What theatre productions are you looking forward to booking for 2026?

[FatCatSkinnyRat]

My DH and I have started going to the theatre Saturday matinees more regularly now our kids are older teens and we can leave them home alone on Saturday afternoons!!

We have booked Dracula so far as Australian friends have raved about it but wondering what else is coming out that people are excited about?

Has anyone seen Bloodsport which is at Stratford East? I saw 1536 which was by the same writer earlier this summer and really liked it.

I’ve got a ticket for this. Have also booked for Hay Fever purely to see Christine Baranski on stage.

I am seeing this next weekend and very much looking forward to it. I love productions that make me think

6 days til Mark Rylance in Tartuffe!!!

In the version I saw Nina Hoss was Electra and then the mute actor, I would love to see the reverse too but they (Nina and Cate) decide who is playing which part by a toss of a coin at the start.

Would love to see Electra/Persona but really tricky to sort out the logistics of getting to London. I really miss the ease of seeing shows whilst living in London (I relocated 200 miles away). It’s being filmed later this month but watching it on my laptop won’t be the same 😔

I am looking forward to seeing The Story, at the National Theatre, next week.

Die Hard - Oh it's great! We saw it at the Kings Head in London a few years ago and really enjoyed it!

Saw Thelma and Louise last night. It was fine which was a shame as I thought it could have been great with a better score.

Well, I've snapped up a couple of tickets for the last night of How the Other Half Loves.

Very much looking forward to it now.

Goldenboy was rather good, not a great play but some terrific performances and the final section had me holding my breath. Well worth trying to get a ticket.

I agree and disagree with both of you in different parts.

The role of Herod is encapsulated within the overall piece and was created with a pantomime-ish vibe. I’ve seen it done straight and as pantomime over the years and both can work. In this run I saw Richard Armitage early on playing it straight (cheap, late matinee ticket for the stalls!) and Clary playing it panto style and enjoyed both - the night I was there Clary went down a storm and I’d assumed they booked him for what was to be the last week of the run. So long as its clear which performer is due when tickets are bought I like having the choice.

Huntley was great - he is my favourite Judas since Carl Anderson whom I’d always thought unbeatable. Sam Ryder was much better than I expected - I really wondered how a pop star would stand up to eight performances a week and the second performance I saw was better than the first rather than sounding a bit worn out.

The story telling is an interesting one. I went with my mother to see the original London run as a child and I’ve seen it quite a few times since. When I first saw it the writers could assume the audience was fully familiar with the story of The Passion would need no explanation about details of the story. I wonder if that is true now? That said the audience seemed to enjoy it and it was pretty mixed age wise.

I’m seeing that in mid October - I’ll be interested in your thoughts! I’m also going to see The Children with Meera Syal in October.

Would like to see Rylance in Tartuffe but can’t match up dates and tickets :(

@C8H10N4O2 That’s an interesting point about knowing the story and how people nowadays may be less familiar. Even though I generally knew the story, in retrospect, I’d wished I read a quick summary so I was more au fair with it in detail, and would recommend anyone not familiar, to do this to get the most out of the production.

Yes I agree although to be fair that is my advice to most people going to see Opera or Ballet if they are not familiar with the story already.

One of my DGMs had occasional work in theatres (she picked up extra money with casual work in wardrobe) and consequently sometimes had unsolds/returns for London theatres/concert venues. She would also buy tickets for the slips at CG when flush (the very cheap seats in the gods). For opera/ballet she would make sure we knew the story before we went to see the performance. I don’t think I realised the importance of that until I took my own children.

JCS is a rock opera, I’d treat it like any other fully sung or danced show and encourage people to read the story in advance.

I will update after I have seen it.

We might need a 2027 thread soon!

My daughter (an equally avid fan of musicals and shows) has sent me info that the Barbican is hosting another run of Death Note next year in the spring. So we are now booking a trip to London for then.

Which means we will probably give Rent a go.

Saw Tartuffe last night - brilliant! I'd never been to the Marylebone Theatre; it's very lovely. Already booked their next show - Speculations with Janie Dee.

It took half an hour for 2 relatively intelligent people (me and DH) to book seats for the 2 halves of Middlemarch - had to cancel half way through as we realised we'd booked to see them in the wrong order... We've ended up with gallery seats for the Part 1 matinee and then plush spendy ones for the Part 2 evening show. Now just need to book tea somewhere in between!

Finally saw Paddington last week - just fabulous, I wasn't sure whether it could live up to the films but it was so heart-warming, the sets and projections were glorious, some very funny and some very moving moments and Paddington himself was just perfect.

The Sunday in the Park 2027 production planned for the Barbican (this was the one that Arianna Grande was scheduled to appear in and pulled out of and then Jonathan Bailey later also withdrew) has basically been abandoned

https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/event/2027/sunday-in-the-park-with-george

Notice says

"The planned 2027 production of Sunday in the Park with George at the Barbican will no longer proceed as scheduled.
Empire Street Productions will retain the rights with a view to presenting the production in 2028. Further details will be announced in due course.
The Barbican would like to thank the Empire Street Productions team for working closely with us."

Must be some very angry producers fuming somewhere.

I'm gutted about this. I wanted to take DD and then realised Arianna Grande was in it and tickets would be extortionate and a bunfight, so we probably wouldn't be able to get reasonably-priced tickets. Then when she pulled out, I was sort of like "yay" (good wishes to her of course, but from a purely selfish viewpoint I wanted to see the musical, not the star turn).

So to see it disbanded is a shame. Fingers crossed for 2028.

Any Starkids fans they have just announced a run of Nerdy Prudes Must Die at the Apollo next Feb.

Ah that's a shame!
DD revealed that was on her 'Ideal London theatre trip' wishlist just the other day and I'd never heard of it.

We are planning a London trip to take in a few favourites and to catch Death Note again as we loved it. But not til the end of March, and Nerdy Prudes finishes early March.

@C8H10N4O2 I went to see the Story on Saturday, and thought that it was well acted. I was not sure what I was expecting really, but I found myself quite immersed in the first half of the play. The second half, I must admit, I did find some of it, a bit confusing. That is most likely a me problem though! There were some good scenes, and a few laugh out loud moments. I am glad that I saw it. It is a good play, and worth seeing. I think I was expecting it to delve more deeply, into how the press can manipulate the narrative, when some incidents happen, depending on who they happen too. I left thinking, that it was a good play, and not much more. The theatre is lovely, and comfortable, and I have now booked to see The Jungle Book, next year.

I saw The Story on Wednesday and really enjoyed it. I almost didn't go - I'd had a difficult morning, was running late and ripped my skirt on my way there, so the temptation to turn around and go home was very high! I'm very glad that I made it. I thought the play itself was a little clunky, too many ideas and too little characterisation; but the acting, the staging and, especially, the lighting were fantastic and I was gripped by the narrative.
The bus home then took 2 hours, so it was definitely the high point of my day!

Saw Cats at Regents Park open air.. really enjoyed it