u/londontheatrecouk

Theatre really is a family business for the super-talented Strallens. Siblings Zizi, Scarlett, Summer, and Saskia are all stage regulars, starring in everything from Wicked (Zizi is currently playing Glinda) to Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Top Hat, and Beetlejuice, with Summer recently joining the cast of the latter hit musical comedy.

Which shows have you seen them in?

The new stage adaptation of The Greatest Showman will have its London premiere at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in spring 2027. The show premiered at Bristol Hippodrome earlier this year,

Based on the 2017 hit film, with songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Tim Federle, The Greatest Showman follows P.T. Barnum as he rises from poverty to become a pioneer of circus entertainment. Casey Nicholaw choreographs and directs the show.

Ten years ago, Tyrone Huntley was all set to play a priest in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera when he received a surprising phone call. “My agent told me the person they cast as Judas had to withdraw, and they wanted me to audition. Back then I was extremely anxious, so my instinct was to say ‘No, I’m happy with the role I’ve got’”. Thankfully, Huntley did eventually audition and, days before rehearsals for Jesus Christ Superstar began, he found out he’d got the part. “It was such a whirlwind,” he recalls. “But I’ve come to realise it was absolutely fated. If it had been a regular audition process, I might have been too in my head. So it all worked out.”

How do you measure, measure a year? Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical RENT is in fact celebrating 30 years with a very special West End revival at the Tom Stoppard Theatre (until recently, the Duke of York’s Theatre) this autumn. The production will be directed by the Olivier-winning Luke Sheppard, inspired by his acclaimed staging for the Hope Mill Theatre, and the cast features Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo.

The full West End cast of Into The Woods has been revealed. The show begins performances at the Noël Coward Theatre on 22 September, running through 9 January.

Newcomers to the production include John Dagleish as The Baker, Laura Pitt-Pulford as The Baker's Wife and Simbi Akande as Cinderella.

Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp will make his stage debut in new play Affluenza, written and directed by Andy Sandberg. The show begins performances at Riverside Studios on 26 September, running through 21 November.

Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect) and Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) will be the next stars of Cabaret in the West End, performing as the Emcee and Sally Bowles from 21 September. Both are making their West End debuts.

Composer Frank Wildhorn is quickly developing a reputation as the master of bringing manga musicals to Western audiences. In 2024, he lent his talents to the devastatingly touching Your Lie in April about a piano prodigy who falls in love with music again after meeting a talented violinist. Now he, and a creative team including lyricist Jack Murphy, book writer Ivan Menchell, and director Stephen Whitson, are staging the first fully fledged English-language production of hugely popular manga, Death Note: The Musical, at the Barbican.

Lolly Adefope is the next star to take on former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln in Cole Escola's hit comedy Oh, Mary!, which continues in performances at the Trafalgar Theatre in the West End. She takes over on 28 September, running through 5 December.

The Barn Theatre production of Tony Award-nominated Million Dollar Quartet will transfer to London this autumn for a strictly limited season. Performances begin at The Arts at Marble Arch: powered by TodayTix on 4 September, running through 6 December.

We’re well and truly in the age of the jukebox musical. In recent years, everyone from Michael Jackson to Tina Turner, Cher, The Kinks and Bob Marley has been given the jazz-hands treatment, joining a seemingly endless conveyor belt of hit-packed personal history lessons. Tonight it's Chaka Khan's turn, brought to life by 2008 X Factor winner Alexandra Burke. But even with star quality practically dripping off Burke, whose deep red hair pays homage to Khan's signature look, this latest addition to the genre is one for the disappointment pile.

Check back throughout all the month for all of our theatre reviews in August!

At 22 years of age, this talented soprano has already notched up an impressive series of performances in iconic roles including Christine Daaé in New York in Masquerade, the immersive adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, and Clara in The Light in the Piazza. She is now making her West End debut as Christine in the original production of The Phantom of the Opera — truly a full-circle moment for a girl who first saw the show when she was six and dreamt of playing the role.

Sometimes there is perfect synergy between actor and show: such is the case with Ben Platt and Midnight at the Never Get. The acclaimed actor, who won a Tony Award for Dear Evan Hansen in 2017, and whose work ranges from a concert of The Last Five Years, opposite Rachel Zegler, to satirical TV comedy The Politician and the Pitch Perfect movies, has also become renowned for his cabaret performances.

Catch up on all our reviews from the past month of London theatre!

The Burlesque musical has named new dates for its upcoming UK engagements, including its UK tour and its London run at The Arts at Marble Arch.

Production images have been released for Leslie Odom, Jr.'s West End debut as he reprises the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton, which he originated on Broadway.