A guide to musicals and plays in London that are based on historical events.

History is fascinating, and theatre more than any other form of entertainment brings history and the past alive – right in front of the audience.

This extraordinary collection of shows provides tickets to both plays and musicals that are set in the past, and based on real-world history and events.

From Tudor and Elizabeth England in Six The Musical tickets at the Vaudeville Theatre, to blockbuster musical Hamilton about the American founding father, and more contemporary biographical musicals such as about the life of Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, and The Temptations.

Amadeus - Noel Coward Theatre London - Tickets
Amadeus
Noël Coward Theatre
See Amadeus at the Noël Coward Theatre, starring Michael Sheen and Callum Scott Howells, directed by Jeremy Herrin.

Starts: 17 Apr 2027
Booking to: 7 Aug 2027

Cloud 9 - National Theatre - Tickets - London
Cloud 9
National Theatre - Lyttelton Theatre
See Caryl Churchill's landmark satire at the National Theatre's Lyttelton, directed by Dominic Cooke. November 2026–January 2027.

Starts: 2 Nov 2026
Booking to: 13 Jan 2027

Promotional image for Don Giovanni by Royal Ballet & Opera, showing a couple embracing on a stairway in front of bold red graffiti art.
Don Giovanni
Royal Opera House
Book tickets for Mozart’s classic work Don Giovanni from the Royal Ballet and Opera.

Booking to: 15 Oct 2026

Man showing his teeth coming out of clear water, with yellow text reading: August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean
Gem of the Ocean
Young Vic Theatre
Gem of the Ocean tickets for its run at the Young Vic, London. August Wilson's moving exploration of resistance, redemption and freedom, directed by Nadia Fall.

Starts: 14 May 2027
Booking to: 10 Jul 2027

Hamilton - Tickets - London
Hamilton
Victoria Palace Theatre
Book Hamilton tickets to see Lin-Manuel Miranda’s multi award-winning musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London.

Booking to: 2 Oct 2027

Poster for Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare at Shakespeare's Globe, with a red theater interior in the background.
Julius Caesar
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Shakespeare's epic political thriller, staged for the first time ever in the intimate, candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, and starring Kate Duchêne, Caoilfhionn Dunne, Adam Gillen and Natey Jones.

Starts: 6 Nov 2026
Booking to: 14 Feb 2027

Poster for King John by William Shakespeare, with large white title on a dark ornate door and a torn collage of historical portraits and medieval drawings taped to panels.
King John
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Book tickets to King John at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

Starts: 20 Feb 2027
Booking to: 11 Apr 2027

Les Miserables - London
Les Misérables
Sondheim Theatre
Book tickets now for Les Misérables, the world’s longest-running musical in the West End.

Booking to: 2 Oct 2027

★  Save up to 25%
Dancer leaps midair above a cobblestone street at sunset in a promotional poster for Little Dancer: A New Musical
Little Dancer
Theatre Royal Haymarket
Little Dancer - a new musical starring Tiler Peck, Julian Ovenden & Laura Pitt-Pulford at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

Starts: 15 Feb 2027
Booking to: 27 Mar 2027

Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeares Globe
Much Ado About Nothing
Shakespeare's Globe
Book tickets for Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe and enjoy Shakespeare’s sharpest romantic comedy in a sun-soaked world of gossip, desire and second chances.

Booking to: 24 Oct 2026

★  Save up to 44%
Promotional poster for Nevermore: Edgar Allan Poe show, featuring a costumed performer with a feathered prop and bold red/black typography.
Nevermore
Charing Cross Theatre
Book Nevermore tickets at Charing Cross Theatre, Catalyst Theatre’s gothic musical about Edgar Allan Poe.

Starts: 19 Jul 2027
Booking to: 9 Oct 2027

Operation Mincemeat - West End
Operation Mincemeat
Fortune Theatre
Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, Operation Mincemeat is the hilarious comedy musical now playing at the West End's Fortune Theatre in London.

Booking to: 20 Feb 2027

Sinatra The Musical - Tickets - London 2026
Sinatra The Musical
Aldwych Theatre
Book tickets for Sinatra The Musical, charting the extraordinary life of Frank Sinatra, starring Joel Harper-Jackson, at the Aldwych Theatre.

Booking to: 10 Apr 2027

★  Save up to 48%
SIX Tickets - Vaudeville Theatre, London
Six The Musical
Vaudeville Theatre
500 years of Tudor Queens remixed into a celebration of sisterly sass-itude in SIX The Musical at the Vaudeville Theatre

Booking to: 28 Nov 2027

Poster for 'Sylvia: A Musical Revolution' featuring a group of performers in period costumes against an orange cityscape background, large orange title text S Y L V I A.
Sylvia
Royal Albert Hall
Beverley Knight and Sharon Rose return in Sylvia, the Olivier Award-winning hip-hop and soul musical about the fight for women's suffrage, coming to the Royal Albert Hall.

Starts: 13 Nov 2026
Booking to: 15 Nov 2026

The Banality of Evil
The Banality of Evil
Arcola Theatre
Book tickets for the world premiere of The Banality of Evil at Arcola Theatre from writer-director Julia Pascal.

Booking to: 7 Nov 2026

The Pianist Musical London, Park Theatre
The Pianist
Park Theatre
The acclaimed memoir and film lands on the stage in a new musical adaptation.

Booking to: 28 Nov 2026

The Standard of Living Final Production Artwork
The Standard of Living
Theatre Royal Haymarket
See Rory Kinnear as economist John Maynard Keynes in James Graham's new play The Standard of Living, directed by Nicholas Hytner.

Booking to: 12 Dec 2026



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Main photo: HAMILTON - London Cast - Reuben Joseph as Hamilton, Waylon Jacobs, Jake Halsey-Jones and Emile Ruddock and Company. Photo by Danny Kaan

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