It’s the start of a new month, and though September does mean a lot of the limited summer runs are coming to a close (there are 10 shows closing in London over the next month!), there is still a lot of exciting new theatre to come over the next month. Over the next month, you can find splashy new musicals, plays with some starry casting, a cult classic and even a musical based on an unexpected reality TV show. So without further ado, here’s our list of the top picks of shows to see over the next month:
- Why Am I So Single?: Garrick Theatre, 27 August-13 February
The new musical from Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, writers of multi-award winning Six has just started in the West End this past week. The show follows two best friends (and musical theatre composers) who struggling with ideas for their next show and struggling to work out why they are perennially single so end up drawing from the ups and downs of their dating lives as inspiration for their next musical. After the success of Six, Marlow and Moss’s next musical has been highly anticipated and is already set to run into 2025.
2. Cable Street: Southwark Playhouse Elephant, 6 September-4 October
After a sold out run at Southwark Playhouse Borough back in the Spring, new British musical Cable Street is returning for a second run in Southwark Playhouse’s other venue, Southwark Playhouse Elephant this Autumn. The show follows a real historical event, the October 1936 Battle of Cable Street where anti-fascist demonstrators clashed with the British Union of Fascists in a counter demonstration to their planned march on a predominantly Jewish community. Southwark Playhouse has had great success with new musicals transferring to the West End in recent years, with Operation Mincemeat being a notable success and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button set to transfer in October, so it’s always a great place to check out exciting new work. Cable Street seems set to be no exception after the buzz surrounding its earlier run.
3. The Rocky Horror Show: Dominion Theatre, 6-20 September
The cult-classic Rocky Horror Show returns to London for a short season this September as part of a UK tour which will continue through to the summer of 2025. Jason Donovan returns to the London stage as Frank-N-Furter for the Dominion run, and if you’re looking for a fun night out in London this September, you can’t go far wrong with The Rocky Horror Show which is legendary for audiences getting dressed up as their favourite characters. Audience participation in the show is not only welcome but actively encouraged, so if you’re looking for a less traditional night at the theatre, then this is definitely one for you.
4. Come Dine With Me: The Musical: Turbine Theatre, 7-29 September
Yes, you did read that right, the hit Channel 4 reality TV show Come Dine With Me, has now become a musical! Following a run at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, Come Dine With Me is now coming to London for a short run at Battersea’s Turbine Theatre. As with the TV show, the musical takes a group of strangers coming together for a series of dinner parties: but this time with added music. If you enjoy seeing and supporting new musicals whilst they are still fairly early on in their development, then this might be one to watch for September, especially following some great reviews for it from the Fringe.
5. I Wish You Well: The Gywneth Paltrow Ski-Trial Musical: Criterion Theatre, 11 September-12 October
Another musical transferring into the West End after a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe this year. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, in comes a musical based on the story of Gywneth Paltrow’s legal battle against the man who claimed she crashed into him on a ski slope in Utah. Naturally this is not a serious retelling of the trial, rather a camp hour-long musical parody. It’s the second musical London has seen based off this particular trial, with Gywneth Goes Skiing having been seen in London earlier in the year. If you’re looking for a fun, campy night out in London this autumn, this musical seems like a very safe bet for that.
6. Waiting For Godot: Theatre Royal Haymarket, 13 September-14 December
If you’re looking to see big names in theatre this autumn, then the Theatre Royal Haymarket is where to be with Ben Whishaw (Paddington) and Lucian Msamati (Game of Thrones) taking to the stage for a limited season of Waiting For Godot, Samuel Beckett’s famous play in which two characters meet under a tree, waiting for a man named Godot….who never arrives. Those who enjoy their plays on the philosophical side will certainly welcome this one and given the Ben Whishaw of it all, it’s certainly one to move on quickly if you want to get a ticket.
7. Cake: The Marie Antoinette Playlist: The Other Palace, 13 September-7 November
Following a short try-out run at the Lyric Theatre last year, Cake returns to London for a longer stretch at The Other Palace this autumn. The musical tells the story of Marie Antoinette, but not the one that we are all familiar with. This is not about the French Revolution and her execution but rather one of the events that led up to it: the incident where Marie Antoinette was falsely accused of defrauding the French Crown jewellers out of a diamond necklace. The musical, like many recent historical musicals, combines a pop score with a historical setting in what it hopes will be another recipe for success.
8. The Cabinet Minister: Menier Chocolate Factory, 21 September-16 November
This political farce by Arthur Wing Pinero, originally from the 1890s, returns to London over 30 years since it was last seen in a brand new adaptation. The play follows a cabinet minister in the House of Commons whose family have run up massive debts and is on the verge of political ruin and has to try and work out a way to save face with his colleagues and the country. Given all the various political scandals we’ve experienced over the past few years, this play is bound to feel as relevant as it ever has so if you like political satires, this is definitely one for you.
9. Juno and The Paycock: Gielgud Theatre, 21 September-23 November
On the 100th anniversary of this 1924 Irish classic, J.Smith Cameron and Mark Rylance bring a new adaptation of Sean O’Casey’s famous play to the London stage. Set in Dublin in 1922 during the Irish Civil War, it follows the Boyle family who are struggling to make ends meet when news of a large and mysterious inheritance seems set to change their fortunes….however, all does not work out as planned. It has been 30 years since the play was last seen in London and is not one that is shown here very often so if you want to see something a little different that isn’t put on in London very often then this is a great opportunity for that.
10. The Lehman Trilogy: Gillian Lynne Theatre, 25 September-5 January
Sam Mendes’ multi-award winning production returns to London this autumn for a limited season after previous successful runs in London in 2018, 2019 and 2023. A mammoth play coming in at a staggering 3 hours 20 minutes, it tells the true story of the Lehman Brothers and their 164 year history from their initial immigration to the United States through to the collapse of their company which triggered the 2008 financial crisis. A play of this length won’t be for everyone but if you’re looking for an epic story to sink your teeth into this autumn, then this one might just be for you.
Words By Jo Elliott
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