The best theatre shows in London for 2025 and 2026 not to miss

What is it? Marianne Elliott (War Horse, Curious Incident) directs Nick Payne’s first Royal Court play since his smash hit Constellations, as Nicola Walker stars as a woman trapped in a haze of grief in the seven years after her son goes missing.

Where is it? Royal Court Theatre.

How much is it? £15-£64.

Why book? Frankly the talent involved is ridiculous and it has all the makings of a Royal Court smash hit, in the same way that last year’s similarly starry Giant did. And if you think it sounds a bit conventional, worry not – apparently in Payne’s play all seven years of grief happen simultaneously, which sounds pretty mind-blowing.

What is it? The Line of Beauty is rising star playwright Jack Holden’s adaptation of Alan Hollinghurt’s classic novel of Thatcherite Britain. Set in 1983, it follows protagonist Nick as he gets sucked into an alluring, disconcerting world of extreme privilige in a rapidly changing country. 

Where is it? Almeida Theatre. 

How much is it? £sold out, but more should be released.

Why book? The combination of the book and the theatre is exciting enough, but the USP at this stage is superstar director Michael Grandage – this is his first show in a small theatre since he left the Donmar Warehouse over a decade ago. There’s a juicy cast too that includes Charles Edwards and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers.

What is it? Immersive theatre legends Punchdrunk return with a ‘stealth based exploration game’ based on ‘videogame mechanics’ that will see audiences deployed in teams of four onto an alien planet to try and find out the fate of the titular landing vehicle, which has disappeared mysteriously.

Where is it? The Carriageworks (Punchdrunk’s Woolwich HQ).

How much is it? Approximately £40 a ticket (they have to be purchased in groups of two or four).

Why book? A new Punchdrunk show is always a massive event and the prospect of them crafting an immersive space adventure is enticing to say the least. 

What is it? This West End revival for Shakespeare’s great tragedy of race and jealousy won’t get a fraction of the attention that the 2025 Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal production received, but there’s every hope it’ll be the better Othello. It’s directed by Tom Morris, who co-directed War Horse and then went off to run the Bristol Old Vic – but now he’s back with a bang. 

Where is it? Theatre Royal Haymarket.

How much is it? £25-£199.

Why go? It’s good to have Morris back, but of course the cast is the big draw. Toby Jones has the makings of a great Iago and US actor Caitlin FitzGerald should be a good Desdemona. But the big deal here is David Harewood as Othello, returning to the role as an older man having been the first Black actor to play the role at the National Theatre back in 1997.

What is it? After a decade of false starts, a stage adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s dystopian YA classic The Hunger Games is coming to London in October, opening at a brand new in-the-round theatre in Canary Wharf. An ensemble cast is led by Mia Carragher as Katniss Everdeen.

Where is it? Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre.

How much is it? £35-£195.

Why book? The odds are most audience members will be fans of the books. This isn’t a new story: it’s the first book adapted for stage. But thatr should be pretty thrilling in itself. It’s not many modern plays that revolve around a group of teenager gladiators literally trying to kill each other, and it has a thrilling creative team led by top playwright Conor McPherson – you can expect a darker, grungier take than the films.

What is it? Paddington supremacy continues. The last year has seen the beloved Peruvian bear expand his portfolio to encompass a third film, a permanent London immersive experience, and his own limited edition run of Time Out magazine. Next up: a full blown musical theatre show, Paddington the Musical.

Where is it? Savoy Theatre.

How much it it? £30-£160.

Why book? Yes, okay, Paddington is a tiny bit over-exposed these days. But super producer Sonia Friedman isn’t going to let a by-numbers, will-this-do cash-in go out under her watch. The crack creative team is headed by director Luke Sheppard – who smashed it with last year’s Starlight Express revival – and written by playwright Jessica Swale with songs by McFly mainstay and kids’ author Tom Fletcher. It’s clearly aimed at kids (aged six-plus), but it should be thoroughly magical for all.

