The top London theatre shows according to our critics

What is it? Superstar director Jamie Lloyd takes the helm for a starry revival of Shakespeare’s beloved romcom, featuring megaslebs Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell as bickering will-they-won’t-they lovers Benedick and Beatrice. 

Where is it? Theatre Royal Drury Lane. 

Why go? Where to start? Probably Soutra Gilmour’s dreamy aesthetic, in which a conventional set is eschewed in favour of a constant glorious drift of pink confetti. But the whole thing is just dreamy, like a fever dream of holiday romance with Hiddleston and Atwell on top form as eccentric but lonely fortysomethings inexorably driven together.

What is it? The cult immersive adventure for one is back in London after an eight-year absence – and it’s as good as ever.

Where is it? A secret location in central London.

Why go? Because it’s amazing, though we can’t tell you much more than than because they make you sign an NDA. It’s sold out but there are copious opportunites to volunteer, while it’s not impossible it might extend.

What is it? Oh come on you know what Hamilton is.

Where is it? Victoria Palace Theatre.

Why go? Well if you don’t know what Hamilton is, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s virtuosic hip-hop inflected account of the life and times of relatively obscure US Founding Father Alexander Hamilton is pretty much the biggest musical of our times. And it remains sensational an exhilarating celebration of multiculturalism that’s also a witty but broadlyt accurate romp through US history.

What is it? Eline Arbo’s stunningly intense stage adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s Booker-nominated book Les Années, an artful autobiography that traces her journey from childhood in postwar France to old age in the post-9/11 era. 

Where it it? Harold Pinter Theatre.

Why go? There is something truly remarkable about the way the five female performers craft the sense of an entire, complete life on stage – it sounds humdrum, but it’s unsentimental and full of wonder and devastation (includin the infamous abortion scene that has been sparking mass audience faintings).

What is it? Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton bid a final farewell to their beloved horror anthology TV series with a West End special.

Where is it? Wyndham’s Theatre

Why go? You’ll be pushed to get a ticket now, but Inside No. 9 fans and newscomers alike shodul enjoy this deliciously sly and fitfully gory tribute to the pair’s love of the stage.

What is it? The second play from Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson – who wrote The Jungle some years ago – is a lively dramatisation of the 1997 Kyoto climate change conference.

Why go? Yes, the premise sounds boring. But Kyoto is almost indecently fun, not least because of the genius decision to tell the whole thing form the POV of monstrous fossil fuel lobbyist Don Pearlman, played brilliantly by US actor Stephen Kunken.

What is it? Having slowly worked its way up to the West End from humble fringe origins, the now expanded Benjamin Button relocates F Scott Fitzgerald’s short story about a man who ages backwards to rural Cornwall.

Where is it? @sohoplace.

Why go? One of the quirkier and more unusual musicals to enter Theatreland in recent years, Jethro Compton’s sea shanty-driven musical is eccentric, lovable and in the end deeply, deeply moving.

What is it? The longest-running musical of all time needs no introduction whatsoever (but if you really need to know it’s an all-singing adaptation of Victor Hugo’s seminal novel about the Paris Uprising of 1832).

Where is it? Sondheim Theatre.

Why go? Although the current West End iteration is a ‘new’ version that was ushered in in 2019 – and indeed there have been judicous updates throughout its long life – Les Mis is popular for the reason it’s always been popular: soaring songs, stirring story, memorable characters and a commitment to keeping it stocked with world class singing talent.

What is it? Andrew Lloyd Webber’s magnum opus is still going strong in the West End after almost 40 years.

Where is it? His Majesty’s Theatre.

Why go? To this day it looks utterly ravishing, with jaw dropping sets and impressive special effects. The plot – about a brooding psychopath who stalks a Parisian opera house – is wildly problematic, but it’s just extremely impressive theatre, with some deliciously bombastic songs, and as with Les Mis, the dedication to keeping first rate performers has kept it fresh decades after other shows have gone off the boil.

What is it? A big hit off-Broadway, this extremely goofy musical parody of James Cameron’s Titanic retells events from the perspective of the film’s real star: Celine Dion.

Where is it? Criterion Theatre.

Why go? Lauren Drew’s dotty, overbearing, perma-smiling Celine Dion is a truly wonderful creation, who lights up teh stage every second she’s on it. Things are a bit thinner in her absence, but it’s still a terriffic laugh.