Check out our line-up of Top New Plays to see in London in 2023.
2023 is going to be a good year for the Play, with drama, comedies and thrillers still making up a healthy proportion of the West End’s output.
West End comedies hitting London in 2023 include Michael Frayn’s hilarious farce Noises Off at the Phoenix Theatre, in a big-name revival starring Felicity Kendal, Matthew Kelly and Tracy-Ann Oberman; the transfer of hit Chichester Festival Theatre comedy The Unfriend at the Criterion Theatre featuring two of The League of Gentlemen: Mark Gatiss directing and Reece Shearsmith starring in the play; coming to the Harold Pinter Theatre in January is a starry revival of Sam Steiner’s comedy Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, directed by Josie Rourke and featuring Jenna Coleman (The Serpent) and Aidan Turner (Poldark); hilarious, heart-warming comedy My Son’s A Queer, (But What Can You Do?) starring Rob Madge heads back to town for a longer run, this time at the Ambassadors Theatre; Daniel Rigby stars in Accidental Death of an Anarchist at the Lyric Hammersmith; and Sheridan Smith stars in Willy Russell’s much-loved comedy Shirley Valentine, in a revival at the Duke of York’s Theatre.
Drama in the West End includes the return of Sam Mendes’ acclaimed production of The Lehman Trilogy, coming to the Gillian Lynne Theatre; Sophie Okonedo and Ben Daniels bring a revival of Medea to the new @sohoplace theatre, directed by Dominic Cooke; Ivo van Hove directs his buzzy production of A Little Life based on Hanya Yanagihara’s best-selling novel to the Harold Pinter Theatre starring James Norton (Happy Valley), Luke Thompson (Bridgerton), Omari Douglas (It’s A Sin, Cabaret), and Zach Wyatt (The Witcher); actor and comedian Lenny Henry writes and stars in August in England at the Bush Theatre about the Windrush scandal; The Crown writer Peter Morgan sees the transfer of his Almedia Theatre play Patriots, which is coming to the Noel Coward Theatre starring BAFTA-winning actor Tom Hollander (White Lotus); Lily Allen and Steve Pemberton star in Martin McDonagh’s Tony and Olivier Award-winning play The Pillowman at the Duke of York’s Theatre; Haley McGee’s powerful and sold-out Edinburgh Festival hit Age is a Feeling returns to Soho Theatre; and Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial gets a deservedly longer runs at the Ambassadors Theatre.
In terms of thrillers, honourable mentions for 2023 go to 2:22 – A Ghost Story at the Lyric Theatre, which isn’t new but will see Girls Aloud alumni Cheryl join the cast; and a fond farewell to The Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre, which is leaving town after an impressive 32 years.
The National Theatre also has a big line-up of plays coming in 2023, including Janet McTeer and Mackenzie Davis in Phaedra; director Rachel O’Riordan reunites with Gary Owen for his new play Romeo and Julie starring Callum Scott Howells (It’s a Sin, Cabaret) and Rosie Sheehy (Oleanna); Sam Mendes directs and Jack Thorne writes The Motive and the Cue about the 1964 Broadway staging of Hamlet by Richard Burton and Sir John Gielgud, starring Johnny Flynn as Richard Burton, Mark Gatiss as John Gielgud and Tuppence Middleton as Elizabeth Taylor; Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls), Ardal O’Hanlon (Father Ted) and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Translations) star in a revival of Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa directed by Josie Rourke; Deborah Bruce brings her new play Dixon and Daughters to the National; and Indhu Rubasingham directs Paul Bazely in Anupama Chandrasekhar’s acclaimed play The Father and the Assassin.
Plays at some of the other big producing venues in London in 2023 include Shakespeare’s Globe – including Hakawatis, Henry V, The Winter’s Tale and Titus Andronicus; the Southwark Playhouse – including Smoke, Windfall, and Brilliant Jerks; and the Royal Court – including Sound of the Underground and Black Superhero.
Top Plays coming to London in 2023
