By Laura Wybrow

Published: Friday, 29 April 2022 at 12:00 am

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Whether you’re a local or in town for a special occasion, a West End show can be a brilliant way to spend an evening. From award-winning musicals to book adaptations and limited-time shows, London is jam-packed with entertainment.

But, how do you choose what to see? We’ve considered everything from budget, genres and cast to give you our pick of the best plays, musicals and theatre shows to see. We’ve got Hamilton for the history buffs, Back to the Future for a dose of nostalgia and we already know Frozen: the West End Musical will be a hit with all the kids.

Here are our recommendations for the best West End shows in London this year.

Best West End shows to see in 2022

Come From Away

This musical tells the extraordinary true story of what happened when 38 planes were diverted and forced to land at Canada’s Gander International Airport following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The planes, carrying nearly 7,000 passengers and 19 animals, doubled the population of the small Newfoundland town.

Come From Away serves as a reminder of kindness in the darkest of times as the townspeople quickly sprang into action to comfort, clothe and feed the passengers.

Buy Come From Away tickets from £24 at Ticketmaster

Six the Musical

In this bizarre musical retelling of the lives of Henry VIII’s six wives, each wife takes it in turns to share their story of how they were wronged by the Tudor King, and why they should be the lead singer of the wives’ pop group.

Originally debuting at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017, this West End show promises to be a lot of fun!

Buy Six the Musical tickets from £13 at ATG Tickets

Cock

Jonathan Bailey of Bridgerton fame stars as John, a man who has identified as gay his entire life and has a long-term relationship with his boyfriend, played by Joel Harper-Jackson who you might recognise from the Kinky Boots musical. That is until John meets ‘the woman of his dreams’ (Jade Anouka). It poses the question of whether we can love and be loved without labels.

Buy Cock tickets from £50 at ATG Tickets

Hamilton

As the winner of the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album, the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Hamilton is a brilliant choice if you’re in London this summer and want to treat yourself to a West End show. A blend of hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B and Broadway is the musical backdrop to this show, which tells the true(ish) story of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers and George Washington’s right-hand man.

Buy Hamilton tickets from £24 at London Theatre Direct

Matilda the Musical

Adapted from Roald Dahl’s much-loved book of the same name, Matilda is taking bookings up to May 2023 for the Cambridge Theatre in London. You know exactly what you’re getting with this musical: wholesome, family-friendly fun.

Buy Matilda tickets from £24 at Ticketmaster

Heathers the Musical

Heathers the Musical is back at The Other Palace until September this year. It’s based on the 1989 cult movie, Heathers, which follows student Veronica as she’s accepted into her high school’s popular clique (three girls all named Heather), then gets wrapped up with the rebellious Jason ‘J.D’ Dean – a teenager who plans to murder everybody at their high school. This is definitely one for a more mature audience.

Buy Heathers the Musical tickets from £30 at London Theatre Direct

Straight Line Crazy

West End Theatre

This dynamic play starring Ralph Fiennes as Robert Moses, the man who landscaped metropolitan New York, is showing at the Bridge Theatre for a limited time only. Moses commissioned a lot of New York City’s planning works, doing amazing work for the city’s communities, like building 658 playgrounds, 11 pools and 13 bridges. However, Moses was also responsible for the infamous New York City skyline and bumper-to-bumper traffic. If Straight Line Crazy sounds like it’s up your street (pardon the pun), snap up tickets!

Buy Straight Line Crazy tickets from £18 at Theatre Tickets Direct

The Lion King

Time Out

A story we all know and love! Based on the 1994 Walt Disney movie of the same name, The Lion King musical play features music from Elton John, actors in decadent animal costumes and giant hollow puppets. The show opened in the Lyceum Theatre over 20 years ago in 1999 and is still going strong after more than 7,500 performances.

It’s the top-earning title in box-office history, surpassing The Phantom of the Opera, and even the Royal Family have seen a performance of this much-loved story.

