Capital ideas: the best West End shows for every special occasion
If you are planning to celebrate with a trip to London’s theatreland, our critic matches the perfect show for each occasion.
If you are planning to celebrate with a trip to London’s theatreland, our critic matches the perfect show for each occasion.
As Saga Magazine’s theatre reviewer, I’m often asked which plays and musicals I’d recommend to people who are planning a visit to London.
So here are my top tips for the best plays, musicals and theatre experiences to see if you’re heading to the capital this summer for a special occasion.
A West End fixture since 1999, Mamma Mia! (image above) bills itself as “the world’s sunniest, most exhilarating smash-hit musical” and it’s hard to argue with that description. With the approval of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, it packs a suitcase-load of ABBA songs into a story about a Greek Island wedding.
Singing along is discouraged until the curtain call, when you’ll be among a sea of dancing queens having the time of your lives.
Mamma Mia! is at the Novello Theatre.
Medics should be on standby in the lobby to stitch up the sides of theatregoers filing out of this absolutely hilarious demonstration of farce at its death-defying best.
In it the Cornley Drama Society puts on a murder mystery in which anything that can go wrong does go wrong, with the actors deserving medals for their precision-timed pratfalls and stunts.
It now features its 13th cast, but we’re assured the previous players all made it out alive!
The Play That Goes Wrong is at the Duchess Theatre.
Rather than retread ground covered by the books and films, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a sequel, penned by Jack Thorne, about Harry as a grown-up working at the Ministry of Magic and his son Albus following in his footsteps at Hogwarts.
With gasp-inducing special effects, the staging is sensational as it plays out across two parts which you can either see back-to-back or on separate days –for now at least, as from early October it is being reimagined as a shortened single show.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is at the Palace Theatre.
The Bard’s most playful comedy has been given a lively makeover which, housed in the Globe, he’d surely have approved of – since nights out at the theatre in his day were often raucous affairs.
Audience participation is encouraged in an elating and celebratory revival of this story about four lovers lost in a magical forest, with the theatre itself adding to the magic, steeped as it is in Shakespearean history.
Immerse yourself in the action by standing in the open-air yard or observe it from the covered gallery seating.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is at the Globe Theatre.
The Playhouse Theatre has been reconfigured into the Kit Kat Club for the Rebecca Frecknall-directed, critically acclaimed revival of the classic Kander and Ebb musical.
There's a band playing in the bar before curtain up and premium table seating around the circular stage. Book a table for two, treat yourself to champagne and you’ll feel like you’re back in Weimar Berlin.
Matt Willis and Katie Hall are the latest in a long line of performers to take on the iconic roles of the Emcee and Sally Bowles.
Cabaret is at the Kit Kat Club.
The misspelling is deliberate.
This is Fawlty Towers refashioned as a “dining experience” - the “dining” bit being a simple but tasty three-course meal, the “experience” being that it is served by actors posing as ill-tempered Basil, his disapproving wife Sybil and put-upon waiter Manuel.
Comedy chaos ensues, with skits between courses and diners getting roped into the action.
Faulty Towers The Dining Experience is at the President Hotel.
As it heads into its 75th year, the twist in Agatha Christie whodunnit remains theatre’s best-kept secret.
Seven strangers find themselves holed up at Monkswell Manor guesthouse in atmospherically wintry weather, as a detective arrives to reveal that there is a murderer in their midst.
Theatregoers are urged to keep the big reveal under wraps after they exit and, surprisingly in this social media age, everyone does – but trust me, it’s such a typically cunning Christie conceit that you won’t see it coming anyway.
The Mousetrap is at the St Martin’s Theatre.
Situated in the heart of Covent Garden, the world’s oldest still-running theatre has survived tragedy, fire, bankruptcy, murder, and is even believed to be haunted too.
Intrigued? You can learn more by taking a 75-minute tour around the birthplace of the musical, modern pantomime and moving scenery, guided by professional actors.
Who knows? You may also see one of the theatre’s infamous ghosts.
The Theatre Royal Drury Lane Tour is on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
(Hero image credit: Brinkhoff & Mögenburg)
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