Catch these incredible theatre shows as they return to the stage in London | London Theatre

From Sister Act and Hadestown to Standing at the Sky’s Edge, there’s a wealth of fantastic shows coming into town – so don’t miss out!

We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to shows in London, and it can be hard to keep up with everything that’s opening – we all have busy lives and it isn’t possible to fit everything in. Fortunately, second chances do sometimes arise!

A whole host of plays and musicals are being reprised in the West End this spring and summer, from celebrated musicals to classic drama and exciting contemporary writing. If it’s a show you’ve loved before, different cast members and venues can provide a whole new perspective. There are also shows that have performed on tour and at regional theatres, and are now getting a West End run.

Here’s our guide to shows returning or transferring to London this season that you can book tickets for now.

First performed at the Sheffield Crucible in 2019 and at the National Theatre last year, Chris Bush’s Olivier-winning musical follows three different households living in the same flat in Sheffield’s Brutalist Sky’s Edge housing estate (it now plays at the appropriately Brutalist Gillian Lynne Theatre), punctuated by barnstorming renditions of songs by Richard Hawley.

The show is a love letter to Sheffield, as well as celebrating the universal power of family and community. The cast includes acclaimed musical theatre performers Rachael Wooding, Joel Harper-Jackson, and Laura Pitt-Pulford.

Book Standing at the Sky’s Edge tickets on London Theatre.

People, Places and Things

Duncan Macmillan’s intoxicating play People, Places and Things premiered at the National Theatre in 2015 and has since travelled to the West End and New York. Now it’s back, and the icing on the cake is that Denise Gough is reprising her Olivier Award-winning lead role as Emma, an actress in rehab for her addictions to drugs, alcohol and drama.

Gough’s performance is unforgettable for sure, but it’s not a one-woman show – the esteemed supporting cast includes Sinead Cusack, Malachi Kirby, Danny Kirrane and Kevin McMonagle.

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Transferring from Theatre Royal Bath, Dominic West delves into his grittier side as Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone in this acclaimed production of Arthur Miller’s indelible tragedy.

In a close-knit Italian American community, Eddie and his wife Beatrice have raised Beatrice’s niece Catherine as a daughter, but when she starts to fall for newly arrived immigrant Rodolpho, Eddie’s jealousy has devastating effects. Kate Fleetwood and Callum Scott Howells also star.

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Alan Bleasdale’s seminal 1982 Liverpool-set television serial is adapted for the stage by the multi-talented and award-winning James Graham. The run at the National Theatre is already sold out, and it will be followed by a strictly limited eight-week extension at the West End’s Garrick Theatre. Book now to avoid missing out.

First performed at Liverpool’s Royal Court last year, Boys from the Blackstuff is the darkly humorous story of an unforgettable group of tarmac (“blackstuff”) layers struggling to survive in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain. The original series placed seventh in a British Film Institute poll of the best television programmes of the 20th century.

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The current incarnation of Hadestown marks its West End debut, but it isn’t the first time Anais Mitchell’s beguiling, mythological “musical poem” of a show has been seen in London. The show had a short run at the National Theatre in 2018-19 prior to its Broadway debut, where it was the most decorated show of its season with eight Tony Awards.

This unique musical has a New Orleans jazz vibe, but the West End cast use their natural accents, which works brilliantly. Gloria Onitiri, who played one of the Fates at the National, now plays the goddess Persephone.

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Hallelujah, baby! The hugely popular gospel musical comedy based on the film starring Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith has returned to the West End to lift our spirits throughout the spring and summer.

“Queen of Soul” and Olivier winner Beverley Knight raises the roof as singer Deloris van Cartier, who finds refuge in a convent, joined by Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones as a Welsh Mother Superior. Alexandra Burke takes over from Knight as Deloris from 10 June – why not catch both superstars as they take their turns to bless the West End!

Book Sister Act tickets on London Theatre.

A charming hit at north London’s Kiln Theatre last Christmas, this warm-hearted two-hander musical now transfers to the West End. Dear Evan Hansen’s Sam Tutty stars opposite Dujonna Gift as step-relatives who meet the day before a wedding and embark on an evening of chaos.

Created by the up-and-coming team of Kit Buchan and Jim Barne, Two Strangers is both a teasing send-up of romcoms and a deeply heartfelt romcom in itself – albeit one with modern jokes about Tinder. This West End run caps a lovely British musical success story.

Book Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) tickets on London Theatre.

Everything was beautiful at the ballet… A real 1970s classic originally devised by director-choreographer Michael Bennett, A Chorus Line remains relevant 50 years on in its depiction of chorus dancers’ attempts to survive in a tough industry. Set in an audition that’s more like group therapy, Marvin Hamlisch’s fabulous score includes the hits “The Music and the Mirror”, “One”, and “What I Did for Love.”

Nikolai Foster’s exciting new production (not a replica of Bennett’s original) was first performed at Leicester Curve in 2021 and plays at Sadler’s Wells as part of its UK tour. Former Royal Ballet principal Adam Cooper and Olivier nominee Carly Mercedes Dyer lead the cast as director/choreographer Zach and his former partner Cassie, who’s desperate for another chance.

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If you missed last summer’s sell-out run of Next to Normal at the Donmar Warehouse, fear not. There’s another chance to catch the original London production of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary classic of musical theatre this summer at Wyndham’s Theatre.

Broadway star Caissie Levy leads the cast as Diana, a suburban wife and mother struggling with bipolar disorder and haunted by her past. Jamie Parker plays her husband, with rising stars Jack Wolfe and Eleanor Worthington-Cox as their teenage children. It’s an emotional ride like no other.

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Follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Gillian Lynne Theatre. After its run at the London Palladium and a UK tour, The Wizard of Oz is returning to the West End this summer for four weeks. Newcomer Aviva Tulley’s Dorothy is joined by Aston Merrygold (JLS, Strictly Come Dancing) as Tin Man and The Vivienne (RuPaul’s Drag Race) as the Wicked Witch of the West.

This is no carbon copy of the MGM movie: Nikolai Foster’s innovative production melds nostalgia and futurism with a video game concept, plus enchanting puppetry. The show features all the classic Harold Arlen and EY Harburg songs from the film, expanded with new numbers by Andrew Lloyd Webber. There’s no place like the West End!

Book The Wizard of Ozhttps://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/28217-the-wizard-of-oz tickets on London Theatre.

Another family favourite, this hit stage adaptation was last seen in the West End at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2013. Join Shrek, Fiona, Donkey and the gang this summer as the musical version of the Dreamworks blockbuster sets up swamp at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo, fresh from touring the UK.

Former Strictly Come Dancing champion Joanne Clifton plays Princess Fiona, and the show features rollicking comedy, inventive design and a catchy original score – fun for audiences of all ages. You’ll be a believer for sure!

Book Shrek The Musical tickets on London Theatre.