The best theatre shows in London for 2026 not to miss

What is it? For a novel about Edinburgh heroin addicts written in dense Scottish dialogue, Irvine Welch’s Trainspotting has proved to be a remarkably enduring cultural artefact: a book (with numerous sequels), a film, a cult stage play and now – 33 years on – a musical written by Welsh himself.

Where is it? Theatre Royal Haymarket.

How much is it? £15-£130.

Why go? It’s an unlikely adaptation but it does lean into the truth that Danny Boyle’s film is the most iconic and definitive form of the story. It’ll feature songs from the sountrack and is directed by Caroline Jay Ranger, who has made a very solid fist of directing the live versions of Fawlty Towers and Only Fools and Horses. Don’t expect any star names, but the lead role of semi-likeable casualty Renton (aka the Ewan McGregor role) goes to Scots actor Robbie Scott (pictured).

What is it? There’s some fairly commercial stuff in the Yard’s comeback season, but there’s also some gloriously uncompromising weirdness, notably this this cult Swedish work by Malmö Dockteater. In short, it’s a stage adaptation of Jackie Collins’ debut novel, a racy infidelity potboiler set at the height of the Swinging Sixties. The twist here? The text – translated by Lulu Raczka – is ‘acted out’ by dolls, with the sets dollhouses. 

Where is it? Yard Theatre.

How much is it? £20-£30. 

Why book? Because this is proper, out there theatre strangeness of the sort we don’t really get enough of in this country – at the worst it’ll still be like nothng you’ve seen before.

What is it? It’s finally happened: human civilization has finally lasted long enough that there is a second British production of Cats. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster adaptation of TS Eliot’s whimsical book of feline kids’ poetry was the quintessential musical of the ’80s, and now it’s back in a new version directed and chreographed by OAT boss Drew McOnie.

Where is it? Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

How much is it? £15-£91.50.

Why go? A lot of people of course just love Cats, one of the most successful musicals of all time. But there’s something thriling about this being an all-new take: it’s Cats, but not as we know it.

What a treat for London to get two major Cate Blanchett stage performances two years on the trot. A major stage force long before her screen career took off, Blanchett famously co-ran the Sydney Theatre Company with her husband Andrew Upton for five years, and has taken plenty of work to New York, but her London appearances tend to have been confined to avant-garde projects that were difficult to get tickets to: see her previous National Theatre turn in 2019’s weirdy When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other.

But with last year’s The Seagull at the Barbican the double Academy Award winner – and now Sussex resident – signalled that she was ready for still artsy but relatively more mainstream work on bigger stages, and that continues with Electra/Persona.

Running on the Lyttelton stage over late summer, it’s directed and adapted by fellow Aussie Benedict Andrews and is indeed a mash-up of Ancient Greek classic Electra and Ingmar Bergman’s more recent 1966 masterpiece Persona. Exactly how all this will work is TBC, although it would seem from the synopis that a performance of Electra replaces the film images that traditionally rupture the world of the two female leads in Persona.

Blanchett will be joined by her Tár co-star Nina Hoss and young Black Doves star Ella Lily Hyland. It’s not yet clear who is playing who although doomed princess Electra and Persona’s leads Elisabet and Alma offers three obviously leads (though it may not be as simple as all that).

What is it? Clint Dyer helms a widescreen National Theatre UK premiere of Tracey Scott Wilson's 2003 play. Based on a series of real-life stories, it follows four journalists as they frantical scrabble to land the story of a white teacher murdered in a Black neighbourhood.

Where is it? National Theatre, Olivier.

How much is it? TBA. 

Why book? It’s an intriguing play that feels like it has much to say about the online era. But it’s alos got a top notch cast, headed by Letitia Wright of Black Panther fame.

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. Created by composer Jeanine Tesori and writer David Lindsay-Abaire, it follows a 16-year-old girl afflicted by a rare disease that makes her age four times faster than usual, meaning she has the appearance of an elderly woman while essentially being a teen.

Where is it? Hampstead Theatre.

How much is it? TBC.

Why book? It’s a fasincating premise but frankly the froth mouthed reviews from Broadway are more than enough for us. 

