The Best London Theatre Right Now

The Best London Theatre | Amazing Shows to Book and See in March 2025

There are 241 theatres in London.

That’s enough to pretty much guarantee that there’s something on that you’ll absolutely love, and too many to wade through alone (unless you absolutely love decision paralysis).

So just to deftly slash this Gordian knot, here’s your trusty Nudge Theatre Guide, which collates reviews from all the top critics, tells you the best spots for dinner before the show, has a good place for some drinks afterwards, and includes literally dozens of fantastic shows…

Jump Straight To: MUSICALS | DRAMA | COMEDY | IMMERSIVE

UPCOMING THEATRE SHOWS TO BOOK NOW

So, we haven’t seen these yet. Obviously. But here are the shows we’re willing to bet good (ticket) money on now…

• After 17 years of being a Hollywood-only, super-global-ultra-mega-star, Ewan McGregor is returning to his humble roots in London’s glittering West End for My Master Builder. Wyndham’s theatre, 17th April – 12th July 2025.
• Thankfully, the real message of The Great Gatsby – that it’s all about the huge, lavish parties – hasn’t been lost on this production of the story. It’s coming over here from Broadway, and it’s a HUGE staging. The Coliseum, 11th April – 7th September 2025.
• Here’s something to get excited about. Bridge Theatre – the brainchild of leading directors Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr – is putting on two double-whammy productions this year. The first will be the return of the joyous A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream; a semi-immersive riot of a production directed by Hytner which, when it first debuted in 2019, received five-star reviews all round.The second will be Sondheim’s classic musical Into The Woods. Expect deliciously subversive, fairy-tale whimsy set to the score of Sondheim classics. Previews don’t start until December, but it’s almost certain to be the talk of the town. A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream will play from 31st May – 23rd August and Into The Woods will play at Bridge Theatre from 2nd December 2025 – 16th April 2026. Book tickets on the Bridge Theatre website.
• When you get as many five star reviews as Fiddler on the Roof, you don’t just not go on tour, so that’s exactly what it’s doing. Barbican, 24th May – 19th July 2025.
• Disney’s doing a stage version of Hercules? Strong choice. It’s headed to the West End this summer. Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 6th June 2025 – 28th March 2026.

THE BEST MUSICALS IN LONDON

Main Character Energy | Soho Theatre 

One woman shows are ripe for parody – as Liz Kingsman’s stellar outing, the aptly named One Woman Show, so expertly demonstrated – and Temi Wilkey’s delightful take on the concept hits the bullseye. Her solo show features a megawatt performance at the heart of it, deconstructing the tropes of self-indulgent stage performers whilst dealing with Wilkey’s own intrusive thoughts. It’s big, bold, silly and full of heart, and served up with an infusion of high camp and cabaret.  

Dinner before: The best of Anglo-Gallic fare at The French House
Drinks after: Cocktails oozing with cool at SOMA
London Theatre Critics say: 4* Guardian, 4* Theatre Weekly
Details: Main Character Energy is currently on at the Soho Theatre and will be playing until 15th March 2025. Find tickets and more info at the Soho Theatre website.

Titanique | Criterion

We all know the story of Jack, Rose, and the wardrobe manufacturer who clearly skipped “floatability” day at trade school. But have you heard the story from Celine Dion’s point of view? No? Well, here it is, in the form of an upbeat, eye-wateringly funny jukebox musical. The plot involved Celine herself hijacking a Titanic museum tour. It’s been making the rounds in various cities across the globe, and it’s somehow managed to dodge any and all of the many, many critical icebergs that you would expect to veer towards it.

Dinner before: If you can get a reszzie, then the Devonshire is first class
Drinks after: Sink a couple of cocktails at SOMA
London Theatre Critics say: 5* Times, 4* Guardian
Details: Titanique is playing at the Criterion, and currently playing until 8th June 2025. You can find out more and get tickets at the Criterion theatre website.

Oliver! | Gielgud Theatre

Oliver! is a title that basically shouts at you, but then proceeds to earn its punctuation mark with its sheer energy, pathos, and seemingly endless supply of classic tunes (Food Glorious Food! Consider Yourself! I’d Do Anything! They just keep coming). There’s a reason it beat 2001: A Space Odyssey to the Best Picture Oscar. And this new staging from Matthew Bourne appears to have picked the pockets of every great production to come before it, mixing them all up in a pleasingly old fashioned bag.

