Unmissable London Theatre Shows in 2023
Britain’s rich cultural offering has plenty to capture the imagination including world-renowned theatrical performances, brand new innovative productions, immersive theatre and off West End new shows. Be the first to see new shows and catch the shows before they leave to put you on centre stage while you are in the capital.
World Theatre Day on the 27th March 2023 celebrates the creativity, importance, beauty and range of theatre globally and the benefits it offers to people, culture and visitors. Plan a trip around a show or seize the opportunity to experience ground breaking affordable theatre shows. See a selection below of some of the finest or look up the listings when in town to bag a seat and enjoy the show.
New Theatre and Shows
@sohoplace, the first new build West End theatre in 50 years, opens with state of the art facilities in a development with the theatre at its heart. The theatre, shops and new piazza are part of a £300 million investment and redevelopment of Northern Soho to become a new destination in the capital. The theatre has a new restaurant and bar (‘stars’) with striking interior design and a specially commissioned constellations artwork.
Until 28 January
As You Like It William Shakespeare’s glorious romantic comedy is a new production and joyous adaptation directed by Josie Rourke and is the theatre’s debut show. Directed by Olivier Award nominated Josie Rourke and stars Leah Harvey (Foundation, The Wonderful World of Dissocia), Rose Ayling-Ellis (EastEnders, Strictly Come Dancing 2021 winner) making her West End debut, Alfred Enoch (Harry Potter films, Red, West End), Tom Mison (Sleepy Hollow, Watchmen) and Martha Plimpton (The Good Wife, Sweat, West End).
Medea
10 February - 22nd April
Sophie Okonedo brings her visceral, mercurial brilliance to literature’s most titanic female protagonist and stars alongside Ben Daniels in an adaptation of Euripides’ Medea, directed by Dominic Cooke. The play explores what turns a woman from a lover into a destroyer of love.
Criterion Theatre
15 January - 16 April
This riotous dark comedy from writer Steven Moffat and director Mark Gatiss, the award-winning team behind BBC’s Sherlock, stars an uproarious cast including Reece Shearsmith (Inside No. 9), Amanda Abbington (Sherlock) and Frances Barber (Silk). While on holiday Peter and Debbie befriend a lusty, Trump-loving widow from Denver who then invites herself to stay with potentially dire consequences.
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons
Harold Pinter Theatre
18 January - 18 March
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons is a tender and funny rom-com about what we say, how we say it, and what happens when we can’t say anything anymore. Starring Aidan Turner (Poldark, The Lieutenant of Inishmore) and Jenna Coleman (The Serpent, All My Sons).
Royal Court: Sound Of The Underground
Royal Court
19 January - 25 February
The play spotlights London’s iconic underground club culture and night scene and questions what it means to get your money’s worth when it comes to art. The sound of the underground is the sound of duct tape, lighting cigarettes, jangling tips and a whole lot of chaos for an out of the ordinary night at the theatre.
2:22 - A Ghost Story
Lyric Theatre
21 January - 23 April
An award winning play with three Olivier Nominations including Best New Play, and winning the Best New Play category in the Whatsonstage awards. 2:22 - A Ghost Story is a supernatural thriller, by turns intriguing, funny and scary, it takes audiences into one adrenaline-fueled night where secrets will emerge and ghosts may appear.
The Lehman Trilogy
Gillian Lynne Theatre
24 January – 20 May
Winner of the 2022 Tony Award for Best Play the play makes a return to London following stints in Los Angeles and New York. The play by Stefano Massini tells the story of three Bavarian brothers dreaming of an American life and financial success. Directed by Academy Award, Golden Globe and Tony Award winner Sam Mendes, the cast of three take on this tale of adventure, family and disaster.
The Vaults Waterloo
25 January – 19 March
The VAULT Festival is Britain’s leading independent showcase of live performance and artistic talent, featuring thousands of sensational performances across Theatre, Comedy, & Live Entertainment, made by the most exciting and boldest current artists. Set in unique, quirky and bespoke venues across Waterloo, the festival is one of the most accessible, sustainable, affordable, and welcoming performance festivals in Britain.
