Act I of 2026
A rundown of my favourite shows of the year so far
As we reach the halfway point of 2026 (I know, I know, there’s still another six months of this interminable year to go…), now seems as good a time as any to reflect on the best of what London theatre has had to offer so far. In the last six months, I have seen 54 shows, encompassing everything from horror to romance, classic musicals to exciting new dramas, and even an immersive video game. I’ve sat through the good (Copenhagen; Broken Glass), the bad (A Doll’s House; Les Liaisons Dangereuses) and the downright shoddy (Dracula), eaten somewhere in the region of fifteen ice creams* and sunk about [redacted] large glasses of house white, with I’m sure many more to come in the second act of the year, during which I have over 50 more shows lined up already.
Before I get to my top ten shows of the year thus far, here, in alphabetical order, are some honourable mentions that came close but didn’t quite make the cut:
Consumed at the Park Theatre
Daniel’s Husband and The Price, both at Marylebone Theatre
Deep Azure and Mother Courage and Her Children, both at Shakespeare’s Globe
End of the Rainbow and Natalie Palamides: WEER, both at Soho Theatre Walthamstow
English National Ballet’s Body & Soul at Sadler’s Wells
Fallen Angels at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Into the Woods at the Bridge Theatre
Oh, Mary! at Trafalgar Theatre
The Rivals at the Orange Tree Theatre
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold at sohoplace
Should any of the above shows still be running or return, I would highly recommend them… just not quite as highly as I would recommend those in my top ten. And on that note, here’s the countdown…
#10 - Black Comedy at the Orange Tree Theatre
A farce with depth. Shaffer, who has another entry in this list, makes inventive use of light and its absence and director Caroline Steinbeis approaches the text with a feverish energy that heightens the comedic impact of the slapstick and silliness, which is perfectly choreographed and performed by the ensemble. This runs for another week or so and is well worth a visit if you get a chance.
#9 - Mass at the Donmar Warehouse
Adapted from his film of the same name, Fran Kranz’s Mass was an emotional gutpunch that felt like a primal shriek at the risible state of gun violence in the United States of America. Anchored by four magnificent performances, this was a fiery and compelling production that was pure theatrical drama at its best.
#8 - Cyrano de Bergerac at the Noël Coward Theatre
A genuinely fresh and exciting adaptation of one of the most well-worn stories in all of theatre, this RSC production of Edmond Rostand’s classic ode to love and poetry is woozily romantic and riotously funny without sacrificing any of the tragedy. Adrian Lester and Susannah Fielding have chemistry in spades and the direction is vivacious and inventive. This runs for another two months and is well worth your time and money.
#7 - Summerfolk in the Olivier Theatre at the National
The more I reflect on Summerfolk, the more profound and contemporary it seems, despite being written well over a century ago. A tale of upper middle class tourists frolicking and bickering as the country around them rises up in violent revolution against people like them, Robert Hastie’s production of this take on the material felt vast and overwhelming, as though taking aim at the audience itself.
#6 - Guess How Much I Love You? in Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
It was inevitable that a Royal Court production would feature in this list - it’s by some distance the best and most consistent theatre in London right now - and this new writing by Luke Norris was a realist masterclass, boasting a pair of anguished and captivating performances by Robert Aramayo and Rosie Sheehy. This was tragic, witty and deeply insightful about grief and loss.
#5 - Romeo & Juliet at the Harold Pinter Theatre
The best adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic love story I’ve seen - and certainly a corrective tonic to Jamie Lloyd’s major traffic incident of a production back in 2024 - Robert Icke’s take on the material featured two rapturous performances from Noah Jupe and Sadie Sink as the eponymous lovers. Icke clearly understood and respected the text’s playfulness and warm humour, while his emphasis on all those motifs of fate and inevitability made the tragedy all the more affecting.
#4 - Arcadia at the Old Vic
Stoppard’s mathematical masterpiece, which has now transferred to the Duke of York’s Theatre for the summer, is a marvel in the hands of Carrie Cracknell, who stages it almost like a ferocious debate in-the-round, with all of the pomp and grandeur stripped away so that the focus is firmly on Stoppard’s rigorous and poetic text. See it while you still can.
#3 - Man and Boy in the Dorfman Theatre at the National
A lesser known, lesser staged Rattigan brought to life by a superlative Ben Daniels in a damning exploration of the sleaze and grubbiness of capital and the men who dabble in it. The interactions between Daniels and Laurie Kynaston, as his pitable and wretchedly devoted son, were riveting in a production that was knotty and complicated.
#2 - John Proctor is the Villian in Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
Transferring to Wyndham’s Theatre next year, the second entry from the Royal Court in this list is a masterful take on female power and resilience, as examined through the lens of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. A call to arms and revolution against exploitative men, Belflower’s rich, thoughtful text is beautifully directed and acted and deserves your attention when it returns next February.
#1 - Equus at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Another Shaffer, and this one is just frighteningly good. Toby Stephens and Noah Valentine are electrifying in a production that captures all of the intense, horny weirdness of the text, while director Lindsay Posner makes sublime use of the intimate, claustrophobic space of the Menier to hurl the audience deep into this psychosexual fever dream. A true masterpiece that is transferring to Bath for a very limited run in the next few weeks.
What are some of your favourites of the year so far? Do you profoundly disagree with any of my choices? Is there something you think I’ve completely missed? Let me know in the comments!