What is it? John Le Carré’s landmark Cold War novel has a huge reputation but is relatively under-adapted compared to the later Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Now here’s a theatre version, transferring to London after an acclaimed run at Chichester last year.

Where is it? @sohoplace.

How much is it? £25-£95.

Why book? The morally ambigious story of battle weary British intelligence officer Alec Leanas (Rory Keenan), who is ready to ‘come in from the cold’ but pressed into one more job by spymaster George Smiley (John Ramm), is one of the all time great works of twentieth century literature. And reviews from its debut in Chichester fully suggest that this stage version by David Eldridge, directed by Jeremy Herrin has thrillingly cracked its transition to stage. 

What is it? Belgian super director Ivo van Hove helms a cast led by Bryan Cranston, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Paapa Essiedu for Aruthur Miller’s monumental drama about Joe Keller, an American businessman who may have done something terrible.

Where is it? Wyndham’s Theatre.

How much is it? £25-£165.

Why book? That cast is to die for and Van Hove’s 2014 production of Miller’s A View from the Bridge is one of the greatest British theatre shows of the century – it’s fair to say hopes are very high.

What is it? Chiller specialising US playwright Levi Holloway adapts the classic found footage horror movie for the stage.

Where is it? Ambassadors Theatre.

How much is it? £25-£110.

Why book? Primarily because it’s being directed by Felix Barrett, the visionary founder of Punchdrunk: his audacious and chilling body of work suggests the film’s legacy is in good hands.

What is it? US playwright Rajiv Joseph’s biggest hit, the Pulitzer-nominated Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo went on to transfer to Broadway in 2011, with the late, great Robin Williams in the role of the titular fast-talking tiger, which finds itself caught up in the chaos of post-Saddam, US-occupied Iraq.

Where is it? Young Vic.

How much is it? £12-£57.

Why book? A UK production has been hoped for for yonks – mischievous director Omar Elerian feels like the perfect man to bring the tale to life in the post-Iraq era. He’s assembled an excellent cast, headed up by David Threlfall as the tiger and Arinzè Kene as US soldier Kev.

What is it? A major revival for the late, great Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, his puckish musical subversion of the Brothers Grimm fairytales. 

Where is it? Bridge Theatre.

How much is it? £29.50-£185.

Why book? Well it’s an all time classic by the greatest musical theatre composer to have ever lived – always a strong start. While we don’t yet know about the cast, the show will be directed by Jordan Fein, an American making a serious name for himself over here thanks to his tremendous 2024 Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre revival of Fiddler on the Roof. 

What is it? Sheridan Smith stars in a Michael Longhurst-directed revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s 1985 play about Susan, a woman who takes a knock to the head and starts to experience two version of reality – one actual reality, featuring her actual family, and the other fantastical and featuring an entirely imagined family. She’s joined by Romesh Ranganathan, in his stage debut.

Where is it? Duke of York’s Theatre.

How much is it? £15-£175.

Why book? Smith remains a superb stage actress, and we’re probably due an Ayckbourn revival: he was massive in the ’80s but hasn’t been seen in the West End for over a decade.

What is it? Cole Escola’s outrageous comedy about an embittered, fame-hungry Mary Todd Lincoln – aka Abraham Lincoln’s wife – has been a massive hit on Broadway with Escola themself winning huge acclaim and a Tony Award for their turn as Mary (pictured).

Where is it? Trafalgar Theatre.

How much is it? £25-£150.

Why book? Mostly because it’s meant to be incredibly funny: filthy, outrageous, irrevent and, uh, short. It’s also got a terrific new cast headed by Mason Alexander Park – excellent in Jamie Lloyd’s recent Shakespeare plays – as Mary, with the mighty Giles Terera taking on the role of Mary’s deeply closeted husband, whom she utterly despises. History buffs can take some solace in the fact that it is not intended to be historically accurate, just funny.

