkable feat today. In 2027 it will return in updated form for a limited eight month run.
Where is it? Prince Edward Theatre.
What is it? Director Alex Timbers’s dementedly maximalist ‘remix’ of Baz Luhrmann’s smash 2001 film is pure sensory overload. It doesn’t exactly feel weighed down by plot, but if you’re after bombast, this is your show.
Where is it? Piccadilly Theatre.
What is it? SplitLip’s delightful spoof WW2 musical spent five years heading inexorably for the West End from its fringey behinnings; now it feels like it’s been there all along.
Where is it? Fortune Theatre.
What is it? This delightful and gratifyingly big budget new British musical is an adaptation of the first Paddington movie. But it has a character of its own, in large part thanks to the remarkable way the polite young bear has been brought to life in the room.
Where is it? Savoy Theatre.
What is it? I’m not sure any show ‘deserves’ to be the most successful entertainment event of all time, but I’ll hand it current holder of that title, The Phantom of the Opera – it still works hard for its audience.
Where is it? His Majesty’s Theatre.
What is it? Matthew Warchus directs Stephen Beresford’s musical adaptation of their own acclaimed 2014 film. Based on a true story and real characters, Pride tells the story of the solidarity the British LGBT community offered the striking miners in the ’80s, with the story revolving around yoiung gay activist Mark Ashton, who brokered the unlikely alliance.
Where is it? National Theatre, Dorfman.
What is it? Back in the West End in a new production almost 20 years after its crazily hyped orginal run, Mel Brooks’s The Producers is undoubtedly of its time, but nonetheless remains tremendously good fun.
Where is it? Garrick Theatre.
What is it? A new musical written by and starring musical theatre star Jordan Luke Gage, Redcliffe is based on a true story and follows the tragic love of William Critchard and Richard Arnold, two gay men in 18th century Bristol. Paul Foster directs a cast headed by Gage as Critchard.
Where is it? Southwark Playhouse Borough.
What is it? This glossy Frank Sinatra bio-musical may have had its original try out run in Birmingham last year, but Sinatra the Musical follows the increasingly common path of a big new American show working its kinks through in the more forgiving UK before chancing Broadway.
Where is it? Aldwych Theatre.
What is it? ‘Remember us from your GCSEs? It’s Henry VIII’s six wives – and they’ve back, bitch, to re-tell ‘her-story’ as a slick, sassy girl band. Think Euro-pop remixes of ‘Greensleeves’, Anne Boleyn spouting tweenage text-speak (‘everybody chill/it’s totes God’s will’), and K-Howard warbling #MeToo tales of gropey employers. Six is the most successful and distinctive Brit musical of recent times.
Where is it? Vaudeville Theatre.
What is it? Wicked hearthrobs Ariana Grande and Joanthan Bailey will star in a seriously splashy revival of Stephen Sondheim’s 1984 classic Sunday in the Park with George. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a typically virtuosic work by the late genius that was inspired by the pointillist painter Georges Seurat's work A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, and follows a fictionalised version of the artist plus – years later – his cynical great grandson.
Where is it? Barbican Centre – but not until summer 2027.
What is it? Okay, it’s less glossy – and considerably shorter – than the film(s). But Stephen Schwartz’s stylish and bombastic Wizard of Oz musical prequel still delivers.
Where is it? Apollo Victoria.
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