Dinner before: Ask for more at Randall & Aubin
Drinks after: Disappear into the depths of Soho (AKA Bar Lina)
London Theatre Critics say: 5* Telegraph, 5* FT, 5* Standard
Details: Oliver! Is playing at the Gielgud Theatre, and booking until 28th September 2025. You can find out more and get tickets at the Gielgud theatre website

The Devil Wears Prada | The Dominion Theatre

Okay, you already know this one. It’s the Devil Wears Prada, so it’s almost guaranteed you already know what it’s about. But is it any good? Well, there was a worrying premiere a couple of years ago (reviews called it “alarmingly un-fun”) so we’re happy to report that this new version is, well, amazing. On the night that we went along, pretty much everyone in the audience finished the show on their feet, singing and dancing before leaving the theatre feeling genuinely euphoric. It’s basically everything you want from a West End Musical – an engaging storyline, brilliant songs, a talented and energetic cast, a great set, and all of the most iconic moments from the film. Miranda would approve.

Dinner before: Tattu is eminently fashionable
Drinks after: Strut your stuff in the Bloomsbury Club Bar
London Theatre Critics say: 5* Standard, 3* Times
Details: The Devil Wears Prada is playing at The Dominion Theatre, and booking until 31st May 2025. You can find out more and get tickets at the Devil Wears Prada website.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | The Ambassador’s Theatre

After reaching the peak of the entertainment ladder back in 2008 (a Hollywood film with Brad Pitt), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has now morphed into a younger version of itself in the form of this musical. It draws from F Scott Fitzgerald’s original 1922 short story, but this time transports the location to a small Cornish fishing village. The first run in Southwark was hugely well-received, and this is an impressive step up – so let’s hope it lives to a ripe old age…

Dinner before: Louie will make you feel younger
Drinks after: Oriole has the jazz-age charm you need after this show
London Theatre Critics say: Telegraph 5*, Guardian 4*, FT 4*, Times 4*
Details: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is playing at The Ambassador’s Theatre, and is extended until 26th April 2025. You can find out more and get tickets at the Ambassador’s theatre website

Hadestown | Lyric Theatre

They say the devil has all the best tunes – well now he’s also got a Tony and Grammy-winning megahit Broadway musical, making its long-awaited transfer to the West End.

Multi-talented singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell has written the lyrics, book and the brassy, brilliant soundtrack to this epic underworld tale steeped in Greek mythology, which tracks the intertwining love stories of Orpheus and Eurydice, and Persephone and her husband King Hades. Rolling into town on the back of rapturous critical notices, and with an enormous buzz ahead of its opening night, commit whatever unforgivable sins are necessary to secure a ticket – it really is a hell of a show.

Dinner before:First rate dumplings at Leong’s Legend, one of the best restaurants in Chinatown
Drinks after: Head to the underground candlelit bar, Below Stone’s Nest
London Theatre Critics say: Guardian 4*, FT 4*
Details: Hadestown is playing at the Lyric Theatre (closest tube station Piccadilly Circus) until 28th September 2025. Tickets cost from £20-125, and can be purchased HERE.

SIX | Vaudeville Theatre London

Divorced, beheaded, live in concert: it’s the story of Henry VIIIth’s six wives, performed by the queens themselves in the form of a punk girl-band. To say it’s a phenomenon would be to undersell it: it started out as an Edinburgh Fringe show, and has now scored runs in the West End, on Broadway and down in Oz. Expect neon ruffs; Greensleeves-techno mash ups and unexpectedly poignant moments interspersed with its high-energy score.

Dinner before: Cult dumplings at Din Tai Fung
Drinks after: Subterranean cocktails at Eve
London Theatre Critics say: Evening Standard 5*; The Telegraph 5*; The Times 4*
Details: Six is booking at the Vaudeville Theatre (closest tube station Charing Cross) until 4th May 2025. Tickets cost from £34.50-74.50, and can be purchased HERE.

