The best theatre to see in August in London, from The Years to Shifters

From fresh adaptations of beloved classics to thought-provoking original shows, London is heaving with new theatre productions each year.

But with so much to choose from, picking what to see in the capital can feel like a dramatic epic. So we’ve done the heavy lifting for you with a list of our top picks to watch this month...

New in August

The Years

French Nobel Prize-winner Annie Ernaux’s 2008 historical memoir has been reimagined for the stage by writer Stephanie Bain and Norwegian director Eline Arbo. About one woman’s life in post-war Europe, five actors, including Romola Garai and Gina McKee, will tell parts of Annie’s personal and political story. Our critic called it a “winner”.

Almeida Theatre, August 1 to 31; buy tickets here

A Chorus Line

This 1975 classic musical, which is set in New York City in the Seventies, returns to London a decade after its last West End run. The Pulitzer Prize-winning show, which tells the story of 17 performers auditioning to be part of a new musical, is set to be a humdinger: Nikolai Foster, artistic director of Leicester’s Curve Theatre is directing, and Adam Cooper (Singin’ in the Rain) and Carly Mercedes Dyer (Dreamgirls) are starring.

Sadler’s Wells, August 2 to 25; buy tickets here

Frankie Goes to Bollywood

This new musical, which is promising “dazzling dance, epic songs and sweeping romance”, has been inspired by real stories of British women trying to carve out a career in Bollywood.

Southbank Centre, August 2 to August 18; buy tickets here

Beauty and the Beast

Directed by James Haddrell, and written by Sidonie Welton and Brad Tutt, Barbot de Villeneuve’s classic fairytale is reimagined in this laugh-out-loud musical adaptation just right to take the kids during the summer holidays.

Greenwich Theatre, August 2 to August 25; buy tickets here

Fiddler on the Roof

This new production of Joseph Stein’s classic musical, which tells the story of a Jewish milkman and his five daughters in a Ukrainian village in 1905, has been directed by Jordan Fein, the director of the Young Vic’s startling take on Oklahoma.

Regent’s Park Open Air, August 6 to September 21; buy tickets here

When It Happens to You

A powerful play about memory, motherhood and survival from New York Times best-selling author Tawni O’Dell starring Sherlock’s Amanda Abbington.

Park Theatre, August 6 to 31; buy tickets here

Farm Hall

Set in the summer of 1945, Katherine Moar’s Farm Hall, which first premiered at Jermyn Street theatre last March, tells the story of six of Germany’s nuclear scientists who have been detained by the allies in a bugged stately home outside of Cambridge. Inspired by real-life events, the drama really kicks off when news arrives of the successful detonation of America’s atomic bomb.

Theatre Royal Haymarket, August 7 to 31; buy tickets here

Shifters

This gorgeous two-hander, transferring from the Bush after a sold-out run, tells the story of ex-lovers Des and Dre, who end up reconnecting. Directed by Evening Standard Theatre Award winner Lynette Linton, and written by Susan Smith Blackburn Prize award-winner Benedict Lombe, the play was described as “pretty much the perfect bittersweet rom-com” by the Standard.

Duke of York’s, August 12 to October 12; buy tickets here

Antony and Cleopatra

The Shakespeare tragedy is being staged at the Globe for the first time in a decade. Blanche McIntyre, award-winning director of Soho Theatre’s Super High Resolution and Sam Wanamaker Playhouse’s Measure For Measure, will bring story back to the stage. Nadia Nadarajah will play Cleopatra and John Hollingworth will play Antony.

Shakespeare’s Globe, August 14 to September 14; buy tickets here

Peanut Butter and Blueberries

Poet and educator Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan’s debut play, a Muslim love story, is about Hafsah and Bilal, whose romantic connection gets tested by the realities of modern life. Explicitly created to accommodate Muslim audiences, with a prayer space available and shows timed to end before the sunset prayer. This is Indhu Rubasingham’s last production as artistic director of the Kiln, before she heads off to take over from Rufus Norris at the National Theatre.

Kiln Theatre, August 14 to August 31; buy tickets here

The Wizard of Oz

The beloved 1939 musical, arrives at the Gillian Lynne Theatre for a short, four-week run following a smash-hit season at The London Palladium and a UK tour. JLS musician Aston Merrygold is The Tin Man and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne is The Wicked Witch of the West, promising a lot of fun.

Gillian Lynne Theatre, August 15 to September 8; buy tickets here

The 39 Steps

Few would have believed that Alfred Hitchcock’s tantalising 1935 spy thriller would make fantastic material for a comedy. Yet Patrick Barlow’s 1996 parody play has enjoyed nothing but success over the last 30 years, winning more than a dozen trophies including an Olivier award and multiple Tonys, touring the world, transferring to Broadway and playing to over 3 million audience members. Now the smash-hit is returning to London.

