Autumn has finally arrived and as the temperatures drop many will be looking forward to winter and Christmas time. One of the best things to do in London during Christmas is to go see a show in the West End with your family or friends.
Tickets these days are getting cheaper so that makes it more affordable amid the spiraling costs around current purchases that will come later in the year. Imagine a chilly evening with your family, maybe some crunchy snow underfoot on the sidewalk and bright flashing lights from a theater sign illuminating the puddles and taxi windows across the street.
You enter the warmth of the theater after a hearty dinner at a nearby restaurant and prepare for two hours of top quality entertainment – a perfect way to celebrate Christmas in the capital.
City of Hades
This five-star musical has been wowing audiences since its inception and will close next February so don’t miss it over Christmas. We follow the journey to the underworld with an innovative retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice set during the Great Depression.
Other iconic characters such as Hermes and the Fates join the cast of some of the biggest musical numbers in theater right now. The show won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score when it opened on Broadway in April 2019. Definitely a top-notch song. Get tickets from TodayTix from £23, London Theater Direct from £25, and Love Theater from £25.
Cabaret
One of the most iconic musicals ever is staged at London’s Kit Kat Club near Trafalgar Square. Set in early 1930s Berlin, it follows the story of an American writer Cliff Bradshaw who meets the extravagant Sally Bowles, an English cabaret performer at the infamous Kit Kat Club.
Their tumultuous love story and the hedonistic way of life in Weimar Germany are threatened by the ever-growing presence of Nazism and war. With some of the greatest songs in musical history written by John Kander and Fred Ebb, this musical has lived on since the 1960s as a household name. It was also made into a brilliant film in 1972 and won eight Oscars with Liza Minelli as Sally Bowles, Joel Gray as the Emcee, who both won Oscars for their performances, and Michael York as Brian Roberts. Get tickets from TodayTix from £33, London Theater Direct from £37, and Love Theater from £35.40.
The mousetrap
As the play unfolds, we become familiar with each character and their nefarious pasts and potential motives as the detectives try to hunt down the whodunnit. Get tickets from TodayTix from £26, London Theater Direct from £28, and Love Theater from £30.
Moulin Rouge! The musical
Based on the nine-time Oscar-winning film by Baz Luhrmann starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, this musical is not to be missed. Set in the redlight district of Montmartre in Paris, writer Christian meets the elegant Satine in the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret club.
Their lives become entangled with the extravagant backdrop of Paris as fantastic characters appear such as Moulin Rouge host Harold Zidler, the brilliant artist Toulouse-Lautrec, the greatest tango dancer – and gigolo – in all of Paris Santiago and many others. It’s a spectacle for the ages with stunning costumes, energetic choreography and a pop-filled score. Get tickets from TodayTix from £28, London Theater Direct from £31, and Love Theater from £29.50.
Dr. Strangelove
Steve Coogan will star in this adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s controversial 1960s black comedy Dr Stranglove satirizing the Cold War, opening on October 8. General Jack D. Ripper becomes convinced that the Soviet Union is planning to poison Americans and, in his delusion, orders a nuclear attack on Russia without government approval.
In the midst of chaos, there will be a frantic race against time to prevent nuclear armageddon on its way. The film is considered one of the best ever made and won four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Peter Sellers. Like Sellers, Coogan will step into the shoes of several characters in the stage adaptation. BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning Armando Iannucci will adapt the production alongside Sean Foley, who will direct. Get tickets from TodayTix from £28, London Theater Direct from £31, and Love Theater from £30.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button follows a boy who was born old and grows younger every day. The production has moved the story to a fishing village on the north coast of Cornwall.
In this musical, Benjamin Button wants nothing more to live a small life and find a place to belong, but is bound by this extraordinary destiny. Get tickets from TodayTix from £23, London Theater Direct from £43, and Love Theater from £41.30.
Hamilton
This musical giant has taken the theater world by storm since 2015. Relive the life of one of America’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, who helped shape the United States we know today. The hit production contains an ironically unique mix of hip-hop, R&B and soul songs to carry the audience through the story and stay stuck in your brain throughout.
Hamilton, an orphan who moved to New York in search of better fortune, builds himself from the ground up to become George Washington’s right-hand man. A love story also follows as his incredible career leads him to become America’s first Treasury Secretary. Get tickets from TodayTix from £23, London Theater Direct from £25, and Love Theater from £24.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Horrible Histories’ Mathew Baynton stars as the hilarious Bottom in The Barbican’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Follow the ever-changing love triangles between four young lovers faced with unhappy marriages set up by their parents.
Their fates become entangled in the mischievous machinations of the fairytale world of an enchanted forest, as do those of a group of silly wandering theater artists who produce some of the funniest moments in classical theatre. Get tickets from TodayTix from £28 and Love Theater from £30.
Fawlty Towers – The Play
Adapted by John Cleese himself, Monty Python writer of the beloved 1970s sitcom and the actor behind Basil Fawlty, this stage adaptation has had audiences cracking up every performance. The show is based on three of the most loved episodes “The Hotel Inspectors”, “Communication Problems” and “The Germans”.
Nothing at the Torquay hotel seems to be going right for the dysfunctional characters we all know and love – Basil and his formidable wife Sybil, Manuel the useless but hilarious Spanish waiter and Polly the long-suffering voice of reason. Just remember one thing, don’t mention the war. Get tickets from TodayTix from £18, London Theater Direct and Love Theater from £18.
Back to the Future: The Musical
Based on the classic original 1985 film starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, this musical brings the 1980s back to the present day. With fantastic scenography and catchy songs, we follow Marty McFly and his friend Doc who accidentally end up in 1955 in Doc’s latest invention – a time-traveling DeLorean.
Here he ends up meeting his parents but messing with the timeline puts his own existence at risk. They hatch a daring plan to get things back to normal and get back to the future. With incredible futuristic lighting and scenery, the musical features popular hits like “The Power of Love” and “Johnny B. Goode,” as well as new songs like “This One’s for the Dreamers.” Get tickets from TodayTix from £23 and Love Theater from £22.68.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Based on the hit Netflix show, this play serves as a prequel to the TV series. Set in 1959, it follows the show’s very own Jim Hopper – the lovable but gruff cop of the series. Joyce Maldonado’s character also appears as Bob Newby in the eerie town of Hawkins where things start to go wrong after the arrival of Henry Creel.
The show is an original written by Kate Trefry (writer of the TV series Stranger Things) with an original story by the Duffer brothers who created the TV series Stranger Things as well as Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and Trefry. Get tickets from TodayTix from £33, London Theater Direct from £37, and Love Theater from £35.40.
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