The best musical, dance and theatre shows to book now

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Our critics travel up and down the country reviewing the latest theatre, musicals and dance, so have the inside track. Here is our guide to the best productions and where to watch them — ordered by when they end. Feel free to get involved in the comments and share your own recommendations.
The people who inhabit Assembly Hall are both ordinary and extraordinary. In Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young’s beguiling — and completely bonkers — dance-theatre hybrid, the eight men and women are members of a medieval re-enactors society, the kind of individuals who like to get together for armour-suited cosplay. Edinburgh Festival Theatre, August 22-24, eif.co.ukDebra CraineRead our review
Coliseum, W1Whatever the sweet spot required of an exciting stage adaptation, John Caird’s new version of the Studio Ghibli animated fantasy Spirited Away sits in the heart of it. Once Chihiro gets trapped in the spirit world she stumbles into, working in a bath house for the gods, this becomes profoundly, unforgettably theatrical. To August 24, spiritedawayuk.comDominic MaxwellRead our review
Shakespeare’s Globe, SE1Set in the Italy of the playwright’s time, Sean Holmes’s production glows with warmth, wit and Mediterranean sunshine. Ekow Quartey and Amalia Vitale make an impressive Benedick and Beatrice, and the knockabout scenes are given a light touch. Even a touch of spring drizzle failed to dampen the mood. To August 24, shakespearesglobe.comClive DavisRead our review
Almeida Theatre, N1First things first — no, unlike the male audience members who reportedly passed out in previews during this remarkable new play’s kitchen table abortion scene, I didn’t faint. I did, however, laugh, cry, gasp and remain rapt throughout most of this exploration of the life and times of Annie Ernaux, as played by five British women, from the Forties to the Noughties. To August 31, almeida.co.ukDominic MaxwellRead our review
Phoenix Theatre, WC2It’s not like any theatre I’ve seen before. It is, like its spiritual cousin Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a phenomenon. Not just because it’s good — although it is very good. The daring stage spin-off of Netflix’s TV hit is a landmark in staging. A tremendous technical feat that is also moving, amusing and surprising. But also because it’s pulling in new crowds. And inspiring them to come again. To August 25, uk.strangerthingsonstage.com Dominic MaxwellRead our review
Theatre Royal HaymarketThe first-time playwright Katherine Moar has stumbled across a lesser-known story from the Second World War and turned it into a compelling chamber drama. Her subject is the group of German nuclear scientists interned in a country house in Cambridgeshire in 1945. In an operation codenamed Epsilon, their conversations were secretly taped, and it is those transcripts that gave Moar — studying for a PhD in history at King’s College London — the idea for this play.To August 31, trh.co.ukClive DavisRead our review
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonJohn Hodgkinson — a memorably foul-mouthed FA supremo in James Graham’s footie pageant, Dear England — gives us a pot-bellied Falstaff who manages to be sleek and suave too, like some paunchy alderman who has made a tidy living selling dodgy timeshares. To September 7, rsc.org.ukClive DavisRead our review
Watermill Theatre, NewburyShowman, charlatan or both? That is the gist of Cy Coleman and Mark Bramble’s genial and zesty musical about PT Barnum, the 19th-century American circus impresario. Barnum may not be a great musical, but, as Jonathan O’Boyle’s high-spirited revival at the tiny and charming Watermill Theatre demonstrates, it is an engaging piece of entertainment. Coleman’s upbeat, aptly oompah-style music neatly dovetails with Michael Stewart’s quick-witted lyrics. To September 8, watermill.org.ukDonald HuteraRead our review
London PalladiumDolly wasn’t the only transformative female character creating waves in 1964 — Mary Poppins was also released that year — but her greater familiarity with bohemian excess makes her feel a little like Mary Poppins gone to the dark side. And where Poppins dictatorially demands perfection, Imelda Staunton’s sharply mischievous, vocally luminous performance reveals the delight in everyone’s flaws, from Andy Nyman’s miserly “half-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder to his hysterical love-addled niece, hilariously evoked by Emily Langham. To September 14, lwtheatres.co.ukRachel HalliburtonRead our review
Menier Chocolate Factory, SE1The chamber production by Gordon Greenberg — who has previously staged Stephen Schwartz’s musical on the other side of the pond — looks gorgeous. As audience members take their seats on three sides of the cast they are immersed in a world of pétanque and terrace café chatter. Paul Farnsworth’s set glows with a Provencal sheen; Paul Anderson’s lighting evokes the sense of the sun weighing on everyone. To September 14, menierchocolatefactory.comClive DavisRead our review