Trafalgar Theatre, August 19 to September 28; buy tickets here

A Night with Janis Joplin The Musical

Starring both Mary Bridget Davies and Sharon Sexton as Janis, this musical portrays the life of the iconic Sixties singer-songwriter who made such a long-lasting impact on American culture in her incredibly short 27 years. The show has been touring continuously since 2011, for the most part in the States. Now it is finally coming to London.

Peacock Theatre, August 27 to September 28; buy tickets here

Death of England: Closing Time

Clint Dyer and Roy Williams’s celebrated Death of England trilogy, which premiered at the National Theatre between 2020 and 2023, is now being shown together in rep for the first time at @sohoplace. Interconnected – chapters delve into the lives of Michael, then his best friend Delroy, then Delroy’s girlfriend Carly and mother Denise – and moving, the energetic, whip-sharp shows explore loss, racism in the UK and family dynamics in the UK today. Death of England: Closing Time is the third part, which focuses on Denise, played by Sharon Duncan-Brewster, and Carly, Erin Doherty.

@sohoplace, August 28 to September 28; buy tickets here

Bodies of Water

As part of this year’s Greenwich + Docklands festival, Olivier-winning director Matthew Xia is staging a theatrical performance on the banks of the Thames. Created alongside South London community groups, the piece explores refugee stories, combining live performance with the words of Somali-born poet Warsan Shire. “No one leaves home / unless home is the mouth of a shark / you only run for the border / when you see the whole city running as well,” begins her poem Home.

Ahoy Centre, August 28 to 31; buy tickets here

The Comedy of Errors

This celebrated adaptation of Shakespeare’s joyous play is returning to Shakespeare’s Globe just a year after it premiered with some cast members also reprising their roles. Last spring, the Standard gave the play four stars: “It’s daft, bawdy, boisterous, and the codpieces are magnificent,” said Tim Bano. “His excellent ensemble, featuring a few Globe newcomers alongside more practised hands, deliver a fantastically clear, zippy production as they don moustaches and dresses and get increasingly, hilariously annoyed at each other.”

Shakespeare’s Globe, August 29 to October 27; buy tickets here

G

This new play from award-winning writer Tife Kusoro, a Royal Court ‘Introduction to Playwriting Group’ alum, explores race through the experiences of three school boys who are fearful of an urban legend called Baitface. He is known for stealing the lives of black boys. When they are caught up in alleged crime, and their identities and friendships come under pressure, they are made to wonder whether Baitface has made an appearance, or whether something else is going on.

Royal Court Upstairs, August 30 to September 21; buy tickets here

Already open

The Children’s Inquiry

This musical, which describes itself as a “call to arms”, draws on 150 years of care system history and asks questions about forms of love, version of success, and how to build a better future for children. Co-Commissioned by The Lowry and made by campaign-led, verbatim theatre company LUNG, whose work includes the devastating recent show Woodhill, this new show draws on real children’s testimonies.

Southwark Playhouse, to August 3; buy tickets here

Standing at the Sky’s Edge

This glorious musical, which has already won an Olivier award and enjoyed sold-out runs at the National Theatre and the Crucible in Sheffield, is running in the West End. Set in Sheffield, it follows the lives of three generations in the brutalist Park Hill housing estate over six decades.

Gillian Lynne Theatre, to August 3; buy tickets here

Romeo and Juliet

Tom Holland is Romeo and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers is Juliet in this buzzy “new vision” of Shakespeare’s most famous love play. Director Jamie Lloyd previously directed last year’s Sunset Boulevard.

Duke of York’s Theatre, to August 3; buy tickets here

A View From The Bridge

Dominic West, star of The Affair, The Wire and The Crown, plays Eddie Carbone in Lindsay Posner’s take on Arthur Miller's 1955 play, one of the great works of 20th century American theatre, which unpacks the destructive nature of obsessive love. Kate Fleetwood and Callum Scott Howells also star.

Theatre Royal Haymarket, to August 3; buy tickets here

2:22 A Ghost Story

This Olivier-nominated ghost story about a couple who invite round two friends to get to the bottom of strange noises in their home, has seen a plethora of stars, including Lily Allen, Cheryl, Constance Wu, Jaime Winstone and Mandip Gill play its leading roles. Now Stacey Dooley has taken up the mantle, making her West End debut playing Jenny.

Gielgud Theatre, to August 4; buy tickets here

People, Places and Things

Duncan Macmillan’s People, Places and Things, directed by Jeremy Herrin and starring Denise Gough, was first staged at the National Theatre in 2015 and picked up rave reviews, winning two Olivier awards. Now it, and those creatives, have returned with a revival of the stellar play about an actress coping with addiction. “I’ve rarely seen a show where script, production and star mesh so perfectly,” said the Standard. “Lightning strikes twice in this triumphant revival.”