Buy The Lion King tickets from £25 at London Theatre Direct

Wicked

Broadway Shows

Wicked knows a thing or two about being ‘Popular’! This musical is the prequel to The Wizard of Oz, and it tells the story of Elphaba (the future Wicked Witch of the West) and her friendship with Glinda (the Good Witch of the South). It was nominated for 6 Tony awards, including Best Actress, and, honestly, we went to see the musical with our families, and it’s deserving of every single nomination.

Buy Wicked tickets from £23.50 at Ticketmaster

Frozen: The West End Musical

Johan Persson

Back in January 2019, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane embarked on an ambitious project to restore its historic theatre to its former 1812 glory. Now, in 2022, it reopened its doors with showings of Disney’s Frozen. The jaw-dropping sets and special effects really make this musical magic as it brings to life the scenery from the film.

Buy Frozen tickets from £30 at Ticketmaster

Dear Evan Hansen 

London Theatre Direct

Dear Evan Hansen is a coming of age musical about teenager Evan who’s struggling with social anxiety and whose therapist encourages him to write letters in an attempt to help his mental health. His letter accidentally falls into the hands of his classmate Connor who later takes his own life. Upon finding the letter, Connor’s parents mistakenly assume that Evan and their son were best friends, and welcome him into their family. Things get out of hand very quickly (as we’re sure you can imagine).

Buy Dear Evan Hansen tickets from £30 at Ticketmaster

Back to the Future: The Musical

Amands Malpass

If the hugely enthusiastic description on From The Box Office is anything to go by, Back to the Future – The Musical will be the most electrifying experience of your entire life – possibly more important than, say, childbirth. The musical follows the plot of the blockbuster film: teenager Marty McFly is blasted back in time to the year 1955 by eccentric scientist Doc Brown, and unwittingly changes the course of history.

Buy Back to the Future tickets from £19.55 at Ticketmaster

The Book of Mormon

London Theatre

From the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, comes this comedy musical about two Latter-Day missionaries who are posted to a remote Ugandan village to preach the faith of the Church, and to convert its inhabitants to Mormonism. The locals are uninterested, however, as they face more pressing issues such as famine, HIV/AIDS, FGM, and oppression from their warlord.

Buy Book of Mormon tickets from £24 at Ticketmaster

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Visit London

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a two-part play written by Jack Thorne and based on J.K. Rowling’s original story. It follows Harry, Ron and Hermoine 19 years after they saved the wizarding world, and they’re joined by a new generation of wizards and witches to stop mysterious evil forces for another time.

Buy Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tickets from ATG Tickets

Get Up, Stand Up!

Get Up Stand Up

Get Up, Stand Up! is the five star Bob Marley musical. We didn’t know a Bob Marley musical was missing from our lives until now. It follows the life of Bob Marley as he sets out to advocate for justice through his music, and it features his most-loved tracks like ‘No Woman No Cry’, ‘Three Little Birds’ and ‘Could You Be Loved’.

Buy Get Up, Stand Up! tickets from £18 at Ticketmaster

The Woman in Black

Tristram Kenton

A bucket list show from London’s West End. We’ve only ever heard amazing things about this spooky play based on Susan Hill’s 1983 book of the same name. It’s directed by Robin Herford, who directed the original cast in 1987 when the show first took the stage in Scarborough, before opening at The Fortune Theatre in London in 1989. As the setting is so minimal with few props and scarce sound effects, it creates a chilling atmosphere and your imagination runs wild. You’ll definitely be scared to walk to the loo by yourself afterwards.

Buy The Woman in Black tickets from £21.50 at ATG Tickets

Les Misérables

What makes West End’s longest-running musical so magical is how immersive it is; with the backdrops of paintings by Victor Hugo, Les Misérables’ author, and the powerful performances from every single member of the cast, you feel like you’re at the heart of the action.

Buy Les Misérables tickets from £24 at London Theatre Direct

Head to our Going Out section for more on new ticket releases, shows and festival line-ups. Or try our TV Guide if you’re looking for something to watch tonight.

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