Moulin Rouge! | Piccadilly Theatre

Why should you go see this live musical production of Moulin Rouge? Because you can can can! This dazzling show has transferred from Broadway to London, with an impressive 14 Tony nominations under its belt, a crack team of award-winning producers and creatives (including Baz himself), and an incredible soundtrack of 71 songs…

Dinner before: Soho’s stellar new opening The Devonshire, conveniently across the road
Drinks after: Subterranean cocktails at SOMA
London Theatre Critics say: The Independent 4*; The Telegraph 4*
Details: Moulin Rouge! runs at the Piccadilly Theatre (closest tube station Piccadilly Circus) until 24th May 2025. Tickets cost £29 – £229, and can be booked HERE.

Matilda The Musical | Cambridge Theatre

A show in which a genius-level child with telekinetic powers somehow starts off as an underdog, this long-running musical take on the classic Roald Dahl tale – produced by theatre nobility the RSC – has had critics positively raving. And with good reason too – with lyrics by the inimitable Tim Minchin, ridiculously catchy tunes and a genuinely exceptional cast of kids, there’s not a single hole in this colourful patchwork of song and dance.

Dinner before: Grab a quick bite at KERB Seven Dials
Drinks after: Slip into La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels
London Theatre Critics say: The Telegraph 5*; The Guardian 5*; The Evening Standard 5*; The Independent 5*
Details: Matilda The Musical is booking at the Cambridge Theatre (closest tube station Covent Garden) until 25th May 2025, with tickets running between £20 and £150. You can book them HERE.

Operation Mincemeat | Fortune Theatre

After multiple sell-out runs at London’s fringe theatres, Operation Mincemeat, the debut musical by creative quartet SpitLip, has come to the West End – and been extended eight times. What is it? It’s the story of the (genuine) Second World War plan to confound the Nazis by planting false intel on a corpse, and allowing the Germans to discover it. How is it told? In a riotous, rapid-fire barrage of role-swapping physicality.

Now with two Olivier awards under its belt, ‘Operation take the West End by storm’ has been a resounding success. Go see it, that’s an order.

Dinner before: Get mincemeat made into one of London’s best burgers at Joe Allen
Drinks after: A thoroughly old fashioned drinking den, Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration
London Theatre Critics say: They’ve picked up 65 5* reviews so far…
Details: Operation Mincemeat! is booking at the Fortune Theatre (closest tube stations Covent Garden and Temple) until 7th June 2025. Tickets cost from £39.50 – £89.50 and you can book HERE, or enter the £25 ticket lottery HERE.

Les Misérables | Sondheim Theatre

Do you hear the people sing? Well, you will if you head to Les Mis, an iconic musical based on Victor Hugo’s gloomy revolutionary novel that’s now in its 4th decade. It closed for the first time in 34 years while the theatre got some upgrades (and, er, other global events interfered) – but now it’s back, flying the flag once more with a critically acclaimed new production.

Dinner before: Enjoy classic brasserie fare at Dean Street Townhouse
Drinks after: A drink at The French House seems strangely appropriate
London Theatre Critics say: The Guardian 5*; The Telegraph 5*; Evening Standard 4*
Details: Les Misérables plays at the Sondheim Theatre (closest tube station Piccadilly Circus), with tickets from £47.50-£175. You can book up until 28th March 2026 right HERE.

Hamilton | Victoria Palace Theatre, London

Hamilton might have won 11 Tony Awards for its Broadway run, but the London cast have proved they were ready to Rise Up to the challenge.

Following the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton, it’s a pioneering musical that raps its way through history, and within months of playing here, earned a record-breaking 13 Olivier nominations for its troubles…

Dinner before: Glitzy brasserie fare at The Ivy Victoria
Drinks after: Cocktails – and then inevitably a round of darts – at Flight Club
London Theatre Critics say: The Guardian 5*; The Telegraph 5*; The Independent 5*; The Stage 5*; The Evening Standard 5*
Details: Tickets are on sale for Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre (closest tube station Victoria) until 27th December 2025. They cost from £20-200, and can be purchased HERE.

