The fairytale mashup musical Into the Woods is back in the West End with the first major revival in over 30 years. If you hear ‘fairy tale’ and immediately think ‘Disney,’ you’re in for a treat. This iconic and much beloved musical goes beyond the ‘happily ever after’ to offer something really different. Here’s everything you need to know about Into the Woods.
Fresh of an Olivier-winning run at the Bridge Theatre, Into the Woods is playing a strictly limited season at the Noël Coward Theatre. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical interweaving of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood, is a captivating exploration of what happens after the ‘fairy tale ending.’ It’s witty, it’s dark, and it’s a beloved musical that hasn’t seen a major revival in the West End since 1991.
This is one production you won’t want to miss, and this is everything you need to know.
View live availability for Into the Woods tickets here
Key dates and venue
- Venue: Noël Coward Theatre, 85-88 St Martin’s Ln, London WC2N 4AU
- Booking dates: Previews begin 22 September 2026, and it runs until 9 January 2027
- See full details for Into the Woods
What is Into the Woods about?
Into the Woods takes several of the Brothers Grimm’s best-known fairy tales and weaves them together around a new, original story: a Baker and his wife who’ve been cursed by their next-door neighbour, a Witch, must venture into the woods to gather a list of magical objects to lift the spell. Along the way they cross paths with fairy tale favourites Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel.
The first act plays out more or less as you’d expect from a fairytale, with everyone working toward getting their wish. The second act, though, is a different story. Sondheim and Lapine take the tales a step further and explore what actually happens after ‘happily ever after,’ when wishes collide with consequences and the characters have to reckon with the fallout of getting what they wanted.
Into the Woods becomes a considerably darker, more morally complicated piece but it’s one with the capacity to move and inspire. It’s a show about parenthood, loss, and the responsibility that comes with getting your wish, rather than a straightforward fairytale ending.
The creators: Sondheim and Lapine
Stephen Sondheim, widely regarded as the most significant composer-lyricist in the history of the American musical, wrote the music and lyrics for Into the Woods, and it is often cited as one of Sondheim’s most accessible entry points for audiences new to his work, thanks to its fairytale framing.
The book was written by James Lapine, who had previously collaborated with Sondheim on Sunday in the Park with George. They would later work together on Passions, as well as Sondheim on Sondheim, a revue-style musical conceived and directed by Lapine that pulls in music and lyrics written by the composed over the course of his career.
Lapine would go on to pen the books for Falsettos (1992), A New Brain (1998), and Little Miss Sunshine (2011).
In a recent interview, Lapine revealed a fascinating fact about Sondheim: after the original Broadway run of Merrily We Roll Along flopped in 1981, Sondheim was seriously weighing giving up musical theatre altogether in favour of designing video games.
Around this time, the pair met and began working on Sunday in the Park with George, after which they began writing Into the Woods. The fairy tale concept itself grew out of Lapine’s own interest in the genre and in Jungian psychology, an interest Sondheim didn’t initially share, having encountered fairy tales mainly through Disney.
Lapine was interested in the idea of ‘happily ever after’ and what actually happens after the fairy tale ending, so together they wrote the first act, blending together four Grimms Brothers fairy tales, while the show’s second act interrogates the fairy tale form itself by asking what a community owes to one another once the wishes have been granted.
The history of Into the Woods
Into the Woods first premiered at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in 1986 before opening on Broadway in 1987, where it ran for two years and won three Tony Awards, including Best Score and Best Book. It was also nominated for Best Musical, though The Phantom of the Opera took that prize home.
The musical transferred to London in 1990, where it played at the Pheonix Theatre, but there have not been any major West End revivals since then, though it did enjoy some smaller revivals at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and Donmar Warehouse.
It has also enjoyed a rich life offstage, including a 1991 American TV broadcast of the original Broadway production starring stage legends Bernadette Peters as The Witch, Joanna Gleason as The Baker’s Wife and Chip Zien as The Baker. A 2002 Broadway revival starring Vanessa Williams as the Witch, as well as regular regional and school productions, mean that the musical has remained popular since is premiere.
This new production became one of the most acclaimed shows on the theatre scene, winning the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival in 2026. Lapine has even stated that it’s the best production of Into the Woods he’s ever seen, including one he directed himself.
Star casting: Who is in Into the Woods?
The cast for the West End production features plenty of talent. Starring in Into the Woods at the Noël Coward Theatre are:
- John Dagleish (Sunny Afternoon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) as The Baker
- Laura Pitt-Pulford (Aspects of Love, Standing at the Sky’s Edge) as The Baker’s Wife
- Kate Fleetwood (A View from the Bridge, My Master Builder) as the Witch
- Simbi Akande (The Prince of Egypt, Hamilton) as Cinderella
- Gracie McGonigal (Bridgerton, The Crucible) as Little Red Riding Hood
- Keith Ramsay (The Play That Goes Wrong, Shucked) as Jack
The ensemble also includes Valda Aviks (Grandmother/Giant), Geoffrey Aymer (Cinderella’s Father), Jennifer Hepburn (Cinderella’s Stepmother and Alternate Witch), Hana Ichijo (Lucinda), and Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson (Florinda), Julie Jupp (Jack’s Mother), Fiona Finsbury (Rapunzel), Lucas Koch (Rapunzel’s Prince), Jack Quarton (Steward), Matthew Seadon-Young (Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf) and and Michael S. Siegel (Narrator). The ensemble is completed by Hollie Aires, Sabrina Aloueche, Jacob Fowler, Adam Robert Lewis, Sophie Linder-Lee, Toby Turpin, and Elsie Watson.
