Every musical in our London guide, with a short description, the theatre and upcoming performance times, plus the big plays and spectaculars many visitors fit into the same trip. Not sure what to pick? The planner's Help me choose quiz suggests shows in about a minute.
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Avenue Q
Sesame Street-style puppets with very grown-up problems. Cheeky and very funny.
Beetlejuice
The ghost-with-the-most from Tim Burton’s film, as a loud, darkly funny comedy musical.
Cabaret
Berlin in the 1930s, staged immersively with the theatre rebuilt as a nightclub. Dark and seductive.
Franz & Marie
A dark folk musical reimagining of Büchner’s Woyzeck: a soldier, his girlfriend Marie and their baby, played by fourteen actor-musicians.
From the Heart
Lyricist Don Black’s revue of his own songs, from Bond themes to “Born Free” and “Love Changes Everything”, with a surprise guest each night.
Hadestown
The Orpheus and Eurydice myth as a folk and jazz concert. Haunting and intimate.
Hamilton
America’s founding story told through hip-hop, R&B and pop, by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
High School Musical
Disney’s basketball-and-musicals story of Troy and Gabriella, on stage in Wembley.
Into the Woods
Sondheim tangles Cinderella, Jack, Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel into one story, then asks what happens after happily ever after.
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë’s novel as a new musical, in an intimate fringe venue.
Jesus Christ Superstar
Lloyd Webber and Rice’s rock opera about the last days of Jesus.
Kimberly Akimbo
The Tony-winning musical about a teenager with a condition that makes her age too fast. Funny and bittersweet.
Les Misérables
The sweeping story of Jean Valjean, revolution and redemption in 19th-century France.
MAMMA MIA!
A Greek-island wedding, three possible dads and a string of ABBA hits. Expect to dance at the end.
Martin Guerre
A new version from the writers of Les Misérables, semi-staged in the round: in 16th-century France a man returns to his village after years away, but is he really Martin Guerre? Five weeks only.
Matilda The Musical
Roald Dahl’s clever girl takes on Miss Trunchbull, with Tim Minchin’s witty songs.
Million Dollar Quartet
The night in 1956 when Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins jammed together at Sun Records.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
A lavish Paris love story set to a mash-up of pop hits, based on the Baz Luhrmann film.
My Neighbour Totoro
The RSC’s stage version of the Studio Ghibli film, with large-scale puppetry.
Oliver!
Dickens’ orphan in Victorian London, with classic songs like “Consider Yourself”.
Operation Mincemeat
The true, absurd WWII plan to fool the Nazis with a corpse and fake papers. A fast, very funny cult hit.
Paddington The Musical
The bear from Darkest Peru arrives in London, with songs by Tom Fletcher.
RENT
Young artists in New York’s East Village living, loving and losing, by Jonathan Larson.
Sinatra The Musical
The life of Frank Sinatra, told through his songbook.
SIX
Henry VIII’s six wives reclaim their stories as a pop concert. Short, loud and fun.
The Book of Mormon
Two young missionaries in over their heads, from the creators of South Park. Very funny and very rude.
The Devil Wears Prada
The fashion-world film as a musical, with music by Elton John.
The Lion King
Disney’s story of Simba on the African savanna, famous for its puppetry and its opening number.
The Phantom of the Opera
A masked genius haunts the Paris Opera House. The chandelier, the mask and Lloyd Webber’s famous score.
Thelma & Louise
World premiere of a new musical of the road-trip film about two friends on the run, with songs by Neko Case. Rachel Tucker and Amy Lennox star.
Titanique
A camp, irreverent Titanic parody told through Céline Dion’s greatest hits.
Wicked
The untold story of the witches of Oz and an unlikely friendship, with big sets and bigger voices.
Coming soon
Billy Elliot the Musical
A miner’s son in 1980s County Durham discovers ballet, with music by Elton John.
Dirty Dancing
Baby falls for dance instructor Johnny at a 1960s holiday resort. The 1987 film on stage, with its original dialogue and songs, right up to the final lift.
Legally Blonde
Sorority queen Elle Woods follows her ex to Harvard Law and discovers she’s smarter than anyone expected. Pink, bright and very funny.
Little Dancer
The true story of the young ballerina who posed for Degas’s famous sculpture, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.
Miss Saigon
A doomed love story set at the end of the Vietnam War, from the writers of Les Misérables.
One Day
Emma and Dexter, visited on the same day every year for twenty years. Based on David Nicholls’ novel.
Pinocchio
The Globe’s family musical about the wooden puppet who wants to be real, with live music and plenty of silliness.
Pride
Based on the film: London gay activists support striking Welsh miners in 1984. Transfers to the Bridge after sold-out runs in Cardiff and at the National Theatre.
Singin’ in the Rain
Hollywood switches to talking pictures, with the classic MGM songs and a real downpour on stage.
Sylvia
Sylvia Pankhurst and the suffragettes, told through hip hop, funk and soul. Beverley Knight plays Emmeline Pankhurst.
The Choir of Man
Nine men in a working on-stage pub sing pop and rock hits from Queen to Adele, with tap dance and stories about friendship.
Plays
Not musicals, but the plays visitors most often plan a day around. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is two parts, an afternoon and an evening, which the planner treats like a matinee and an evening show.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Harry’s son Albus starts at Hogwarts in a play famous for its stage magic, told in two parts.
Oh, Mary!
Cole Escola’s Broadway hit: Mary Todd Lincoln as a bored, boozy would-be cabaret star in the weeks before the assassination. Eighty minutes of very rude comedy.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow
A prequel to the Netflix series: Hawkins, Indiana, 1959, and the arrival of Henry Creel. Big-budget stage effects; ages 12 and up.
The Hunger Games: On Stage
Suzanne Collins’s first book on stage in a purpose-built arena at Canary Wharf: Katniss, the reaping and the Games, with the audience around the action.
The Mousetrap
Agatha Christie’s whodunnit in a snowed-in guesthouse, running in the West End since 1952, the longest-running play in the world. The audience is asked to keep the ending secret.
The Play That Goes Wrong
An amateur dramatics society stages a murder mystery and everything that can go wrong does, including the set. Slapstick that works for all ages.
Witness for the Prosecution
Agatha Christie’s courtroom drama staged in the real council chamber of County Hall, with the audience sitting as the public gallery and some of them on the jury.
Spectaculars & concerts
ABBA Voyage
ABBA as digital avatars of their 1979 selves with a live ten-piece band, in a purpose-built arena at Pudding Mill Lane. Ninety minutes of hits, no interval; most of the room ends up dancing.
Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular
The Greatest Showman’s songs sung live by West End singers while circus artists fly overhead: a big-top show in the round at Earl’s Court, for ages 5 and up.
MAMMA MIA! The Party
A dinner show inside a Greek taverna built at The O2: a love story told between courses, ABBA songs throughout and a disco at the end. About three hours including the meal; evenings only.
Family shows
The Smartest Giant in Town
Julia Donaldson’s scruffy giant George gets a smart new outfit, then gives it away piece by piece to animals in need. A short puppet musical for ages 2–8, mostly at 11am.
Musical Trip Planner is a free planning tool, not a ticket seller. Performance times come from Ticketmaster's listings and can change; always check with the ticket seller before booking. Ticket links go to third-party sites, and some may be affiliate links that earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Show descriptions are our own short summaries.