Cabaret | The Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theatre)

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to this phenomenal new production of cabaret, directed by the sensationally talented Rebecca Frecknall. For this revival of the classic musical & film, the Playhouse Theatre has been transformed into a giant version of the Kit Kat Club, where (the lucky few, at least) can sip cocktails and dine at intimate cabaret tables while the show unfolds. Cara Delevingne and Luke Treadaway have now stepped into the shoes of Emcee and Sally Bowles. Plus, you’ll see some of the most beautiful costume design that’s hit London stages in the past few years…

Dinner before: Go fancy at Kerridge’s Bar & Grill
Drinks after: Superlative cocktails at Velvet Bar
London Theatre Critics say: Evening Standard 5*; The Independent 5*; The Telegraph 5*
Details: Cabaret is booking at the Playhouse Theatre (closest tube station Embankment) until 4th October 2025. Tickets cost £30 – £375, and you can book HERE.

Back To The Future: The Musical | Adelphi Theatre

Image: Sean Ebsworth-BarnesFuture you visited us, and said it was imperative we tell you about this new musical. And to be fair, if you like cult movies and 80s hits, you’re probably going to enjoy it.

Dinner before: Steak at 1985 prices at Flat Iron Covent Garden
Drinks after: Hand-picked wines at Lady of the Grapes
London Theatre Critics say: The Metro 5*; The Telegraph 5*;  Michael J. Fox: “A truly great show.”
Details: Back To The Future: The Musical is booking at the Adelphi Theatre (closest tube station Charing Cross) until 27th July 2025. Tickets cost £19.55 (of course) – £168.50, and can be booked HERE.
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THE BEST DRAMA ON NOW

My Neighbour Totoro | Gillian Lynne Theatre

Image: Manuel Harlan (c) RSC with Nippon TV

Everybody needs good neighbours. And the RSC’s adaptation of the beloved Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro is a great one – so great, in fact, that it’s now back for a third run. This magical stage version of Miyazaki’s classic blends puppetry, music, and sheer theatrical wonder to bring the world of Totoro to life. Expect jaw-dropping visuals, a soaring score, and an overwhelming urge to hug a giant forest spirit.

Dinner before: Flesh & Buns ought to satisfy any Japanese food cravings
Drinks after: Moto ought to satisfy any Japanese booze cravings
London Theatre Critics say: 5* Guardian, 5* FT, winner of 6 Olivier Awards
Details: My Neighbour Totoro is currently playing at the Gillian Lynne theatre until 2nd November 2025. You can find out more and get tickets at the Gillian Lynne theatre website.

Punch | Young Vic

Mark Brenner

In 2011, Jacob Dunne, a 19 year-old delinquent, killed a man. With one-punch, he ended the life of a 28 year-old trainee paramedic named James Hodgkinson, in a chaotic and pointless Nottingham pub brawl. This is the story at the heart of the play Punch, and it’s also entirely true. Following a stint in prison, Dunne has attempted to make sense of his life – and remarkably, two of the people who have been able to help him do so are Joan and David, the parents of the man he killed. James Graham is one of the absolute best playwrights we have, and Punch is a searing exploration of one of the most painful and fraught subjects imaginable. 

Dinner before: Properly good grub at famed gastropub, The Anchor & Hope
Drinks after: A cocktail on the roof of another theatre at Forza Wine
London Theatre Critics say: 5* Times, 4* Guardian, 4* Financial Times
Details: Punch is playing at the Young Vic, and currently playing until 26th April 2025. You can find out more and get tickets at the Young Vic website.

The Score | Theatre Royal Haymarket 

Brian Cox is back and he’s playing Bach.

It’s Spring 1747, Potsdam, Prussia. Johann Sebastian Bach drags his heels to visit the court of Frederick II (aka Frederick The Great), Europe’s most powerful and dangerous leader. The two men are like chalk and cheese. Bach loathes war while Frederick considers it child’s play. Bach is gifted musician, Frederick wields violence freely. Despite their differences, Frederick remains in awe of Bach’s genius and for his enjoyment, he concocts a musical conundrum that he hopes will baffle the composer and amuse his court. A philosophical fisticuffs ensues.

