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May is here and with it the London open air theatre season gets into full swing. The Globe kicks things off with a cowboy-themed Romeo and Juliet followed shortly thereafter with a rare revival for a modern play – Arthur Miller’s peerless The Crucible. Over in Regent’s Park and new theatre boss Drew McOnie gets his tenure off with a bang as he bags the much anticipated UK premiere of Broadway comedy musical Shucked. But it’s another musical that’s the month’s big talking point: the National Theatre will host the UK premiere of the late great Stephen Sondheim’s final musical.
The best London theatre openings in May 2025
1. Here We Are
What is it? Here We Are is the final work by the greatest composer of musical theatre in history – that is to say, Stephen Sondheim. It is, plot wise, a mash up of two surreal class satire Luis Buñuel films: The Exterminating Angel and The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoise. Joe Mantello’s premiere production played a season off-Broadway already and now transfers here with a starry new cast.
Why go? Because it’s Sondheim. When is the next time you’re going to the premiere run of a Sondheim musical? Never, that’s when. New York reviews were warm – FWIW the main fault cited is that he didn’t quite write enough songs before he passed away – and the cast is insane, including the likes of Rory Kinnear, Jane Krakowski and Martha Plimpton.
National Theatre, now until Jun 28.
2. Shucked
What is it? One of the more unexpected musical theatre success stories of the last few years, Robert Horn, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally’s Shucked announced itself on Broadway with an ad campaign that solely revolved around puns about corn. It went on to be a rip-roaring success and is now a spectacularly impressive get for the first season from new Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre boss Drew McOnie.
Why go? By all accounts it’s incredibly funny, probably the first great US comedy musical since The Book of Mormon. Although the plot is notionally meant to be hidden under a veil of corn puns, it basically concerns a corn-obsessed rural community that has no contact with the outside world. But when their crop starts to fail, they must send two representatives to the big city to try and work out what the hell is going on.
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, May 10-Jun 14. Buy tickets here.
3. Shakespeare’s Globe: Romeo and Juliet/The Crucible
What is it? Sun’s out, guns out, Globe’s open: the iconic outside theatre’s summer season is upon us and the first two shows open this month. It begins with Sean Holmes’s take on Romeo and Juliet; next out of the traps is Ola Ince directing The Crucible, a very rare opportunity to see a classic modern play at the iconic theatre.
Why go? Because the Globe has never been about boring trad Shakespeare and this looks like a thrilling couple of shows. Holmes’s take on Romeo and Juliet is Wild West themed – we literally need say no more. Meanwhile Arthur Miller’s awesome Salem Witch Trials/Red Scare allegory is one of the greatest American plays ever written and getting to see it at the stunning Globe should be a real treat.
Shakespeare’s Globe; Romeo and Juliet now until Aug 2, buy tickets here; The Crucible May 8-Jul 12, buy tickets here.
4. 1536
What is it? Ava Pickett’s award-winning drama is set in – you guessed it – 1536, and parallels the lives of its three female protagonists with that of Anne Boleyn, the queen of England who will meet her violent end that year.
Why go? Although Pickett is mostly known as a TV writer, the fact is that the Almeida rarely misses when it comes to new plays, and the crack team behind 1536 is hugely promising, with big name Lyndsey Turner directing a cast of the excellent Liv Hill, Siena Kelly and Tanya Reynolds.
Almeida Theatre, May 6-Jun 7.
5. Mrs Warren’s Profession
What is it? A now pretty rare revival for George Bernard Shaw’s classic morality play about an aspiring young female lawyer who attempts to befriend her estranged mother, unaware of her past as a prostitute and present as a brothel madam.
Why go? Two words: Imelda Staunton. The national treasure has starred in two excellent Dominic Cook-directed musicals recently – Follies at the NT and last year’s Hello, Dolly! – and this time they join forces for a third time and their first straight up drama. She’ll play Mrs Warren; her own daughter Bessie Carter will play daughter Vivie. It’ll be interesting to see if the play stands up still, but if anyone’s going to sell it to us, it’s Staunton.
Garrick Theatre, May 10-Aug 16, buy tickets here.
6. Giant
What is it? The biggest new British play of last year, Mark Rosenblatt’s morally knotty Roald Dahl drama triumphantly transfers from the Royal Court to the West End.
Why go? It’s a slightly old fashioned but brilliantly written play that examines Dahl’s public flirtation with antisemitism in the early ’80s and comes away with no easy answers. The headline event is John Lithgow as the charming, cantankerous, slippery Dahl, reprising the role that just won him an Olivier.
Harold Pinter Theatre, until Aug 2, buy tickets here.
7. An Oak Tree
What is it? The last show at the Young Vic for a while should be a good ’un: it’s the twentieth anniversary revival for Tim Crouch’s seminal performance piece An Oak Tree, the work with which the one-time jobbing actor reinvented himself as a metatheatrical provocateur par excellence.
Why go? It’s an unsettling classic that remains fresh on stage because one of the performers has never done it before: a different guest each night is cast in the role of a grieving parent who has decided to track down the end-of-the-pier hypnotist who killed their child in a car crash three months earlier. It is a complicated and powerful work that’s as much about Crouch’s right to create this sad drama as it is about the drama itself.
Young Vic, May 7-24, buy tickets here.
8. The Fifth Step
What is it? Provocative writer David Ireland’s Alcoholics Anonymous satire debuted at the Edinburgh International Festival last year, giving a striking return-to-the-stage role to its star Jack Lowden. Now it’s back for a West End run with Martin Freeman providing some heavyweight backup: he stars as recovering alcoholic James, the deeply flawed sponsor to Lowden’s new-to-the-programme Luka.
Why go? That’s a pretty damn tasty celebrity cast and if you like Ireland’s scabrous comedies – or are in the mood for something decided non-PC – then you’ll probably have fun. Maybe not one for AA devotees, though.
@sohoplace, May 10-Jul 26.
9. The Deep Blue Sea
What is it? Terence Rattigan’s masterpiece about Hester, a suicidal woman who has left her stultifyingly old-fashioned husband and must now decide if she wants to live or die.
Why go? It’s a deeply haunting and beautiful play, dealing with themes far darker and sadder than Rattigan’s frothy reputation suggests. This Lindsay Posner-directed production transfers from Theatre Royal Bath, where it attracted great notices for Tamsin Greig’s performance as Hester.
Theatre Royal Haymarket, May 7-Jun 21, buy tickets here.
10. The Comedy About Spies
What is it? The hit factory that is Mischief theatre – best known for long-running West End hit The Play That Goes Wrong – pumps out another surefire smash with this ’60s-set spy farce.
Why go? Mischief are as edgy as sponge, but if you like a good old fashioned English farce with proper jokes, proper laughs and zero smut then get yourself down.
Noël Coward Theatre, now until Aug 3, buy tickets here.
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