Curtain up! The best theatre to see in 2026
The must-see theatre and musical shows in the West End and on tour in the UK for the year ahead.
The must-see theatre and musical shows in the West End and on tour in the UK for the year ahead.
After two Wicked films, Cynthia Erivo hangs up her broomstick for a return to the London stage in a one-woman production of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Similar to The Picture of Dorian Gray starring Sarah Snook, and indeed helmed by the same director, Kip Williams, it will see Erivo showing her versatility in more than 20 roles.
We’re promised an “intoxicating, blood-pumping reimagining” of the timeless gothic horror classic, as the Count emerges from hiding to launch a new reign of terror.
Another high-profile return to the London stage comes courtesy of Hugh Bonneville, who played CS Lewis in Shadowlands at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2019 but who hasn’t appeared in a major production in the capital for more than 20 years.
Best known for the 1993 film version starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger, Shadowlands is the heart-wrenching story of the doomed romance between the British writer of the Narnia books and American poet Joy Davidman, so be sure to take your tissues.
With Lee Mead currently starring as PT Barnum in a UK tour of the classic Cy Coleman-scored musical, Disney is putting its considerable muscle behind a splashy adaptation of the 2017 film The Greatest Showman. Oliver Tompsett (pictured) stars as the theatrical impresario who took the showbiz scene by storm in 1880s America, with Samantha Barks as his wife Charity.
All of the songs from the movie will be belted out, along with new ones written especially for the show.
The ultimate feelgood show, Kinky Boots struts back onto the stage, reaffirming its message of diversity, acceptance and how you change the world when you change your mind, via Harvey Fierstein’s snappy dialogue and Cyndi Lauper’s catchy score.
Strictly Come Dancing star turned musical theatre sensation Johannes Radebe plays drag queen Lola, who tasks shoe-factory owner Charlie Price with crafting high heels for men in a journey that leads all the way from Northampton to Milan.
Twenty years on since its original Broadway production and 17 since it first popped up in the West End, Avenue Q makes a welcome comeback. But be warned: it’s not a puppet show to take your grandkids to!
Tweaks and surprises to the original are assured, but here’s hoping they haven’t diluted the quirky, outrageous comedy of a show in which puppets do very grown-up things and sing hilarious songs like The Internet is for Porn.
Following a sold-out season at Theatre Royal Bath, where it played to great acclaim in 2025, the David Hare-penned Grace Pervades transfers to the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Leading man Ralph Fiennes makes the journey, too, starring as Victorian stage legend Sir Henry Irving opposite Miranda Raison as his muse Ellen Terry in a play that has been praised for its intelligence, wit and poignancy.
While the recent film version of Kiss of the Spider Woman, starring Jennifer Lopez, came and went faster than a startled arachnid, Curve, Bristol Old Vic and Mayflower Southampton are joining forces to mount a new stage production of the underrated Kander and Ebb musical extravaganza.
The always-brilliant Layton Williams (pictured below) and George Blagden play prisoners whose brutal confines bring them together, with the equally brilliant Anna-Jane Casey as the glamorous actress that Williams conjures up in his fantasies.
The Barbican has become the go-to place for spectacular all-singing/all-dancing summer shows, and this year the fun starts early with the May opening of High Society. We have high hopes for this one, which stars Call the Midwife’s Helen George (pictured below) as socialite Tracy Lord (first captivatingly brought to life on screen by Grace Kelly) and Felicity Kendall among the supporting players.
And you can’t go wrong with a Cole Porter score that includes Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Well, Did You Evah!
After a headline-grabbing production of Evita last summer, the London Palladium plays host to another Andrew Lloyd Webber revival (well, he does own the theatre). The return of Jesus Christ Superstar marks ten years since it took Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre by storm, with the same creative team promising a unique new staging.
And with his long locks and stunning voice, it’s hard to imagine a better choice than Sam Ryder to play the troubled messiah.
[Hero image credit: Getty Images]
A skilled actress and comedienne, Tracy-Ann Oberman (pictured below) is perfectly cast as stage star Geri Essendine in a welcome revival of Noël Coward’s evergreen comedy of manners, Present Laughter. Farce ensues when she finds herself honeymooning with her new beau in a hotel where her old flame is on his honeymoon, too.
The play premiered in 1939 and remains as side-splitting today as it ever was.
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