YOUR 2025 GUIDE TO THE WEST END AND OFF-WEST END THEATRE

Written by Giada

We’re just one week into the new year. While many of us are juggling between fresh resolutions and final recaps, the first half of the 2025 London theatre season is already shaping up for success - and it is looking pretty peachy. 

Let me break it down for you. Cause I know all them ads on your for-you page are starting to hit hard. Here’s to some clarity.

Feeling nostalgic of the past season? Ready for some entertainment? Dear England is finally coming home - at the National Theatre, where it all began - and where Nye will also make a comeback later this summer. 

Missed the shows everyone was talking about? West End has got you covered.These productions are stepping up their game, ready to grab more of your hype (and your money).

A Streetcar Named Desire opens in less than a month at the Noël Coward Theatre. The Harold Pinter Theatre will host The Years and Giant, after their sold-out runs at the Almeida and the Royal Court, respectively. At the Apollo Theatre, you can catch Retrograde, the latest play by Ryan Calais Cameron.

(Clockwise) Dear England, Nye, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Years, Retrograde and Giant. Photos by Marc Brenner, Ali Wright, Johan Persson and Manuel Harlan.

Fancy a stroll back through the history of theatre? Perhaps hand in hand with big stars? Box office success is almost guaranteed, but will these productions live up to the expectations? That’s for you to decide.

Starting with classic Greek tragedy, Brie Larson is Elektra at the Duke of York, while Rami Malek and Indira Warma star in Ella Hickson’s new adaptation of Oedipus at the Old Vic.
Jumping forward 2000-ish years, Jonathan Bailey takes on the role of Richard II at the Bridge Theatre, and Hayley Atwell plays opposite Tom Hiddleston in Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

For the first time, the Globe (’s indoor Sam Wanamaker playhouse) will stage Chekhov’s masterpiece Three Sisters, in a fresh translation by Rory Mullarkey. Meanwhile, The Seagull lands on the Barbican Centre main stage, adapted by Duncan Macmillan and starring Cate Blanchett.

The Theatre of the Absurd makes a comeback with Ionesco’s Rhinoceros at the Almeida. The Royal Court teams up with the RSC and director James Macdonald to revisit Sarah Kane’s latest play, 4.48 Psychosis - exactly 25 years after its debut.

Enough with the past. Let’s look ahead. This year, embrace the voice and the vision of some of the best contemporary playwrights and directors, and some of the young most promising artists. And yes, this segment marks our descent into the underworld of the indie scene. Coincidence? Maybe.

Catch Mike Bartlett’s new play Unicorn at the Garrick Theatre.
At the Almeida Theatre, A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O’Neills, directed by Rebecca Frecknall, will serve as a sign-off for both her and Artistic Director Rupert Goold. They are moving to the Old Vic, where The Brightening Air by Conor McPherson will mark the final season of current AD Matthew Warchus. 

Lynette Linton directs Lynette Nottage’s Intimate Apparel at the Donmar, as well as Michael Abbensetts’ Alterations at the National Theatre.
For the Royal Court, Robert Icke writes and directs Manhunt.
The Bush Theatre reunites writer Mohamed-Zain Dada and director Milli Bathia for Speed after their Olivier award nominated collaboration.

Hedda Award winner Kjersti Horn directs Nobel Prize-winner Jon Fosse’s Einkvan (Everyman) at the Coronet Theatre.
Nick Payne’s One day When We Were Young, and How to Fight Loneliness written by Neil LaBute and directed by Lisa Spirling, will premiere at the Park Theatre.
Roy Williams will adapt Lonely Londoners for the Kiln Theatre.

Hampstead Theatre stages East is South, written by Beau Willimon and directed by Ellen McDougall, starring Kaya Scodelario.

As we approach the end of this guide, I want to talk about theatre that challenges and transforms. These shows promise to inspire reflection on politics, society and history, while exploring our roles within the community. This is the kind of theatre I’m most excited about.

At the Barbican Centre, see KS6 Small Forward by Belarus Free Theatre, the real story of basketball player-turned-activist Katsiaryna Snytsina, and Passion Fruit, a coming-of-age queer love tale set in North London.

The Bush Theatre’s Studio hosts …blackbird hour (finalist for the Bruntwood Prize) by babirye bukilwa’ - a visceral exploration of a queer Black woman’s call to self love.
At Stratford East, Azuka Oforka’s The Women Of LLanrumnery sheds light on the experience of Jamaican women during slavery in the 18th century, uncovering a hidden chapter of Welsh history.
Antigone [on Strike] is an immersive piece inspired by the real stories of the young ‘ISIS brides’, playing at the Park Theatre.

The Royal Court stages Khawla Ibraheem’s play A Knock on the Roof, a deep dive into obsession, survival and everyday life in Gaza.
At Theatre503, catch Bungalow, an exploration of the burden of care and shame in a anglo-Indian family, and The Cobbled Street of Geneva, a queer love story about finding identity within the constraints of Islamic doctrine.

I am afraid that’s it - for now. But trust me, I’ve come across so many more promising shows I have come across. If they didn’t make the list, it’s just because by the time you’d finish reading, it would already be 2026.

Stay tuned, and cheers to the London scene.