Features
What to see right now
Our picks and round-ups: the best shows for Christmas, Halloween and families, famous names on stage, and what is opening in 2027 — each with the deals and dates from our listings.
Standing tickets in London: which shows really release them
Which big London shows actually sell their standing places, how many, for how much and when, whether it depends on a performance selling out, and the theatres where you can book standing ahead.
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The best plays and musicals in London, ranked by the critics
Every play and musical on now with at least three critics’ reviews and an average of 3.5 stars or more, ranked by those reviews, with the outlets that gave it five stars, a line from one review and the best current deal. Updated as reviews come in.
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The best shows for your first time at the London theatre
Never been, or hardly ever? The shows that make an easy, enjoyable first night: big musicals you already half know, comedies, plays with a strong hook and a short taster, each with its cheapest price and best current deal.
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The best comedy shows in London
Shows whose whole point is to make you laugh: musical comedies, farces, improvised shows and stand-up, with what kind of funny each one is, who it suits and the best current deal.
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Short shows in London: about 90 minutes or less
Plays, musicals and spectacles that run about an hour and a half or less, most without an interval, with the running time from our listings and the best current deal. Home in time for dinner, or the last train.
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The best immersive theatre in London
Shows where you are inside the action or the setting: a cabaret club, a nightclub, a courtroom, a Greek taverna. For each, where you sit or stand, what you are asked to do, which ticket gives the real experience, and the best current deal.
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The best London shows for groups: hen and stag dos, office parties and school trips
Shows that suit a hen or stag do, an office Christmas party or a school trip, each with its group or school deal, the smallest party the deal names, and the age guidance where the production gives one.
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The cheapest ways into London’s big musicals
The big long-running musicals and the cheapest ways into each one, booking ahead or last minute: rush, lotteries, day seats, TKTS, standing places, early booking and student deals, and how each one works.
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Date night: the best London shows for two
What to see when it is just the two of you: funny, romantic, thought-provoking, short enough for dinner or small and close, with where to sit as a pair and the best current deal for two.
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Last chance: London shows closing over Christmas and New Year
Hay Fever, Virginia Woolf and Stranger Things in December, then Beetlejuice, Avenue Q, Titanique, Totoro and more on the first weekend of January, each with its final date and the cheapest realistic way in.
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The best Christmas shows in London
Dickens three ways, three festive ballets, the six big pantomimes, the Christmas shows for small children and two very grown-up ones — each with its age limit and what to know before you book.
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The best Halloween shows in London
Staged horror, ghost stories, murder mysteries and one-night events, sorted by how frightening they actually are.
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The best family shows in London
What to see with children, grouped by the age each show suits, with every production’s own age guidance and the family tickets that cut the cost.
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New London shows opening in 2027
Every London show with a 2027 opening date, in the order they open — plus what is announced without a date, and what has been cancelled.
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Celebrities on stage in London
The famous faces on London stages right now and coming soon, with the dates each star is actually in the show.
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