Best West End Theatre 2026:

Last Updated on December 20, 2025

London West End Theatre Previews

Anyone who was burnt badly by the news that tickets to see Gary Oldman in Beckett’s ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ are already sold out, knows that you can never be too hasty in securing next year’s theatre tickets. Although 2026 still feels like a lifetime away, star-studded productions, promising new shows and long-loved revivals are already beginning to sell fast on London’s West End theatre scene. Here is what the team at London Unattached thinks are the productions worth springing for in the new year:

Gerry & Sewell – Aldwych Theatre

From Olivier Award-winning writer and director Jamie Eastlake comes a story of two lads navigating their low income, friendship, and trying to score two tickets to the Premier League. Based on Jonathan Tulloch’s novel The Season Ticket, this show started in a 60-seat pub theatre in North Tyneside, before moving to the Newcastle Theatre Royal, and is now finishing its UK tour on the West End. Expect a feel-good show, with plenty of laughs, pinned down by a story that will tug at your heartstrings. Tickets start at just £13.

Tickets: Gerry & Sewell
Theatre: Aldwych Theatre, WC2B 4DF
Dates: 13 January 2026 – 24 January 2026

Mrs President – Charing Cross Theatre

Despite this not technically being a brand-new show, it made the list because it has had an ‘extensive’ reworking following ‘deep dramaturgical development and a creative workshop period in New York’ that uncovered brand new depths to the production. Re-envisioned under the direction of Bronagh Lagan and written by playwright John Ransom Phillips, the production focuses on the troubled life of Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady to President Lincoln. Starring Keala Settle and Hal Fowler, preview tickets start at just £14.50.

Tickets: Mrs President
Theatre: Charing Cross Theatre, WC2N 6NL
Dates: 23 January 2026 – 08 March 2026

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: The Musical – Theatre Royal Haymarket

Following a sold-out run at the Chichester Festival Theatre, this adaptation of Rachel Joyce’s best-selling novel is coming to the West End in January. Focusing on the story of Harold Fry, who makes an unanticipated journey across England to see a dying former colleague, expect a production that focuses on the reawakening of deeply buried emotions. Featuring songs from Passenger and starring Game of Thrones’ Mark Addy, tickets start at just £25.

Tickets: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Theatre: Theatre Royal Haymarket, SW1Y 4HT
Dates: 29 January 2026 – 18 April 2026

Dracula – Noël Coward Theatre

Get ready to hear one of the biggest names in showbiz, as Tony, Emmy and Grammy winner Cynthia Erivo will be starring in director Kip Williams’ Dracula. She certainly has her work cut out for her, as she will be playing all 23 characters in this one-woman gothic extravaganza. First staged by the Sydney Theatre Company in 2024, expect blood-curdling, nail-biting, teeth-chattering horror, headed by one of the industry’s finest. Tickets started at £50, but they are already selling fast.

Tickets: Dracula
Theatre: Noël Coward Theatre, WC2N 4AU
Dates: 04 February 2026 – 31 May 2026

Mary, Queen of Scots – Sadler’s Wells Theatre

This phenomenally well-reviewed production of Mary Queen of Scots, brought to us from the Scottish Ballet, is coming for a limited run at Sadler’s Wells in March. Promising a contemporary spin on this Reformation tale, the show is the brainchild of Scottish Ballet’s choreographer-in-residence Sophie Laplane and director James Bonas. As Queen Elizabeth I approaches the end of her life, she is haunted by dreams of her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, whom she had imprisoned for treason, prior to ordering her final execution in 1587. Featuring new music by the team behind the 2022 hit Coppélia, the production will only be at Sadler’s Wells for a total of five nights – don’t miss out.

Tickets: Mary, Queen of Scots
Theatre: Sadler’s Wells Theatre, EC1R 4TN
Dates: 05 March 2026 – 08 March 2026

Teeth ’n’ Smiles – Duke of York’s Theatre

Celebrating the 50^th anniversary of David Hare’s play Teeth ‘n’ Smiles, this production is set to star musician and songwriter Self Esteem (Rebecca Lucy Taylor) as the leading lady, Maggie. Following Maggie and her band’s descent into booze, drugs and chaos, the play takes place during the band’s calamitous set at a stuffy Cambridge University ball. Exploring the end of counterculture, selling out, and suffering with a faltering artistic integrity, this production will undoubtedly be just as relevant today as it was in 1975. Tickets start at £25.

