Top 20 London Theatre Shows of 2025
In the past twelve months, I saw a total of 117 productions in theatres across London. Though no doubt impressive / tragic / deranged [delete as appropriate], this figure actually marks a significant drop from the 151 I saw in 2024; a drop that can be almost entirely attributed to me suddenly finding myself “gainfully” employed. Nonetheless, though I saw fewer shows, the quality of the ones I did see was, broadly speaking, outstanding, and I’m hard-pressed to think of a better year for London theatre since the onset of the pandemic, the effects of which are still being felt right across the sector.
This list, which counts down my top 20 shows of 2025, includes a wealth of genres and runs the gamut from huge budget musicals to pared down modern classics, horny queer ballets, riveting new writing and even a state-of-the-nation satire about Raoul Moat, so there really was something for everybody. To prove the point, here, in alphabetical order, are ten honourable mentions that just didn’t quite make the cut:
1536 at the Almeida
Dealer’s Choice at the Donmar
Entertaining Mr. Sloane at the Young Vic (Jordan Stephens, call me 🥵)
The Invention of Love at Hampstead Theatre
Kenrex at Southwark Playhouse Borough
Mrs. Warren’s Profession at the Garrick
The Little Prince at the Coliseum
London Road in the Olivier Theatre at the National
One Man Musical at the Underbelly Boulevard Soho
Porn Play in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
The fact that none of these broke into the top 20 is testament to the quality of the shows I’ve seen this year. And so, without further ado, here are my favourites, accompanied by the brief thoughts I made at the time of seeing them.
#20 - Inside Giovanni’s Room at Sadler’s Wells East
A muscular and carnal, but nonetheless delicate, production. The fluid, inventive choreography beautifully captures the thrill and the turmoil of hopelessly rebelling against the greyness of a world determined to crush forbidden love. Gorgeous.
#19 - Here We Are in the Lyttelton Theatre at the National
About as effective as a production of an unfinished musical based on two Buñuel films could possibly be. Act one is audacious and hilarious, and act two bristles with promise. The performances are superb and the staging perfectly captures the surrealism of it all.
#18 - The Line of Beauty at the Almeida
Gorgeously acted, with a quiet, aching sorrow running through it. There's less thematic heft than it needs, which is perhaps a consequence of trying to stage such a tome, but it makes up for this with its woozy tenderness and captivatingly tragicomic tone.
#17 - Juniper Blood at the Donmar
Smart, snappy writing that wrestles not just with the limitations of both idealism and pragmatism but also its own inadequacy in the face of incessant global turmoil. The performances humanise the political and strike the right balance between satirical and dramatic.
#16 - A Good House in Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
An impeccable mix of humour and anxiety-inducing, awkward confrontation that examines fragile veneers of tolerance and the rituals demanded from those who are “accepted”. A simple, ingenious concept that is developed through complex writing and superb performances.
#15 - Deaf Republic in Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
So innovative and intelligent, boasting a richness of ideas that are explored with real sophistication and rigour. The stagecraft and sound design - not least the use of silence - are remarkable, and its surrealist edges enhance its unapologetic radicalism.
#14 - Speed at the Bush Theatre
It slightly bungles the ending but this is genuinely exciting and playful new writing that uses a familiar setting to unpick an array of complex and interesting ideas about perception and facade, which are further developed by the flirtation with surrealism. Superb performances.
#13 - Evita at the London Palladium
Terrible... no, not the show but what it's done to my anti-Jamie Lloyd brand. With its rock opera sensibilities, this production is stylish and punchy, with an infectious energy that excellently mirrors the cult of personality around Perón. Zegler and Rodriguez are superb.
#12 - A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge
So much fun. Makes exquisite use of the immersive space and plays with the material in humorous and exciting ways. The set design, craft work and acrobatics impress without overwhelming the text, while the performances are energetic and joyful.
#11 - The Producers at the Menier Chocolate Factory
An offensive, hilarious, preposterous delight from start to finish. Nyman and Antolin are excellent and well supported by the ensemble, and the absurdity of the show is well amplified by the creative and consistently funny staging and choreography.
#10 - The Maids at the Donmar
Fabulous. The modern stylisation heightens the timeless themes of class and depersonalisation, while also examining how technology and the parasocial nature of our relationship with fame blur boundaries and upend what is real. Fantastic performances and staging.
#9 - The Unbelievers in Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
An acutely well observed and powerfully written look at the elusive nature of closure and how time collapses in the face of inexplicable loss. Nicola Walker is, as always, magnificent, and the script crackles with dry humour and a primal sadness.
#8 - A Moon for the Misbegotten at the Almeida
Poignant and devastating but sprinkled with a wry humour that the characters use to repel the affection they do not think they deserve. Wilson and Threlfall are especially good, though Shannon too radiates a heartbreaking vulnerability in the second half.
#7 - Stereophonic at the Duke of York’s Theatre
Superb set design that accentuates the scale of division within the band. The writing is knotty and intelligent about creativity and ego, and the performances and songs bristle with all the energy of capturing lightning in a bottle. A little long, but riveting.
#6 - Kyoto at sohoplace
Positions the narrator as an antagonist and consequently affords itself ample opportunities for creativity and provocation that are expertly handled. As both history and commentary, this is hilarious and infuriating, with clever staging and superb performances throughout.
#5 - Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at the Donmar
A soaring, blazing production that is every bit as epic and romantic as the source material. At once traditional and dizzyingly modern, its inventiveness is a joy to watch, as too is the wealth of talent in the ensemble. Captivating.
#4 - Manhunt in Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
Searing and muscular State of the Nation stuff that conceptualises the story of Raoul Moat as one of class, male rage, violence and denial. Creatively directed and superbly performed, this is provocative and uncomfortable theatre that refuses to settle for easy answers.
#3 - Inter Alia in the Lyttelton Theatre at the National
Grueling and complex in its look at the justice system, motherhood and VAWG, it unfolds like a modern Greek tragedy, spiralling towards inevitable catastrophe as the stage is slowly stripped away to ruins. Pike absolutely chews this up and spits it out. Remarkable.
#2 - All My Sons at Wyndham’s Theatre
Miller's dialogue feels almost celestial in the hands of the magnificent ensemble, who, as the scale of the tragedy subsumes their characters and tears them apart, further enrich it with devastating humanity. An almost flawless production of a masterpiece.
#1 - The Seagull at the Barbican
Blanchett is more Edina Monsoon than Irina Arkadina but it works perfectly in a punky and frighteningly good production that, for all of its wry playfulness, is utterly devastating on the terror of lifeless love and mediocrity in a world in the throes of extinction.
So, there we have it. There were a ton of other shows that I also loved and could easily have gotten a mention (Twelfth Night at the Orange Tree; The Weir at the Harold Pinter; Sing Street at the Lyric Hammersmith…) but I’ll leave it there, lest I run through all 117 of them. I already have 39 shows booked in for the next twelve months, so there’s no danger of me slowing down or getting a decent night’s sleep in 2026, and I have high hopes for quite a few of them already.
See you in the stalls balcony soon!