BarbicanWe really are blessed. Just across the Thames the Bridge Theatre’s extraordinarily vibrant reworking of Guys and Dolls rolls on and on. And now we have this Cole Porter revival of Kiss Me, Kate from Bartlett Sher that’s more conservative in its approach but enormous fun all the same. To September 14, kissmekatemusical.comClive DavisRead our review
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre“Tradition!” Eyebrows and possibly skullcaps may have been raised when the director Jordan Fein was entrusted with this Regent’s Park revival of a treasured musical that spells out its biggest theme in that opening number. Fein was responsible for a loved and loathed Oklahoma! on the West End that swapped tradition for a barebones rethink. Was he going to fiddle as much with Fiddler on the Roof? Consider Jerry Bock, Joseph Stein and Sheldon Harnick’s masterpiece revved up rather than revamped. Underneath a mighty canopy of wheat, Fein’s production is a fast-paced, ensemble-driven night. Even the Fiddler himself, normally a bookend, is part of the action, winningly performed by the violinist Raphael Papo. To September 21, openairtheatre.comNeil FisherRead our review
Apollo Theatre, W1Even though Cleese’s adaptation — first seen in Australia in 2016 — can’t quite recreate the original chemistry without the man himself and Prunella Scales behind the reception desk, I’m pleased to report that this genial condensing of three episodes delivers a hugely entertaining blast of unadorned nostalgia. To September 28, fawltytowerswestend.comClive DavisRead our review
Don’t they look wonderful. The stage evokes Renaissance Verona’s stone-columned splendour and a glorious painterly palette is reflected in costumes that blend muted colours with striking bold accents. Elsewhere, the story unfolds with clarity, adorned with attractively flowing classical dancing and an impetuous raw energy. And under Federico Bonelli’s direction, everyone is acting with verve and dancing with a pleasing, well-polished style. Touring to October 26, northernballet.comDebra CraineRead our review
Vaudeville Theatre, WC2While Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s musical Six is marketed as a brash girlie venture (men my age are definitely not part of the core demographic) there are a lot of clever ideas lurking beneath the glitter. If the show barely qualifies as a musical in the traditional sense — it’s really more of a pumped-up concert and runs for only 80 minutes — the songs are packaged with a degree of poise and wit that makes jukebox shows such as Jersey Boys look ponderous by comparison. Booking to May 2025, thevaudevilletheatre.co.uk Clive Davis Read our review
Fortune Theatre, WC2Sometimes the jokes hit you so quickly that you barely have time to laugh before the next one comes sweeping along. This gloriously inventive musical, based on a celebrated Second World War intelligence operation, is the nearest thing to those hyperactive Tex Avery cartoons that kept cinema audiences entertained during the war years. Booking to November 16, operationmincemeat.com Clive DavisRead our review
Prince Edward Theatre, W1If the day comes when musicals are created by artificial intelligence they may well resemble this jukebox show. It’s proficient, but oddly soulless. Hardcore Michael Jackson fans — and there are more than enough of them to sell tickets for the rest of eternity — will enjoy themselves. For the uncommitted, Christopher Wheeldon’s production offers an immaculately choreographed evening of anchored by the sleek dance moves of its Tony-winning star Myles Frost. To December 7, mjthemusical.com Clive DavisRead our review
Lyric, W1The underworld has never sounded so funky. At a time when jukebox musicals seem to be everywhere, singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s captivating folk opera, inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, is a reminder of what musical theatre can achieve when it sets its sights beyond the lowest common denominator. To December 22, uk.hadestown.com, nimaxtheatres.comClive DavisRead our review
Troubadour Theatre, WembleyMake sure to take your inner child with you. Viewed in a cold, rational light, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hugely popular Eighties musical about a pack of rollerskating actors pretending to be trains delivers an extended exercise in daffiness. But as a way of introducing a young audience to musical theatre, the show has a lot going for it. To February 16, starlightexpresslondon.comClive DavisRead our review
Chichester Festival TheatreIt’s a while since I’ve heard the Chichester locals explode into quite such passionate applause. Shanay Holmes’s Nancy earned some of the loudest cheers for an impassioned rendition of As Long As He Needs Me,which provides a measure of anguish amid all the jollity. To September 7, cft.org.uk, and at the Gielgud Theatre, London W1 from December 14, oliverthemusical.comClive DavisRead our review
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