Theatre
Feature
Celebrities on stage: all the big names playing the West End
Here’s your breakdown of all the A-listers you’ll be able to see live in London over the next few months
London has been inundated with big stars on its stages lately and the trend shows no sign of slowing down. From major musicals to gritty new dramas, there are lots of shows either already running or due to arrive soon that can count some pretty famous faces in their casts. The latest exciting news out of the West End is the announcement that Alexandra Burke is set to star in I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical, bringing the ten-time Grammy winner to life at the Peacock Theatre. Read on to find out who else will be treading the boards in London.
I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical
Starring: Alexandra Burke
Opens 5 March 2026 at the Peacock Theatre
Opening this spring, I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical boasts X-Factor alum and platinum-selling recording artist Alexandra Burke in the titular role. Burke will take centre stage as Chaka’s incredible life story unfolds, in a show that celebrates her extraordinary five-career.
“Almost seventeen years ago, with my late mother by my side, I sang Chaka for my very first non-televised audition for The X Factor,” said Burke of the casting. “To think that all these years later I’ve been given the opportunity to play the superstar that is Chaka Khan in the West End would have been simply unimaginable for me back then… This truly is a dream role for me, my first originating, and I’m still pinching myself wondering if I’m dreaming!”
The Weir
Starring: Brandon Gleeson
Playing now at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Conor McPherson’s excellent drama – and the one that launched his sparkling career – gathers four local men in a pub in Ireland, where they’ll weave unsettling stories to impress a strange woman, unaware that the tale she has to tell will shake them most of all… Oscar, Bafta and Golden-Globe nominated and Emmy-winning actor Brandon Gleeson stars, who you’ll recognise from films like The Banshees of Insherin, Harry Potter and Paddington 2.
Othello
Starring: David Harewood, Toby Jones, Caitlin FitzGerald
Playing now at Theatre Royal Haymarket
Shakespeare’s force of a play returns to London, fiercer and more explosive than ever. David Harewood (Homeland, Best of Enemies), Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Detectorists) and Caitlin FitzGerald (Succession, Masters of Sex) star in this tale of jealousy, manipulation and mishandled power, directed by Tony-winner Tom Morris.
All My Sons
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Paapa Essiedu and Tom Glynn Carney
Opens 14 Nov 2025 at Wyndham’s Theatre
The Arthur Miller classic returns to London packed full of big names this November. Starring Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Network), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths, The Amen Corner), Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You, Death of England: Delroy), and Tom Glynn-Carney (House of the Dragon), there’s a lot of star power in this one, and with acclaimed director Ivo Van Hove involved it looks pretty unmissable. Miller’s play examines the contradictions, disappointments and sacrifices involved with the American dream, in a story that still feels uncomfortably relevant.
Woman In Mind
Starring: Sheridan Smith, Romesh Ranganathan
Opens 9 Dec 2025 at the Duke of Yorks Theatre
Olivier Award-winner Sheridan Smith stars alongside one of Britain’s leading comedians Romesh Ranganathan in an exciting new revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s dark comic psychological drama. After a bump on the head, Susan’s world divides in two, and the lines between the everyday and the imagined begin to blur. Smith was last seen onstage in sell-out hit Shirley Valentine, but this marks Ranganathan’s West End debut.
High Noon
Starring: Billy Crudup, Denise Gough
Opens 17 Dec 2025 at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Tony and Emmy Award-winner Billy Crudup (The Morning Show, The Coast of Utopia) stars with Olivier-winner Denise Gough (Andor, People, Places & Things) in the world premiere of this tense onstage thriller. Based on the Oscar-winning 1952 film, this new production tells the story of lovers Will Kane and Amy Fowler as they face a tricky choice in the American West of 1800s – flee the returning bandit Frank Miller, or take a stand for the greater good?