What is it? A West End stage adaptation of the 1952 movie High Noon, which is regarded as a high watermark for the Western film, a real time, allegorical drama in which sheriff Will Kane and his new bride Amy must face down a gang our outlaws with no help from the timid, self-interested townspeople.

Where is it? Harold Pinter Theatre.

How much is it? £tbc.

Why book? A stage version of a film that has one of the most famous gunfights in history feels tricky, but there’s a remarkable team behidn this new High Noon. Cult US actor Billy Crudup will play Will, and the magnificent Denise Gough will follow in Grace Kelly’s footsteps and play Amy, with the excellent Thea Sharrock directing, and a screenplay from Academy Award winner Eric Roth, whose absurd list of credits runs from Forest Gump to Dune. 

What is it? Remember that one-woman Picture of Dorian Gray starring Sarah Snook? Well the Australian team behind it have made a couple of other high-tech one-woman stage adaptations of classic Victorian horror novels. And in 2026 Dracula will come to London with a proper big name at its centre: Cynthia Erivo, in her first West End role in over a decade.

Where is it? Noël Coward Theatre.

How much is it? £tbc.

Why book? Wicked star Erivo is a generational talent looking to prove she's not just a pretty voice: playing 26 different roles she'll certainly flex her acting muscles. But the show isn't just an actor showing off on an empty stage: as with Dorian Gray, director Kip Williams’s show is a  dazzling technological edifice that should blow your mind in its own right.

What is it? Michael Sheen recently launch the new Welsh National Theatre. He’ll star in its first production, a revival of Thornton Wilder’s metatheatrical masterpiece Our Town, which transfers to London after touring Wales.

Where is it? Rose Theatre Kingston.

How much is it? £6.50-£86.50.

Why book? Wilder’s ahead of its time 1938 play about the lives and – slight spoiler – afterlives of the citizens of the US small town of Grover’s Corner is a classic that’s always welcome. But clearly Sheen himself is the secret ingredient here: who doesn’t want to see him on stage?

What is it? Rebecca Lucy Taylor - aka sardonic pop star Self Esteem – will follow in Helen Mirren’s footsteps to star in David Hare’s classic 1975 play about Maggie Frisbee, an embittered, alcoholic rock star left raging and washed up at the end of the ’60s.

Where is it? Duke of York’s Theatre.

How much is it? £25-£150.

Why book? Clearly this is going to do the business with the large number of Self Esteem fans out there. But for anyone else Taylor surely remains a genuine curiousity, and moreover without her this ultra-rare revival of a classic David Hare play would be unlikely to have got off the ground.

What is it? The mighty Marianne Elliott returns to her old haunt the National Theatre to direct this deluxe revival of Christopher Hampton’s classic stage adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos sexy epistolary novel. Starring big names Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner as scheming artistocrats turned bitter rivals.

Why book? It’s a great play and with a superlative cast and director it's undeniably the jewel in the crown of the NT’s spring season, with a much longer run than anything else.

Where is it? National Theatre, Lyttelton.

How much is it? TBC.

What is it? Ralph Fiennes has been beavering away busily over at Theatre Royal Bath this last year. Transferring from it, Fiennes and Miranda Raison will star as the great Victorian actors Henry Irving and Ellen Terry in Grace Pervades, the approximately millionth (well, thirty-second) play from the great David Hare (curiously it’ll run in the West End at the same time as a revival of his very early play Teeth ‘N’ Smiles). 

Where is it? Theatre Royal Haymarket.

How much is it? £30-£199.

Why book? It got great reviews in Bath and is by all accounts a fascinating drama about one of the great acting dynasties, driven by a typically powerhouse performance from Fiennes.

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. It follows a couple who die and enlist the services of a mad ‘bio-exorcist’ to get rid of the odious new owners of their beloved home.

Where is it? Prince Edward Theatre.

How much is it? Price and dates tbc (though will run May 26 to April 27)

Why book? Because you enjoyed the film and you like massive spectacular big budget Broadway shows of the sort we only get once every few years.