Dinner before: If you can get in, then the Devonshire is first class
Drinks after: Sink a couple of cocktails at SOMA
London Theatre Critics say: 4* Times, 4* Telegraph
Details: The Score is playing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until 26th April. You can find out more and get tickets at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

Macbeth | Lyric Hammersmith

Dinner before: Play the hits at Sam’s Riverside
Drinks after: Make sure you don’t get bard from The Cellar at Kindred
London Theatre Critics say: 5* Broadway World, 4* The Times, 4* The Stage
Details: Macbeth is currently on at the Lyric Hammersmith and will be playing until 29th March 2025. Find tickets and more info at the official website.

One Day When We Were Young | Park Theatre

Playwright Nick Payne has a knack for a gripping two-hander (see Constellations for proof), and there’s a revival of his wonderfully tender 2009 play being mounted at the ever- engaging Park Theatre. Featuring Cassie Bradley (King Lear at the National Theatre) and Barney White (Professor T), it’s a study of a couple named Leonard and Violet, which begins in 1942 when the pair are young lovers, and stretches across 60 years to their old age. Poignant, understated and beautiful.

Dinner before: Bag a bar stool and sink into some very good seafood Tollington’s
Drinks after: Grab one for the road at The Plimsoll
London Theatre Critics say: 4* Guardian
Details: One Day When We Were Young is playing at Park Theatre, and currently playing until 22nd March 2025. You can find out more and get tickets at the Park Theatre website.

Richard II | The Bridge Theatre

Pictured: Royce Pierreson (not Jonathan Bailey)

Okay so, most of the reviews and news pieces about this play will focus on the fact that it’s led by oh-so-handsome Bidgerton hunk Jonathan Bailey. See? We’re doing it right here. But the fact is that, the throbbing of hearts aside, it seems that he is actually a pretty decent actor. And Richard II is a pretty decent character, mostly thanks to the fact that he was a pretty terrible king. And all of this decency is marvellously marshalled by director Nicholas Hytner. All told, a success.

Dinner before: Eat like a king at Legare
Drinks after: Quell your rebellious liver at Nine Lives
London Theatre Critics say: Standard 4*
Details: Richard II is playing at the Bridge Theatre until 10th May 2025. For tickets and more information, visit the official website.

The Seagull

Blockbuster staging of this moody, ruminative classic, in the Barbican’s massive beautiful main house. Front and centre is Cate Blanchett as Irina Arkádina, a magnetic but odiously self-involved actress, who vamps, pouts, hogs the limelight and at one point performs the full splits (as per Chekhov’s stage directions, obviously). But the production doesn’t just rest on Blanchett’s megawatt presence – the formidably starry cast includes Emma Corrin, Tom Burke, and Jason Watkins, and the piece has been co-adapted by heavyweights Duncan Macmillan (of the transcendent Every Brilliant Thing) and director Thomas Ostermeier. Yes, it’s terribly serious theatre, but good grief do they have fun with it – the fourth wall gets broken, some Billy Bragg tracks are woven in and played live, a full-sized golf buggy is driven about, it rains onstage, and – once again, we can’t stress this enough – Cate Blanchett does the actual splits. Sold-out, but hustle for some returns and you won’t regret it.

Dinner before: A comforting bowl of pasta at Trattoria Brutto
Drinks after: Stay in the Brutalist realm at hifi bar Space Talk
London Theatre Critics say: 4* Times, 4* Evening Standard
Details: The Seagull is playing at Barbican Theatre until 5th April. For tickets and more, visit the Barbican website.

Kyoto | @Sohoplace

Kyoto is a real place in Japan, and the Kyoto Conference was a real event that took place there in 1997, but this play is full of fictional characters. And in doing so, it reveals the truth in a far more meaningful way than it ever could if it spent its time unpacking the actual people involved. It’s a lie that tells the truth, to paraphrase Picasso. And it does so in thoroughly tense and entertaining fashion, showing us all how truly well-oiled the machinery of the oil industry really is…

Dinner before: Something sustainable from Sussex
Drinks after: Drown your inevitable existential worries at Three Sheets Soho
London Theatre Critics say: 4* Times, 4* Evening Standard
Details: Kyoto is playing at @Sohoplace until 3rd May 2025. For tickets and more, visit the Kyoto website.

