Shadowlands West End Tickets, News, Info & More
Aldwych Theatre
(Holborn/Covent Garden) Aldwych London
Based on a true story, Shadowlands is written by William Nicholson and was adapted from his own original BAFTA Award-winning TV Movie. It soon became a West End smash-hit winning the Evening Standard Award for Best Play, followed by a triumphant Tony Award-winning Broadway transfer. In 1993 the play was adapted into a major feature film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger, which subsequently won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film.
Shadowlands - West End Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Shadowlands
Thoughtful, touching, and tender
6 / 10
Bonneville is amiable, believable and gently formal as Lewis. His presence feels like a comfortable pair of shoes; familiar and unchallenging, but as the character submits to the waves of grief after Joy dies, Bonneville is touchingly bereft. Siff is great as Joy, arriving in a wave of energy that is a huge contrast to the staid and rather grey world of Oxford academia.
Hugh Bonneville charms in a weepie that’s as creaky as an old library
4 / 10
There are some scenes that penetrate, especially the exhilarating moment that Lewis and Joy declare their love for each other, circling around the other. The rapport between Lewis and his older brother (Jeff Rawle) with whom he lives, is amusing as well. But as a story of love and grief, it should have you in bits. Love found, so late, an emotionally remote man thawed by it, and then lost again, his love an open wound. It does not feel as eviscerating as it should.
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Review Roundup: SHADOWLANDS Starring Hugh Bonneville and Maggie Siff At Aldwych Theatre
by Chloe Rabinowitz - February 16, 2026
by Chloe Rabinowitz - February 16, 2026
The West End production of William Nicholson’s Shadowlands, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, is now playing at London’s Aldwych Theatre. See what the critics are saying about the production in BroadwayWorld's Review Roundup.
Review: SHADOWLANDS, Starring Hugh Bonneville and Maggie Siff
by Aliya Al-Hassan - February 13, 2026
by Aliya Al-Hassan - February 13, 2026
In his book, A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis wrote, 'The pain I feel now is the happiness I had before. That's the deal'. It's that deal that William Nicholson's poignant play explores in the true story of Lewis's late-in-life love, marriage and loss. Thoughtful, tender and touching, Shadowlands examines joy and grief as a profoundly human experience.
Jeff Rawle, Tony Jayawardena and Timothy Watson Join the Cast of SHADOWLANDS
by Stephi Wild - December 22, 2025
by Stephi Wild - December 22, 2025
Full casting has been announced for the West End production of William Nicholson's beloved and deeply moving play SHADOWLANDS, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh. which opens at London's Aldwych Theatre in February.
Maggie Siff to Join Hugh Bonneville in SHADOWLANDS at Aldwych Theatre
by Chloe Rabinowitz - November 11, 2025
by Chloe Rabinowitz - November 11, 2025
Maggie Siff will star as Joy Davidman in the West End production of William Nicholson’s beloved and deeply moving play SHADOWLANDS, alongside Hugh Bonneville.
Hugh Bonneville Stars in SHADOWLANDS at the West End
by Stephi Wild - October 13, 2025
by Stephi Wild - October 13, 2025
Hugh Bonneville will return to the West End in SHADOWLANDS, a touching play about love and loss, starting February 2026 at Aldwych Theatre.
Shadowlands History
Other Productions of Shadowlands
| 1990 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| 2026 | West End |
West End |
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