Musicals in London

London runs more musicals at once than most cities run theatre full stop. Some have been on since before you were born. Others open, get reviewed, and close within a season. Both are worth your time for different reasons.

The West End is the obvious start, Shaftesbury Avenue and the streets around Covent Garden hold the big houses, the ones with queues at the box office and posters on the tube. These are the polished, long-running productions, built for repeat audiences and coach parties as much as locals. Reliable, well-drilled, not cheap.

Away from that strip you get the newer work and the revivals that don't need a hundred-year run to justify themselves, smaller venues and touring houses dotted through Islington, Southwark and beyond where a show might only sit for a few weeks. That's often where the more interesting writing and staging turns up, before or instead of a West End transfer.

Timing matters more than people think. Weeknight performances tend to be calmer and easier to get into on short notice, weekends carry the crowds and the atmosphere. Matinees suit anyone who wants the show without the late finish. Price swings a lot by seat and by show, so it's worth comparing a few before you commit to one night out.

If you already know the title you want, search for it directly. If you're deciding what to see, use the areas and dates below to see what's actually staged this week rather than working from a list that might be stale by the time you book.