What is it? A revival for Stephen Unwin’s original UK production of Manfred Karge’s hallucinatory solo play about a widow who assumes her late husband’s job and identity in inter-war Germany had its UK premiere at Edinburgh Traverse Theatre in 1987 before transferring to the Court the following year. It provided a breakthrough for an androgynous young actor named Tilda Swinton – whp reprises her role here. 

Where is it? Royal Court Theatre.

How much is it? £15-£74.50.

Why book? It’s a good, weird play, but clearly the attraction is the chance to see huge cult star Tilda Swinton on a British stage for the first time since the ’80s.

What is it? The world premiere of a new musical based on Ridley Scott’s smash 1991 film about two women who snap one day and head out on a nihilistic road trip with a very famous denoument.

Where is it? Young Vic.

How much is it? £tbc.

Why book? Because it’s not just another throwaway scrren to stage adaptation. Written by the film’s screenwriter Callie Khouri and with songs by cryptic alt country icon Neko Case, we’re not expecting conventional showtunes. In heavyweight casting, Amy Lennox will play disillusioned housewife Thelma and Rachel Tucker her sardonic waitress friend Louise.

What is it? Clifford Odets’ 1937 tragedy about a gifted young Italian-American violinist named Joe whose life becomes derailed by a move into prizefighting has rarely been revived in this country but now gets a splashy Almeida revival.

Where is it? Almeida Theatre.

How much is it? Current sold out but the Almeida often releases extra tickets when the seating is finalised.

Why book? The play is well worth a revival and it’s led by major Brit star Josh O’Connor who will return to the stage for the first time since he became famous to play Joe. And Sam Yates’ production has a supporting cast to die for consisting of Jason Barnett, Richard Fleeshman, David Ganly, Patrick Martins, Daniel Mays, Oliver Ryan, Hayley Squires, Stanley Townsend, Zubin Varla and Nicholas Woodeson. 

What is it? Playwright James Graham is back with a new drama about influential economist John Maynard Keynes – played in The Standard of Living by the great Rory Kinnear.

Where is it? Theatre Royal Haymarket.

How much is it? £25-£165.

Why go? Not that the bisexual, boho Keynes was boring, but Graham is exceptional at taking nominally difficult to dramatise periods of history and making some of the most fun shows you’ve ever seen out of them. Expect more of the dazzle that’s powered such wonderful shows at This House, Ink, Quiz, This England, Punch and more.

What is it? A revival for Noël Coward’s classic comedy about bonkers posh family the Blisses, who cause a night of catastrophe when all four of them invite friends over without telling the others.

Where is it? Wyndham’s Theatre.

How much is it? £30-£185.

Why book? It’s a show that attracts elite casts and it doesn’t get much more elite than Richard E Grant, who makes his first West End appearance in 20 years as David Bliss, opposite US star Christine Baranski as Judith Bliss. 

What is it? The Cherry Orchard is, of course, one of Chekhov’s great plays, and follows an ailng aristocratic family as they contemplate the end of their beloved country estate and the sale of its beloved orchard. It will be directed by Ian Rickson, who reunites with star Kristin Scott Thomas almost 20 years on from their excellent Three Sisters.

Where is it? Harold Pinter Theatre.

How much is it? £25-£165.

Why go? Expect something powerfully poignant from Rickson, who turned in a fine Uncle Vanya on the cusp of the pandemic. And it’s always a pleasure to see Scott Thomas back on stage: she’ll play big hearted but finanically irresponsible aristocract Lyubov Ranevskaya.

What is it? The first major West End revival of Edward Albee’s classic play in a decade. It centres on the iconically awful George and Martha, an acidic middle aged couple who invite George’s young colleague Nick and his wife Honey over for a bizarre evening of weird and problematic game playing.

Where is it? @sohoplace.

How much is it? £30-£160.

Why go? It has a cast to die for, with Billy Crudup and Gillian Anderson as George and Martha. And @sohoplace is a wonderfully intimate venue to watch the horrors unfold. 

What is it? Star director Robert Icke adapts the classic 2006 German film about a Stasi agent reluctantly monitoring a playwright and his lover in Berlin Wall-era East Germany.

