Feature
Feature
What’s happening this month in theatre
Everything happening on the West End this month that you need to know about
September is set to be a massive month for the West End, with an overwhelming amount of incredible theatre hitting our stages. From brand new musicals to returning classics of British theatre – welcome back, The Importance of Being Earnest! – and lots, lots more, there really is something to suit everyone. Of course, lots coming has to mean lots going, and this month we’re also saying a sad goodbye to some must-see productions, like Evita and The Great Gatsby. Keep reading to scout out your last opportunities for tickets – here’s everything you need to know about West End theatre this September.
New West End openings
There’s some hugely exciting new musical openings to look forward to this month, beginning with Black Power Desk on 1 September. This world premiere will debut the story of two sisters divided by grief and radical politics in 1970s London, playing this month only at Brixton House. On 14 September, 50 First Dates: The Musical finally arrives at The Other Palace, offering a little throwback charm in the form of an amnesiac romance based on the hit film with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. If that isn’t enough sunshine for you, we’ve got just the thing: Get Down Tonight comes to Charing Cross Theatre on 19 September, telling the story of KC and the Sunshine Band to a soundtrack of their biggest hits.
Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Emma Baggott stage a major new version of an old story with their version of Dracula, which uncovers the female voices at the heart of the tale. You can catch it at the Lyric Theatre from 12 September. As mentioned, The Importance of Being Earnest is back, this time starring Olly Alexander in the role of Algernon Moncrieff. Catch his take on the loveable rogue at the Noël Coward Theatre, beginning 18 September. The Globe is always a reliable place to catch a classic – this season they’re staging Shakespeare’s rarely-performed satirical masterpiece Troilus and Cressida from 26 September.
There’s a ton of exciting new theatre this month beginning with The Lady from the Sea, a tense dissection of desire and rebirth starring Alicia Vikander and Andrew Lincoln, which arrives at the Bridge Theatre on 10 September. Another big name coming to London this month is Brendan Gleeson, who will makes his West End stage debut in The Weir from acclaimed playwright Conor McPherson coming to the Harold Pinter Theatre on 12 September. Joe Locke stars in emotionally intimate new drama Clarkston at the Trafalgar Theatre from 17 September, whilst Susan Sarandon and Andrea Riseborough bring Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Tracy Letts’ new play Mary Page Marlowe to life at The Old Vic from 23 September. We’re still not done – James Graham’s powerful Punch explores violence, consequence and change at the Apollo Theatre, opening 22 September.
If you like kicking off your Halloween celebrations early, Ghost Stories offers a terrifying theatrical experience – join Professor Goodman as he sets out to investigate three hauntings that just might challenge his skepticism towards the supernatural, coming to the Peacock Theatre on 30 September. Or, if you prefer your mysteries a little cosier (and funnier), Murder, She Didn’t Write comes to the Duchess Theatre on 29 September for one night of improvised murder-mystery mayhem.
Tickets on sale now
London welcomes back a larger than life night of musical entertainment next year, as Kinky Boots makes its return to the West End. The brand new production stars Strictly Come Dancing‘s Johannes Radebe as Lola, a drag queen who helps Charlie Price get his family’s struggling shoe business back on track. You can witness the whole uplifting story at the London Coliseum from 17 March to 11 July 2026, with tickets on sale now.
Last chance shows
We’re saying a sad goodbye to some of summer’s biggest hits this month. Evita starring Rachel Zegler is the first to go, leaving the London Palladium on 6 September. There’s still just a little time to catch Zegler onstage – or singing from the balcony. The star-studded, glamorous production of The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum follows shortly after on 7 September, so make sure to get in fast. Also heading off is Burlesque the Musical, which leaves the Savoy Theatre on 10 September.
The stunning production of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by Sadler’s Wells heads off on 7 September, so there’s still just about time to cram it in as a back to school treat. And – very sadly – we’re saying goodbye to TINA – The Tina Turner Musical as it leaves the Aldwych Theatre on 13 September. You’ll definitely want to slip in and see this long-running West End favourite before then if you can.
Award-winner A Man For All Seasons starring Martin Shaw leaves the Harold Pinter Theatre on 6 September, leaving very limited time to catch Shaw’s turn as Sir Thomas More. Shakespearean comedy Merry Wives of Windsor will head off from the Globe Theatre on 20 September, with Good Night, Oscar starring Sean Hayes leaving the Barbican Theatre the next night on 21 September.
Finally, three excellent pieces of theatre leave our stages on 27 September. Til The Stars Come Down will head off from Theatre Royal Haymarket after a second smash-hit West End run, whilst Interview, the story of a charged encounter between an influencer-turned-actress and a fading political journalist, leaves Riverside Studios on the same date. Also leaving us at the end of the month is Every Brilliant Thing, the life-affirming comedy-drama starring Lenny Henry, Ambika Mod, Sue Perkins and the show’s original co-creator Jonny Donahoe.
Other West End theatre news
Sean Hayes gives a masterful performance as the troubled Oscar Levant in Good Night, Oscar
It’s been many years since Oscar Levant was a household name. In some ways, he’d fit in well in today’s media landscape, irreverent enough to keep pace with any Gen Z celebrity. His rants about taboo topics – namely politics, religion and sex, in Doug Wright’s Good Night, Oscar – perhaps wouldn’t shock now as they did then. But the breathless, sick-making anticipation of watching someone fall apart behind our eyes feels entirely current… Read the full story.
Explore more West End theatre