The creative team
The award-winning revival boasts a powerhouse creative team, including:
- Director Jordan Fein (Fiddler on the Roof)
- Designer Tom Scutt (Cabaret)
Fein is best known for his recent Fiddler on the Roof revival at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, which then transferred to the Barbican following a completely sold-out season.
Scutt saw recent success for his design of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club which earned him an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best Designer. His work as the set and costume designer on Fein’s production of Fiddler on the Roof also earned him an Olivier Award.
Into the Woods on screen
Aside from the filmed stage production, Into the Woods was also adapted into Disney film in 2014, boasting an all-star cast directed by Rob Marshall.
Meryl Streep led the cast as the Witch, alongside Emily Blunt as The Baker’s Wife, James Corden as the Baker, Anna Kendrick as Cinderella and Chris Pine as Cinderella’s Prince. The film earned three Academy Award nominations, though it made notable changes to the stage show’s structure and tone. The most significant changes included cutting some of the second act’s darker turns to make a more palatable film.
At the time, Sondheim commented that the changes made for the film were in collaboration with Lapine and himself, given the less-than-pleased response from theatre fans about the supposed changes. He went on to say that ‘it is not only a faithful adaptation of the show, it is a first-rate movie.’
If you’ve only ever seen the film, it’s worth noting that while there are darker themes in the second half of the film, there was still some trimming and lightening, meaning the second act of the musical is considerably tougher.
Why Into the Woods matters
Aside from being a delightfully dark musical, Into the Woods is also considered to be one of Sondheim’s most significant works. Music theorists regard it as the fullest expression of his technique of building a score from small recurring motifs rather than stand-alone songs. It’s a dense and complex musical, but one that absolutely delivers.
From the perspective of an audience member or a musical theatre fan, it’s often considered one of Sondheim’s most accessible works. The familiarity of the fairy tales builds a first act that feels comforting, and the tonal shift into the darker second act as it dismantles the ‘happily ever after’ leads to an emotional and moving denouement. It’s a rare feat for a musical.
What to expect on the night
Fein’s production has been widely praised by critics (and by Lapine!) for finding real inventiveness within a relatively simple physical staging to conjure the woods in which the story takes place. The production certainly leans into the darker elements of the musical, includes periods of complete darkness in the auditorium.
At 2 hours 40 minutes, Into the Woods is a roller coaster ride of cheerful fairytales that shifts into a rich exploration of grief, loss, parenthood and community. It’s funny and dark but it’s also intensely moving.
It’s not immersive, per say, but the creative team have done an incredible job of making sure the audience feels like they are in the world. Critics praised the production for its use of video and lighting in particular, using design rather than elaborate scenery to bring the woods to life. If anything, that lets the story shine all the more.
Is Into the Woods worth seeing?
Any chance to see Into the Woods is a chance worth taking. Staging aside, it’s a beautiful musical, full of heart and emotion. This production in particular was a genuine critical and commercial success, selling out the Bridge Theatre and taking home plenty of accolades during awards season.
Director Jordan Fein was praised for not just the inventive staging but for putting together such a strong ensemble, with critics highlighted the cast’s handling of the demanding score. Several of the actors from the original production are returning to the Noël Coward Theatre for the transfer, and the new cast have plenty of gravitas between them.
We can’t wait for another chance to see this production, and we’d recommend you see it too. It’s one of the hottest tickets in the West End this season, so make sure you don’t miss out.
Book tickets to Into the Woods at Noël Coward Theatre here
Plan your visit to Into the Woods
- Theatre: Noël Coward Theatre, 85-88 St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4AU
- Booking dates: from 22 September 2026 until 9 January 2027
- Performance schedule: Monday to Saturday evenings; Thursday and Saturday matinees
- Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes (including interval)
- Age guidance: Suitable for ages 12+. No under-5s admitted. Content warnings include themes of grief, death and violence, plus haze, strobe effects, loud noises and periods of complete darkness in the auditorium.
- Getting there: The closest tube station is Leicester Square (Northern, Piccadilly lines), while Charing Cross is the nearest mainline rail station. Bus routes serving Charing Cross and the Strand also stop nearby.
- Access performances: The production currently has the following access performances scheduled – an audio described performance on 9 October 2026 at 7:30pm; a captioned performance on 9 November 2026 at 7:30pm; and a BSL performance on Wednesday 4 November 2026 at 7.30pm.
- Tickets: See booking details here
Noël Coward Theatre, London
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