Tickets: Teeth ’n’ Smiles
Theatre: Duke of York’s Theatre, WC2N 4BG
Dates: 13 March 2026 – 06 June 2026

Romeo and Juliet – Harold Pinter Theatre

Yet another set of big hitters, this take on the Bard’s most famous tragedy will star Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) and Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place) as Romeo and Juliet. With both stars set to make their West End debut, it is comforting to know they are in safe hands with director Robert Icke. Due to be on the West End for a strictly limited run of just under three months, tickets start at £20.

Tickets: Romeo and Juliet
Theatre: Harold Pinter Theatre, SW1Y 4DN
Dates: 15 March 2026 – 06 June 2026

Avenue Q – Shaftesbury Theatre

This beloved three-time Tony award winning musical is set to return to the West End after two decades. Don’t be fooled by the show’s Sesame Street appearance – these puppets are filthy. Known for songs like ‘Everyone’s a Little Racist’ and ‘The Internet is For P**n’, this updated version of the show will be arriving with its original Broadway director, Jason Moore and original puppet designer, Rick Lyon. Full of fuzzy foulness, this West reprisal is not to be missed. Tickets start at just £25.

Tickets: Avenue Q
Theatre: Shaftesbury Theatre, WC2H 8DP
Dates: 20 March 2026 – 29 August 2026

The Last Five Years – London Palladium

Yet another anniversary is being celebrated with some big hitters in 2026, as The Last Five Years embarks on its 25^th anniversary production. Starring Broadway legends Rachel Zegler and Ben Platt, this musical is about one couple’s tumultuous five-year relationship. Cathy Hiatt’s timeline moves backwards from the couple’s divorce, whereas Jamie Wellerstein’s moves forward from their first date. Exploring heartbreak, love and the price of ambition, the musical rarely leaves a dry eye in the house. Tickets are already sold out, but look out for any returns for this epic revival.

Tickets: The Last Five Years
Theatre: London Palladium, W1F 7TF
Dates: 23 March 2026 – 29 March 2026

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – @sohoplace

Based on the international best-selling memoir of the same name by William Kamkwamba, this incredible true story is coming to @sohoplace straight from the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon. William, then 13 years old, had a dream to save his village in drought-stricken Malawi. With nothing more than a few library books and a heap of scrap metal, William embarks on a project to harness the power of the wind. The West End premiere of this strikingly inspiring tale has tickets starting at just £25.

Tickets: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Theatre: @sohoplace, W1D 3BG
Dates: 25 April 2026 – 18 July 2026

Beetlejuice – Prince Edward Theatre

Following a successful Broadway run, this musical adaptation of Tim Burton’s 1988 cult classic, Beetlejuice, is coming to the West End in May. Stuck in a house haunted by the previous occupants, Lydia Deetz befriends the ghostly former inhabitants, who are determined to drive out her slightly dysfunctional father and stepmother. Promising to help is the demon-like Betelgeuse, who can only be invoked by saying his name three times. But he proves far more trouble than he is worth. Tickets are on sale from £20.

Tickets: Beetlejuice
Theatre: Prince Edward Theatre, W1D 4HS
Dates: 20 May 2026 – 17 April 2027

CATS – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Okay, so this isn’t technically a West End theatre, but CATS is such a West End classic that we believe it deserves the last word on this West End theatre listicle. With a brand-new production directed and choreographed by Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre Artistic Director Drew McOnie, this Lloyd Webber classic is set to surprise and delight its audiences with T.S. Elliot’s beloved cast of cats. Following a limited London run of just seven weeks, this production will undertake a major UK tour through to July 2027. Tickets for this production’s run at Regent’s Park start from £15.

Tickets: CATS
Theatre: Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, NW1 4NU
Dates: 25 July 2026 – 12 September 2026

In summary:

All of which is to say: 2026 is already looking alarmingly expensive for theatre lovers. With limited runs, big-name casting and more than a few cult favourites in the mix, these are the West End theatre shows worth getting in the diary now – before you’re refreshing ticket sites at midnight and pretending you’re ‘fine’ about it. Book early, stay smug, and we’ll see you in the stalls.

Looking for more theatre? Look at our Southbank 2026 roundup here.