The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry
Starring: Mark Addy
Opens 29 Jan 2026 at Theatre Royal Haymarket
Adapted from Rachel Joyce’s bestselling novel, this new musical already boasts a big name in its creative team, with a score by singer-songwriter Passenger. Leading the cast is Mark Addy (The Full Monty, The Rig, Game Of Thrones) as Harold, a man who embarks on a journey by foot from Devon to Berwick-upon-Tweed and rediscovers what his life means to him along the way. There was a lot of buzz around the original Chichester Festival Theatre run for this one – don’t miss your chance to see it.
Shadowlands
Starring: Hugh Bonneville
Opens 5 Feb 2026 at the Aldwych Theatre
Hugh Bonneville is beloved children’s author C. S. Lewis in this powerful story of two great imaginations meeting. When Lewis’ academic day-to-day as an Oxford Don is disturbed by the arrival of American poet Joey Davidman, he begins a journey that will grant him a greater appreciation of love, life and beauty. Based on a true story, the Tony-winning play enjoyed hugely successful runs on Broadway and in the West End when it was first staged, and later became a BAFTA-winning feature film in 1993.
Teeth ‘n’ Smiles
Starring: Rebecca Lucy Taylor (AKA Self Esteem)
Opens 13 March at the Duke of York’s Theatre
David Hare’s rebel play gets a 50th anniversary revival this spring, and Rebecca Lucy Taylor, better known as pop star Self Esteem, has been tapped to play Maggie Frisby. Once the frontwoman of a major counterculture 60s band, Maggie is now left disillusioned and frustrated by the anarchist dreams that never came to be. With original music and a fiery message, this is definitely one to put in your calendar.
Grace Pervades
Starring: Ralph Fiennes
Opens 24 April 2026 at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Ralph Fiennes already garnered an enormous deal of praise for the first run of Grace Pervades at the Theatre Royal Bath – now he brings his portrayal of Sir Henry Irving, the greatest actor of the Victorian age, to the Theatre Royal Haymarket this spring. David Hare’s brilliant new play explores what happens after Ellen Terry joins Irving’s company at the Lyceum Theatre, and how their relationship changed the theatre forever.
Marie & Rosetta
Starring: Beverley Knight
Opens 28 Feb 2026 at sohoplace
Olivier-winning West End star Beverly Knight (Memphis, The Drifters Girl, Sylvia, Sister Act)plays Sister Rosetta Tharpe to Ntombizodwa Ndlovu’s Marie Knight in this brand-new celebration of the rock ‘n’ roll’s unsung heroines. Spotlighting the women who invented the genre, Marie & Rosetta introduces audiences to two forgotten legends and their enduring impact on music.
Hadestown
Starring: Nicola Roberts
Playing now at the Lyric Theatre
Girls Aloud’s Nicola Roberts joined the cast of the West End smash-hit Hadestown in September and will continue playing the role of Persephone until 18 January 2026. Starring as the Queen of the Underworld, you can catch her watching over Orpheus and Eurydice at the Lyric Theatre, where a truly phenomenal take on one of the most beloved – and heartbreaking – Greek myths awaits.
Kinky Boots
Starring: Johannes Radebe
Opens 17 Mar 2026 at the London Coliseum
Award-winning feel-good hit Kinky Boots returns to London this spring, starring Strictly’s Johannes Radebe as the fabulous Lola. When Charlie Price inherits his family’s shoe factory, saving the business feels like an impossibility – until he stumbles upon a niche set of clientele… You won’t want to miss this revival, which will hang around for 17 weeks only at the London Coliseum.
Ivanov
Starring: Chris Pine
Opens 4 Jul 2026 at the Bridge Theatre
Chris Pine stars in this startling modern revival of Chekov’s tragicomedy, created by the same team that brought The Lady From The Sea to life. Nikolai has forgotten how to be happy. It might be his debts, it might be his wife’s health concerns, it might be burnout, or it might be nothing at all. Whatever’s causing it, it’s time to get his life and marriage back on track, and the Lebedevs’ party might be just the place to do it…