Alterations | National Theatre

Alterations follows a Guyanese tailor as he tries to establish himself on Carnaby Street in the 1970s. Written by “forgotten” playwright, Michael Abbensetts it’s thanks to director Lynette Linton (Blues for an Alabama Sky, Shifters) and writer Trish Cooke that this overlooked play has been given an almighty glow up for its largest staging ever. The play follows, Walker Holt a humble tailor with big dreams for his alterations shop, and an even bigger order to complete. Over the course of 24 hours he must work around the clock to fulfil the needs of his demanding new client.

Dinner before: Get a well-choreographed meal at Lasdun.
Drinks after: Practice your moves at Forza Wine
Details: Alterations is showing at the Lyttleton Theatre at the National Theatre until 5th April 2025. Visit the National Theatre website for tickets and details.

The Years | Harold Pinter Theatre

The Years is not necessarily an easy play to take in – people, plural, have literally fainted while watching it – but that doesn’t mean it won’t thoroughly envelop you in its utterly hypnotic world. It’s the story of a woman at several different stages throughout her life in the latter half of the 20th century, and its revival at the Almeida last year gobbled up five star reviews like popcorn. Get a ticket while you can, and expect to go on a wild ride.

Dinner before: The years have been kind to Fallow
Drinks after: Great female characters? The Mulwray is names after one.
London Theatre Critics say: 5* Guardian, 5* Independent, 5* Financial Times (at the Almeida)
Details: The Years is playing at Harold Pinter Theatre until April 19th 2025. More details and tickets are available at The Years website.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow | Phoenix Theatre

There are TV shows, there are hit TV shows, and then there’s whatever Stranger Things is – at this point, a cultural psyche-shaping global mega-phenomenon. So to all those Stranger Things fans out there – and statistically, that’s very likely to be you – rejoice, for the show’s extended universe now expands, with a brand new play featuring a story by the Duffer Brothers (creators of Stranger Things) and written by Kate Trefry (a writer on the show) and Jack Thorne (writer of basically everything, and, in light of Cursed Child’s runaway success, the go-to playwright for all big-ticket-IP-stage-adaptations). The starry creative team is a hint at who’s backing the production – Netflix itself, making its first foray into theatre – and the title is a hint at the plot – the show is a prequel to the weirdness that eventually goes down in Hawkins, Indiana. A streamer-backed TV adaptation play that’s genuinely good? Stranger things have happened…

Dinner before: Turkish street food dishes at Yeni
Drinks after: Tequila time at La Bodega Negra
London Theatre Critics say: Sunday Times 5*, The Guardian 5*, Evening Standard 5*
Details: ‘Stranger Things’ is playing at the Phoenix Theatre (nearest tube station Tottenham Court Road) until 6^th April 2025. Tickets are from £32.50 and are available here.
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THE BEST COMEDY ON NOW | LONDON THEATRE

ASBO BOZO | Riverside Studios 

ASBO BOZO takes place in an overlooked town in the North West of England and follows BOZO, a deeply empathetic Antisocial Behaviour Officer, over a 24-hour period on her 30th birthday. It’s a play about loneliness and isolation and the emotional toll of supporting people at society’s forgotten fringes. While it might not sound like a barrel of laughs, it is as funny as it is moving. 

Dinner before: Anything and the Chocolate Nemesis at The River Café Café
Details: ASBO BOZO is playing at the Riverside Studios until 29th March 2025. Tickets start at £15 and you can get them on the Riverside Studios website.

The Play That Goes Wrong | Duchess Theatre

Honestly, they could be messing this up horribly every night, and no one would notice. In fact, they’d probably clap.

Dinner before: Bombastic Italian at Ave Mario
Drinks after: Highly-rated cocktails at Side Hustle
London Theatre Critics say: The Independent 4*; Financial Times 4*; The Stage 4*
Details: The Play That Goes Wrong is booking at the Duchess Theatre (closest tube station Covent Garden) until 4th May 2025. Tickets cost £22-67.50, and can be booked HERE.

Want to see great theatre for less? Find out how to get cheap theatre tickets in London…