Trafalgar Theatre, to August 10; buy tickets here

The Constituent

This new play from Olivier award-winner Joe Penhall (Blue/Orange, Sunny Afternoon) and directed by Olivier and Tony Award winner Matthew Warchus (A Christmas Carol, Matilda The Musical) stars Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland) as an opposition backbencher whose ideals are tested by an ex-serviceman, played by James Corden, in crisis. The actors put on a masterclass of acting in this timely work.

Old Vic, to August 10; buy tickets here

Mnemonic

This play about origins, memory and our place in the natural world, has now been revived after 25 years – with stellar results. Created by Complicité, Simon McBurney’s acclaimed experimental theatre company, it was recently described by the Standard as an “intensely humane and richly layered” show, “beautifully performed by both original and new cast members”.

NT’s Olivier Theatre, to August 10; buy tickets here

Red Speedo

With the Olympics upon us, and the 2021 Chinese swimming doping scandal currently rocking the sport, this play about performance-enhancing drugs being found at a club swimming pool couldn’t be more timely. Written by US playwright Lucas Hnath, directed by Matthew Dunster (The Pillowman, 2:22 A Ghost Story) and starring Peaky Blinders’ Finn Cole, the thriller depicts how the close circle around competitive swimmer Ray reacts when drugs are discovered.

Orange Tree Theatre, to August 10; buy tickets here

Viola’s Room

Written by Daisy Johnson, the youngest-ever person to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Viola’s Room is a tantalising update of a Victorian gothic mystery and is set to be a huge departure from immersive theatre company Punchdrunk’s previous works. A haunting linear, audio-driven story director Felix Barrett has described it as ‘the ultimate date show’.

Punchdrunk, to August 18; buy tickets here

FANGIRLS

This award-winning, sell-out Australian musical comedy, which bills itself as a pop concert, asks questions about the astonishing reality of fandoms – the hardcore, economically influential groups of super fans whose passions can make and break artists’ careers. Edna is a 14-year-old teenager who is in love with boy band hunk Harry, and is determined to catch his eye when he performs in Sydney, Australia – but how will she do it? And what do her efforts say about ambition, youth and disappointment?

Lyric Hammersmith, to August 24; buy tickets here

Skeleton Crew

Described by one reviewer as “warm-blooded, astute, deeply moral”, this 2016 musical from US playwright Dominique Morisseau won a Tony Award after transferring to Broadway in 2022. Set in Morisseau’s hometown of Detroit in 2008, the play depicts a group of workers facing economic ruin when the car factory they work in is threatened with closure.

Donmar Warehouse, to August 24; buy tickets here

Much Ado About Nothing

Sean Holmes’s take on Shakespeare’s beloved comedy was described by the Standard as joyful and intelligent: “Amalia Vitale and Ekow Quartey are arch and spirited as the central, wittily unwilling lovers”, it said about the sunkissed show.

Shakespeare’s Globe, to August 25; buy tickets here

Stranger Things: The First Shadow

The blockbuster opening of last year was this prequel to the ridiculously popular Netflix show. Set in the small town of Hawkins in 1959 – “before the world turned upside down” – it finds some of the much-loved characters in their youth, and when a new student arrives, the shadows of the past arrive too.

The Phoenix Theatre, booking to August 25; buy tickets here

Spirited Away

Olivier and Tony Award-winning Canadian director John Caird’s sell-out Japanese stage adaptation of Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki’s acclaimed 2001 animation, has finally arrived in London. Featuring some original cast members – including Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi, who both play Chihiro – the play is presented in Japanese with English-language captions. A live orchestra plays Joe Hisaishi’s original music, which has been specially arranged by Brad Haak (Disney’s Mary Poppins, Elton John’s Lestat). Gorgeous!

London Coliseum, to August 25; buy tickets here

Sister Act

First it was a well-loved 1992 crime comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg, then it became a hit 2006 musical, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner. Now enjoying its 10th production – its fifth in the UK – Sister Act, which is about a mobster’s girlfriend who is placed under witness protection disguised as a nun, remains a total hoot.

In its latest iteration, Alexandra Burke stars alongside Gavin and Stacey co-creator Ruth Jones, Lesley Joseph (Birds of a Feather), Clive Rowe (The Story of Tracy Beaker), and Lizzie Bea (Hairspray).

Dominion Theatre, to August 31; buy tickets here

MJ The Musical

An exercise in separating the art from the artist: two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and Tony Award-winning director Christopher Wheeldon have made a jukebox musical about Jackson’s life that has been pulling in mixed reviews, but has been adored by the fans. After premiering on Broadway in 2021, over 1.1 million people went to see the New York production.

