Happy New Year! BroadwayWorld UK's Guide To What To Book In 2026

2025 was a stellar year from theatre, but now the New Year has rolled in, we can put away the festive decorations, throw out the last bit of leftover turkey and look forward to an even better twelve months of theatrical goodies.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

29 January - 18 April at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Following a sold-out run at Chichester Festival Theatre, this life-affirming musical comes to the West End for just 11 weeks. Starring Mark Addy and Jenna Russell and adapted from Rachel Joyce's best-selling novel, the show features music from Passenger (AKA Mike Rosenberg). BroadwayWorld critic Gary Naylor found the Chichester production a little too sentimental, but the story of an ordinary man doing extraordinary things should appeal to everyone who needs a positive boost to start 2026. Book tickets here.

Dracula

4 February - 30 May at the Noël Coward Theatre

After Sarah Snook's remarkable performance in The Picture of Dorian Gray, director Kip Williams turns his attention to Bram Stoker's Dracula, starring the phenomenal Cynthia Eviro. Playing all 23 roles, Eviro makes her highly-anticipated West End return which promises to be one of the most talked-about shows of the year. Book tickets here.

Teeth 'N' Smiles

13 March - 6 June at the Duke of York's Theatre

50 years after its incendiary debut at the Royal Court, David Hare's rebel play is returning to London. Starring Rebecca Lucy Taylor (Self Esteem) as Maggie, who is also providing some of the original music herself. Directed by Daniel Raggett, this tale of anarchic rebellion and a breakdown into booze and bitterness should still strike a chord with audiences. Book tickets here.

The Greatest Showman

15 March - 10 May at the Bristol Hippodrome

A brand new musical of based on the 2017 film, with songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, will debut outside London. The Greatest Showman will star Samantha Barks as Charity Barnum and Oliver Thompsett as P.T Barnum. Time will tell if this is the greatest show, but tickets have already sold out already, showing that audiences remain hooked on this brilliant story. Sign up to the waiting list here.

Inter Alia

19 March - 20 June at Wyndham's Theatre

Suzie Miller's fantastic new play was one of my top shows of 2025 and will return this year, transferring to the West End's Wyndham's Theatre. Rosamund Pike's excoriating performance will surely be an awards certainty, so it's brilliant that more people will get to see this hard-hitting study of what happens when one woman's home and professional lives clash in the most devastating manner. Book tickets here.

John Proctor is the Villain

20 March - 25 April at The Royal Court Theatre

Danya Taymor directs Kimberly Belflower’s bitingly funny, seven-time Tony Award-nominated take on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible! After dazzling Broadway audiences, it's a fantastic coup for the Royal Court and artistic director David Byrne, who has assembled an incredible 12 productions to celebrate the historic venue's 70th anniversary. When Gary Oldman and Tilda Swinton are returning to the stage (in Krapp's Last Tape and Man to Man respectively), you know that 2026 will be a very special year for the Royal Court. Book tickets here.

Kinky Boots

17 March - 11 July at the London Coliseum

Much missed in the West End, Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper's Kinky Boots is strutting back into town! The London Coliseum is a huge space to fill, so it will be interesting to see how the staging is adapted. Starring Strictly Come Dancing's Johannes Radebe as Lola, this wonderfully positive musical will raise you up and leave you humming the tunes for days. Book tickets here.

Beetlejuice The Musical

20 May – 17 April at the Prince Edward Theatre

After casting its spell on Broadway audiences, the hit production, Beetlejuice The Musical is ready to haunt the West End! The London production resurrects its otherworldly Broadway creative team, featuring a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King with music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and will be directed by Tony Award-winner Alex Timbers. Based on Tim Burton’s beloved movie, will this be a trick or a theatrical treat? Book tickets here.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

26 May - 13 September at the Watermill Theatre

Following three critically acclaimed, sellout summer musicals at the Watermill Theatre, this new production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang looks set to be a fantasmagorical success. Featuring an ensemble cast of actor-musicians playing much-loved song such as "Truly Scrumptious", "Hushabye Mountain" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" we follow the adventures of a small car with a big personality. Book tickets here.

Jesus Christ Superstar

 20 June - 5 September at the London Palladium

It was surely only a matter of time before Sam Ryder was cast as Jesus in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar. The show brings back the award-winning creative team from the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production, with Ryder making his theatrical debut. Tim Sheader directs the iconic global phenomenon, with choreography by Olivier Award-winner Drew McOnie and design by Tony and Olivier Award-winner Tom Scutt. This looks like it could be the show of the summer. Book tickets here.

Kimberly Akimbo

 28 August - 7 November at Hampstead Theatre

The Tony Award-winning musical Kimberly Akimbo will have its European premiere at Hampstead Theatre in 2026. David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori’s profoundly funny and heartwarming musical receives its much anticipated European premiere in a new production by Michael Longhurst. Winner of five 2023 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book it tells the story of a 16-year old Kimberly whose rare genetic condition causes her to age four times faster than usual. All eyes are on who will be cast as the lead. Book tickets here.

King Lear

2 October - 15 November at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre

Another revival of Shakespeare's tragedy is not remarkable in itself, but this one marks David Threlfall's return to the theatre after 27 years to play Lear. Threlfall was once one of the venue's leading men and its associate artistic director, but hasn't performed there since 1999. As part of The Royal Exchange's 50th anniversary season, this reimagining is also adapted and directed by Matthew Dunster, who returns for his sixth engagement at the theatre, in a unique and emotionally charged take on one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. Book tickets here.

My Fair Lady

21 November - 31 December at Pitlochry Festival Theatre

As part of his exciting inaugural season as Artistic Director, Alan Cumming stars as Professor Henry Higgins in this revival directed by the legendary Maria Friedman no less. This production looks to be the highlight of Cumming's first season, which blends classic musicals with new works, marking a new chapter for the Scottish theatre. Book tickets here.

Main Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan