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.

The National Theatre has a big line-up of plays coming in 2023, including Sam Mendes directing Jack Thorne’s 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; and the RSC is transferring two plays in the West End, with a stage adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel Hamnet coming to the Garrick Theatre; and My Neighbour Totoro heading back to the Barbican Theatre.

Top Plays coming to London in 2023

The Motive and the Cue
The Motive and the Cue - Noel Coward Theatre
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The Motive and the Cue
Noël Coward Theatre
Oscar winner Sam Mendes directs a hot new play from Jack Thorne
Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Poster of Stranger Things The First Shadow - Phoenix Theatre London (2025)
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Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Phoenix Theatre
Stranger Things: The First Shadow at London’s Phoenix Theatre – a thrilling stage prequel to the smash-hit Netflix series.
Hamnet
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Hamnet
The RSC's production of Hamnet based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, comes to the West End's Garrick Theatre
My Neighbour Totoro
Poster advertising the stage show 'My Neighbor Totoro' with a large Totoro and a girl with a red umbrella in rain.
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My Neighbour Totoro
Gillian Lynne Theatre
Experience My Neighbour Totoro at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, London. Don't miss the RSC’s Olivier Award-winning hit. Must End 10 January 2027
Peter Pan Goes Wrong
Peter Pan Goes Wrong 2023
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Peter Pan Goes Wrong
Mischief Theatre's acclaimed production of Peter Pan Goes Wrong is back touring the UK, following a smash-hit West End run.
Lyonesse
Lyonesse - Harold Pinter Theatre London
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Lyonesse
Harold Pinter Theatre
Acclaimed actresses Kristin Scott Thomas (Slow Horses) and Lily James (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) return to the West End stage in new play Lyonesse at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
The Enfield Haunting
The Enfield Haunting - London Ambassadors Theatre
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The Enfield Haunting
Ambassadors Theatre
Catherine Tate and David Threlfall star in thrilling new ghost play The Enfield Haunting at the West End's Ambassadors Theatre.
Backstairs Billy
Backstairs Billy at the Duke of York's Theatre
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Backstairs Billy
The Tom Stoppard Theatre (formerly the Duke of York's Theatre)
Luke Evans and Penelope Wilton star in Backstairs Billy at the Duke of York's Theatre in London.
The Homecoming
The Homecoming - Young Vic Theatre
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The Homecoming
Young Vic Theatre
The Homecoming, Harold Pinter's modern classic thrillingly re-explored by Matthew Dunster
Elephant
Elephant at the Menier Chocolate Factory London
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Elephant
Menier Chocolate Factory
Award-winner Anoushka Lucas writes and stars in a reimagined new production of her acclaimed play Elephant at the Menier Chocolate Factory


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Main photo: 2023 Highlights

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