Prince Edward Theatre, to September 14; buy tickets here

Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!

This award-winning musical comedy from Jon Brittain (Rotterdam) and Matthew Floyd Jones (Frisky and Mannish), produced by Fleabag’s Francesca Moody, has enjoyed sell out runs in Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh. Now it’s delighting London audiences, as they follow BFFs Kathy and Stella, hosts of an unsuccessful regional true crime podcast, who are trying to solve a murder mystery.

Ambassadors Theatre, to September 14; buy tickets here

Kiss Me, Kate

Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty, Ridley) and Stephanie J. Block (Into The Woods, The Cher Show) star in this new production of Cole Porter’s 1948 musical comedy, a story about a company trying to put on a musical version of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, and the relationship between director Fred Graham and his ex-wife, leading lady Lilli Vanessi.

Barbican, to September 14; buy tickets here

The Hot Wing King

Following the set up of a sitcom, and telling the story of a Hot Wing Contest in Tennessee in the summer, this Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy from Katori Hall (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, The Mountaintop) is set to sizzle as it explores black masculinity.

NT’s Dorfman Theatre, to September 14; buy tickets here

Grapes of Wrath

Frank Galati’s Tony Award-winning adaptation of John Steinbeck’s masterpiece is now being reimaged by Carrie Cracknell, who has previously directed Julie and The Deep Blue Sea at the National Theatre. Tony Award-winner Cherry Jones, last seen on the London stage in The Glass Menagerie, as well as on screens in Succession, will play Ma Joad and Harry Treadaway (The Chemistry of Death, Penny Dreadful) will play Tom Joad in this story about poor farmers trying to survive during the Great Depression.

NT’s Lyttelton Theatre, to September 14; buy tickets here

Hello, Dolly!

This 10-time-winning 1964 musical, which has been revived on Broadway and on the West End numerous times over the past 70 years (and made into a fantastic 1969 film starring Barbra Streisand), is returning to London. Set in 1890, and based on Thornton Wilder’s play The Matchmaker, the story follows widow-socialite-matchmaker Dolly Levi as she helps various clients. Riotous and incredibly charming, Imelda Staunton will play the delightful Dolly.

The Palladium, to September 14; buy tickets here

Slave Play

Jeremy O Harris’s 12-time Tony award-nominated 2018 play has now opened in London, dividing audiences. Exploring sex and race, the show has sparked huge debate both in the US and the UK, being described as “so serious, so furious” and “a cause célèbre and a scandal”. It’s about three interracial couples undergoing a kind of physical therapy because the black partners no longer feel sexually attracted to their white lovers.

Noël Coward Theatre, to September 21; buy tickets here

Next to Normal

This 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical about a woman dealing with bipolar disorder took 14 years to cross the Atlantic after its 2009 Broadway run. But it was worth the wait: when it opened at the Donmar last year, with Michael Longhurst directing, it sold out and picked up some rave reviews. Now it’s transferred to the West End, with Cassie Levy and Jamie Parker returning to play husband and wife Diana and Dan.

Wyndham’s Theatre, to September 21; buy tickets here

Fawlty Towers, The Play

Perhaps it was only a matter of time before John Cleese and Connie Booth’s Fawlty Towers, the treasured comedy series that’s frequently cited as one of the greatest ever British TV sitcoms, was turned into a play. Now the story of a hapless hotel owner trying to run a business with his wife, has opened in the West End, being described by the Standard as an “efficient and energetic stage adaptation”.

Apollo Theatre, to September 28; buy tickets here

Death of England: Michael, Death of England: Delroy

The three plays in this trilogy which premiered at the National Theatre between 2020 and 2023, have now been revived, performed together for the first time. This doesn’t mean a very long evening spent at the theatre; instead, visitors are given the option of buying tickets for one, two, or three of the plays to engage with the “strictly limited season”.

@sohoplace, to September 28; buy tickets here and here

Hadestown

This multi-Tony award-winning musical by Anaïs Mitchell is based on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. After running at the National Theatre a few years back it’s finally getting its time in the West End.

Lyric Theatre, to December; buy tickets here

Starlight Express

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic roller skate musical about a child’s train set that comes to life, and races against other, fancier train models, opened in the West End in 1984 and enjoyed an stellar 18-year run, making it the 9th-longest-running musical of all time. It’s been touring the world ever since, but has now, thrillingly, returned to London. Expect a cast of 40, whizzing around.

Troubadour Wembley Park, to February 16, 2025; buy tickets here

Mean Girls The Musical

The cult high school comedy, which premiered on Broadway in 2018, is now coming to this side of the Atlantic.

Savoy Theatre, to February 16, 2025; buy tickets here