Royal Court
9th February - 11th March
A play about the ups and downs of meeting and falling in and out of love. Ava Wong Davies’s new play is directed by Anna Himali Howard and was developed as part of an Introduction to Playwriting group for new writers at the Royal Court.
Wyndham's Theatre
16 February – 2 September 2023
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Tony Award-winning revival, prances its way into the West End for 2023. Based on the 1931 play by Lynn Riggs, the musical production comes to London’s Wyndham’s Theatre re-imagined and re-orchestrated, ready to transport you to the early 1900s.
Bridge Theatre
3 March – 2 September
A musical classic of big city gamblers, glamourous show girls and complex love stories. Discover the immersive experience that’s like no other at the Bridge Theatre, in the shadow of Tower Bridge, and be transported to the Depression-era streets of Manhattan. With songs Luck Be a Lady, Sit Down, and You’re Rockin’ the Boat, experience the party and extravagance of 1930s New York City.
Garrick Theatre
4 March – 21 May
For a limited time at the West End’s Garrick Theatre comes the tale of two-small town kids and their thrilling adventure of love and fearlessness. After its spell in the West End, the show will complete a UK tour.
Southbank Centre
10th - 12th March
The world’s biggest, most comprehensive festival celebrating women, girls and non-binary people. The WOW London Festival is a chance to see incredible performances, be part of the global movement and be inspired by world-class speakers, activists, musicians and comedians.
Royal Court
14 March - 29 April
Danny Lee Wynter’s debut play is a brutal, unflinching and funny portrait of one man’s life spiralling out of control, in an age where our idols are Kings and our superheroes Gods.
David is in love with King who is a superhero. After an unexpected encounter David plunges himself into a world of sex, drugs and hero worship in the hope of being rescued, until fantasy and reality merge with devastating consequences.
Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead
Barbican
15 March - 1 April
International touring company Complicité presents a new work based on Nobel Prize winning author Olga Tokarczuk’s novel of the same name. This darkly comic, anarchic noir caused a seismic reaction in the writer’s native Poland due to its defiant attack on authoritarian structures, with right-wing press branding the writer an ‘eco-terrorist’ and national traitor.
Eventim Apollo
18 March
A one-of-a-kind experience that is a mixture of going to the movies and a concert - with an orchestra on stage playing the film’s score live while the film is projected on a giant screen. The DC in Concert series offers fans of The Batman, Black Adam and Justice League, Shazam and more the rare opportunity to watch their favourite movies while a live orchestra performs the scores.
The Orange Tree Theatre
27 March- 22 April
Winner of The Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2020, You Bury Me is an explosive, political debut from Ahlam about a generation emerging from a national trauma, determined to live and love freely. Coming of age after the Arab Spring, six young Egyptians navigate friendship, loss and secret Grindr dates in Cairo.
31 March - 1 October
The first big new West End musical to hit London since 2021 this is an exhilarating new musical about iconic Motown vocal group The Temptations which opened on Broadway in 2019. A romp through their life and times from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame from the creators of the award-winning Jersey Boys.
Johannes Radebe: Freedom Unleashed
Peacock Theatre and touring
4 - 8 April
After the phenomenal success of his sell-out debut tour in 2022, Johannes Radebe presents a new production to showcase his exhilarating dance and performance. Johannes will be joined by a diverse, world-class cast of talented dancers and singers, performing to a mix of African rhythms and party anthems, with a touch of ballroom, making the show a jubilant celebration of culture, passion and freedom.
A Play For The Living In A Time Of Extinction
Barbican Theatre
26 - 29 April
This innovative one woman show takes the audience on a journey to confront the urgent issue of climate change. Powered by bicycles, this feminist production is a moving exploration of what it means to be human in this era of man-made extinction. Headlong presents Katie Mitchell’s innovative touring model, the first of its kind in the UK, which sees a play tour, while the people and materials do not. It forms part of a ground-breaking international experiment in reimagining theatre in a climate crisis.
