u/londontheatrecouk

"To have two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon take on Judy Garland in Peter Quilter’s bio-play End of the Rainbow is inspired casting. The drag queen turned Broadway star, whose recent credits include Chicago, Little Shop of Horrors, Pirates! The Penzance Musical, and Oh, Mary!, is an LGBTQ+ icon, who has even portrayed Garland before during her second season on Drag Race."

Dame Maureen Lipman will return to the West End in Peter Quilter's new comedy Allegra. Performances begin at the Harold Pinter Theatre on 8 July running through 8 August.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning play Liberation will come to London in 2027, producers Daryl Roth, Eva Price and Rachel Sussman announced today. Dates and a theatre have yet to be announced.

Gaten Matarazzo will make his West End debut in a new production of Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent. The musical will begin performances at the Duke of York's Theatre from 26 September, celebrating 30 years since its premiere on Broadway.

Etiquette coach William Hanson is set to join the cast of Titanique in the West End for six weeks only. He begins performances as Ruth on 9 June, running through 19 July. The production has also extended performances at the Criterion Theatre through January 2027.

Read our exclusive interview with Broadway star, drag queen, and cultural icon Jinkx Monsoon who is crossing the pond to tell the moving story of Judy Garland’s final months in End of the Rainbow.

Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro has announced its final extension in the West End. The show will continue until 10 January 2027 at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.

Heathers the Musical is set to return to London for 52 performances only this summer. The hit musical will begin performances at London’s newest theatre: the Arts at Marble Arch on 9 July, running through 22 August. The show will then begin a UK and Ireland tour this autumn.

Olivier Award winner Cassidy Janson will star as Tess Richarde in Burlesque the Musical when it begins performances as new London venue The Arts at Marble Arch this September.

The Sam Ryder-led Jesus Christ Superstar will extend performances for a 12-week run at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, following its summer season at at The London Palladium. The musical will run at Drury Lane from 16 October to 9 January 2027.

Ticketing giant TodayTix will be a founding part of new theatre venue The Arts at Marble Arch, which opens in London this summer.

The venue will open with Be Like Blippi!, running from 5-23 August, before welcoming Burlesque the Musical from 12 September until 31 January 2027, following its previous run at the Savoy Theatre in the West End in 2025.

A new immersive production inspired by Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean will sail into London in February 2027. Performances will run at Secret Cinema's new flagship venue at Greenwich Peninsula for 10 weeks only.

Check back here throughout the month to see all our reviews from May 2026!

The full cast has been announced for the world premiere of Trainspotting The Musical, which opens at Theatre Royal Haymarket on 15 July.

It’s Tony season, and with all the fascinating-sounding plays and musicals nominated, it’s tempting to make a wish list of shows that we would like to cross the Atlantic. At the same time, huge congratulations are due to productions that originated on this side of the pond, including Oedipus, Giant, Every Brilliant Thing, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Punch, and The Fear of 13!