Where is it? Adelphi Theatre.

How much is it? £25-£150.

Why go? Great director, great source material… but obviously it’s the star casting that will be the big draw, with Luke Thompson, Stephen Dillane and Keira Knightley lined up as the leads.

What is it? Swiss writer Christian Kracht’s autofiction novel about a mother and son (named Christian) who head out on a road-trip through the Alps in an effort to give away the family fortune (and escape a shameful legacy) is one of the buzziest book of recent times. Now it hits the stage.

Where is it? Young Vic.

How much is it? £tbc.

Why book? It’s a zeitgeisty book and great looking adaptation (by Irish writer Colin Teevan) that stars big names Ben Whishaw and Kathryn Turner star as the roadtripping duo.

What is it? David Nicholls’ tearjerker novel revisiting couple Dex and Em on July 15 every year for  20 years starting from the first night they spend together has already been made into a film and TV series and now here comes the musical, written by playwright David Greig with songs by Abner and Amanda Ramirez.

Where is it? Garrick Theatre.

How much is it? £30-£110.

Why book? One Day: The Musical debuted in Edinburgh earlier this year at the Lyceum Theatre where word was good and it it extended its run by a couple of weeks. So excitement is high for the transfer of this beloved story, with is led by West End stars Jamie Muscato and Sharon Rose as Dex and Em.

What is it? Although the National Theatre will be running shows in all three theatres over the Christmas hols, The Jungle Book is emphatically its Big Christmas Show. A lavish family friendly adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s India-set story cycle, it’s adapted by Indian playwright Anupama Chandrasekhar (of the excellent The Father and the Assassin fame).

Where is it? National Theatre, Olivier.

How much is it? £25-£105.

Why book? The NT always pulls out the stops at Christmas and it’s worth stressing this is emphatically not a stage version of the beloved Disney film. Specifically, we know that the action is being relocated to the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans in the country’s east. And one would imagine Chandrasekhar’s spin will be distinctly postcolonial. But don’t imagine it’ll be radically different: it’ll focus on Mowgli the Man-Cub – played by NT stalwart Hiran Abeysekera – and feature spectacular puppet renderings of his various animal friends and enemies. 

What is it? Sir Ian McKellen returns to the stage to star in a high-concept one-man take on Shakespeare’e King Lear.

Where is it? Yard Theatre.

How much is it? TBC, not yet on sale.

Why book? It’s Ian frickin’ McKellen, 87-year-old screen and stage legend, in a tiny east London theatre. Why wouldn’t you want to see it?

What is it? Michael Sheen has a history with Peter Shaffer’s masterpiece Amadeus. He first starred in it as a young man, playing the naive, vulgar, supernaturally gifted Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the Old Vic in 1998, opposite David Suchet as his embittered nemesis Antionio Saliere. Now he’ll bring his own take on Salieri to the West End – the next London outing for his new Welsh National Theatre.

Where is it? Noël Coward Theatre.

How much is it? £20-£180.

Why book? Not only is Sheen a great actor, but he knows the hell out of this play – which is, by the by, one of the greates of the twentieth century.

What is it? Wicked lovers Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey star in Stephen Sondheim’s virtuosic 1984 classic inspired by the pointillist painter Georges Seurat's work A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, which follows a fictionalised version of the artist plus – years later – his cynical great grandson. 

Where is it? Barbican Centre, in TBC dates summer 2027.

How much is it? TBC but tickets go on sale May 2026.

Why book? The musical is a classic but it’s the reunion of Grande and Bailey that’s going to sell this out essentially instantly. If you want to to, get on it as soon as booking opens.

What is it? Writer-director Simon Stone returns the Bridge to turns his hand to Chekhov’s potrtait of a washed up middle aged man looking back on his glory days.

Where is it? Bridge Theatre.

How much is it? £29.50-£195.

Why book? Stone is a thrillingly unpredictable director, albeit an acquired taste, but the big draw is naturally Hollywood star Chris Pine in his UK stage debut. Note that the production has been put back by an entire year, and will now run in the summer of 2027, as opposed to the originally planned 2026.