Last chance to see – catch it while you can
Fisherman's Friends The Musical
Richmond Theatre 28 Feb – 4 March, New Wimbledon Theatre 16 - 20 May
This musical is based on the true story of the Cornish singing sensations, Fisherman’s Friends, and the hit 2019 film. The group of Cornish fishermen came together to sing the traditional working songs to raise funds for charity and ended up on the Pyramid stage of Glastonbury. The musical is a feel-good romp about friendship, community and music.
Peacock Theatre, London
Until 1 April 2023
The electrifying rock songs of Jim Steinman accompany an epic story of rebellious youth and passion as Strat, the immortal leader of The Lost, has fallen in love with Raven, the beautiful daughter of the tyrannical ruler Falco. The musical stars Glenn Adamson as Strat, Martha Kirby as Raven and the original leading cast members Rob Fowler as Falco and Sharon Sexton as Sloane.
One Cartridge Place, Woolwich
Until 16 April
Immersive theatre and performance at it’s finest performed in vast spaces and interlocking rooms - this is an epic tale of the fall of Tory and a mythical world of Gods and Mortals bought to life by talented performers in a post-apocalyptic setting where the audience follows the action through the labyrinthine rooms.
Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
Until 16 April
Disney’s Newsies, the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical will have its UK premiere at London’s Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. Based on a true story, its the rousing tale of a ragged band of teenage newspaper sellers, come together and rise up against the exploitation of wealthy publishing tycoons to fight for justice and dream of a better life.
The Theatre at the Hippodrome Casino
Until 2 July
A spectacular live show based on the hit films to offer a complete evening of unparalleled entertainment at Magic Mike's club where a group of extraordinary artists perform a 360-degree dance and acrobatic spectacular around the audience. Sexy dance routines are intertwined with one-of-a-kind acts, presented by a diverse cast of performers from around the world. The show is co-directed by Channing Tatum and Alison Faulk.
Back To The Future - The Musical
Adelphi Theatre
Until 23 July
Experience the musical version of the much-loved film as Marty McFly, a rock 'n' roll teenager, is accidentally transported in a time-travelling DeLorean invented by his friend Doc. The Musical is produced by the creators of the Back to the Future films, directed by Tony Award-winning director John Rando with music by Emmy and Grammy Award-winning Alan Silvestri and six-time Grammy Award-winning Glen Ballard.
Sondheim Theatre
Until 1 October
A musical favourite and stalwart of the West End, award winning and renowned as the West End’s longest running musical. Re-born and re-dreamed for the 21st century, listen out for the acclaimed songs, I Dreamed a Dream and On my Own. Seize the chance when in London to see Les Misérables which tells the story of Jean Valjean, a convict pursuing a new life during the French Revolution.
ABBA Arena, Stratford
Until 27 November
Blending cutting-edge technology, spectacular light shows, and some of the most beloved songs ever written, ABBA take to the stage in a whole new way. In a stunning, purpose-built arena, one of the most popular groups in history appear as digital avatars alongside a live band and projections in a ground-breaking concert that is an extraordinary 360 experience.
Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Until 16 December
A theatre phenomenon and a roaring success, this record-breaking seven-Olivier Award show sees Callum Scott Howells and Madeline Brewer take on the roles of Emcee and Sally Bowles. Be transported to 1930s Berlin at London’s The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre for an electrifying tale of survival, love and war during political instability in Germany.
The Show must go on
St Martin's Theatre
Ongoing
Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap is an unmissable theatrical classic and has an ever evolving and changing cast. Celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2022, see the iconic murder mystery at London’s St Martin’s Theatre. As word gets around that there’s been a murder seven strangers must decipher which one of them is the killer.