It’s a blockbuster day for West End openings, with three major productions starting performances in London tonight – featuring a starry line-up including Imelda Staunton (Hello, Dolly!), Jack Lowden (Slow Horses), Martin Freeman (Sherlock) and Sophie McShera (Downton Abbey).
UPDATED: The Fifth Step is now starting on 12 May 2025 – so it’s Super Saturday & Super Monday!!!
Theatre fans are being treated to a rare Super Saturday as Mrs Warren’s Profession, The Fifth Step, and Shucked all start in the West End on 10 May 2025, cementing a powerhouse start to the summer season.
In George Bernard Shaw’s Mrs Warren’s Profession, five-time Olivier Award winner Imelda Staunton (The Crown, Hello, Dolly!, Follies) returns to the stage alongside her real-life daughter Bessie Carter (Bridgerton). Directed by Dominic Cooke (Hello, Dolly!, Good, Follies), this powerful production breathes new life into Shaw’s incendiary masterpiece.
At @SohoPlace Theatre in London, The Fifth Step sees Olivier Award winner Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Apple TV) and Emmy and BAFTA award winner Martin Freeman (Fargo, Sherlock, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, The Office) star in The Fifth Step.
Following an acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Festival, David Ireland’s funny and brutally honest play explores addiction, masculinity, and faith.
And adding a burst of musical comedy to the day, the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit Shucked opens at the Regent’s Park Theatre in London, kick-starting the Open Air’s new summer 2025 season.
This hit Broadway musical comedy features a book by Tony Award winner Robert Horn (Tootsie), a score by Grammy Award-winning duo Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally, and direction by Tony Award-winning legend Jack O’Brien (Hairspray). A fabulous cast includes Downton Abbey’s Sophie McShera as Maizy and West End stars Ben Joyce (Back to the Future the Musical) as Beau, Georgina Onuorah (Kiss Me, Kate, Hamilton, The Wizard of Oz) as Lulu and Steven Webb (Here You Come Again) as Storyteller 2.
Mrs Warren’s Profession is playing at the Garrick Theatre from 10 May to 16 August 2025.
Book tickets to Mrs Warren’s Profession at the Garrick Theatre in London
The Fifth Step is playing at @SohoPlace Theatre from 12 May to 26 July 2025.
Book tickets to The Fifth Step at @SohoPlace Theatre in London
Shucked is playing at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre from 10 May to 14 June 2025.
Book tickets to Shucked at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London
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Video: Opening night of Mrs Warren’s Profession in the West End starring Imelda Staunton & Bessie Carter
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