Back to the Future is off, the Adelphi is getting a makeover, Billy Elliot is incoming, but what else might play the Adelphi Theatre in London?
We take a look at what Theatreland life could look like at the West End’s Adelphi Theatre after Back to the Future’s DeLorean zips off out of London and into the future for the final time; and what happens between Back to the Future and Billy Elliot, and beyond.
Back to the Future in London – Caden Brauch and cast. Photo by Matt Crockett
Back to the Future leaves London
In November, the producers of Back to the Future announced that the show was finally leaving the West End in April 2026, after four and a half years at the Adelphi Theatre.
A tour is planned from September 2026, but casting is yet to be announced. The show currently stars American actors Caden Brauch as Marty McFly and Cory English as Doctor Emmett Brown, with English actress and social media star Maddie Grace Jepson as Lorraine Baines.
Book tickets to Back to the Future at the West End’s Adelphi Theatre in London
Adelphi Theatre – Proposed new foyer area. Photo Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
Adelphi Theatre gets a makeover
Following Back to the Future’s exit on 12 April 2026, LW Theatres and the Nederlander Organization, who co-own the historic Adelphi Theatre, plan to make some changes to the exterior of the venue on the Strand and its main foyer.
The up to £2 million worth of work will take place from April, following Back to the Future’s closing, all through spring and early summer into July 2026.
There will be better facilities and access for wheelchair users, a new ticket office, and a self-service drinks space in the foyer similar to LW Theatres’ London Palladium. Also, a renewed facade for the theatre, including a canopy that runs across the whole length of the entrance.
The Theatres Trust has been consulted on the new scheme and consider it “to be sensitively designed whilst providing demonstrable benefits for the operations, audience experience and inclusivity of this theatre. We broadly consider the proposed interventions to be of neutral or positive impact, and in cases where there is a degree of less than substantial harm we consider this to be outweighed by the public benefits of enhancing accessibility and supporting ongoing operation and viability.”
The designs for the Adelphi renovations are by architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, who also designed @SohoPlace Theatre with Haworth Tompkins. Read more about the plans for Adelphi Theatre here.
Billy Elliot The Musical. Previous cast. Photo by Alastair Muir
Billy Elliot The Musical
Earlier this month it was announced that Billy Elliot The Musical is returning to the West End next year, to celebrate 10 years since it was last in London.
The show is being revived by the original creative team, including director Stephen Daldry (The Crown) and choreographer Peter Darling, and will play at the Adelphi Theatre for a strictly limited season from 12 February to 31 July 2027.
Prior to the West End the show is touring the UK and Ireland from November 2026.
More about tickets to Billy Elliot The Musical
Between BTTF and Billy Elliot
The big question is, what are the possible shows that could make the Adelphi Theatre their next home? And who will come into town between the Adelphi’s renovations completing in July 2026, and Billy Elliot returning to London from February 2027.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Illusionist
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s brand new musical The Illusionist seems the most likely candidate to go into the Adelphi Theatre. Lloyd Webber co-owns the venue through his LW Theatres company, and he has form in opening new musicals there (Sunset Boulevard and Love Never Dies to name two).
BUT, not yet.
The show is still being worked on, and when it’s ready the show’s producer Michael Harrison with Lloyd Webber will not be happy with a limited run, so it’s very unlikely The Illusionist is going to go into the Adelphi from August 2026 to January 2027 – only 6 months.
That said, it’s more than likely that The Illusionist will premiere at the Adelphi Theatre from August 2027.
The show was originally said (by Lloyd Webber) to be West End-bound for a September 2026 opening, although that seemed ambitious, even at the time of the 2025 Tonys when Lloyd Webber talked about the show.
Jamie Lloyd, of recent Evita and Sunset Boulevard fame, had been tapped as the director, although a slightly public falling out between Lord Lloyd Webber and Lloyd may have scuppered that.
The new musical is set in 1900s Vienna and inspired by the film, with a book by Oscar-winner Chris Terrio (Argo) and lyrics by British singer-songwriter Bruno Major.
Something Rotten to star Jason Manford in Manchester. Photo via PR
Something Rotten
A new, full production of hit Broadway musical Something Rotten is being staged in Manchester this summer, from 16 June to 19 July 2026.
The show will star actor and comedian Jason Manford (The Wizard of Oz, The Producers) as Nick Bottom, and Richard Fleeshman (Riot Women, Coronation Street) as William Shakespeare, following their acclaimed performances in the 2024 London concert production.
There are plenty of West End rumours about this show. The concert at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane was a big success, and the West End needs a new musical comedy with a few big-name stars.
The dates do align with the end of renovations at the Adelphi Theatre, so this is a definite candidate. And if not for the Adelphi, then maybe somewhere else in Theatreland.
Good Night, and Good Luck. George Clooney. Photo by Emilio Madrid
George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck
A play at the Adelphi? Well, in the last few years we’ve had plays at the Prince Edward and Theatre Royal Drury Lane, so all bets are off in terms of what genre we think fits what venue.
Add to this that Hollywood superstar George Clooney has been very vocal about his wish to bring to London his barnstorming, box-office-bursting Broadway production of Good Night, and Good Luck.
The show proved box-office gold on Broadway, beating all expectations of how commercially successful a play could be. Plus, it’s an important subject (the dangerous political fear-mongering of Senator Joseph McCarthy) at a very potent time in America. And it’s GEORGE CLOONEY.
Jesus Christ Superstar starring Sam Ryder (Photo by Jack Robinson)
Jesus Christ Superstar
Theatre fans’ dreams of Jamie Lloyd’s hit productions of Andrew Lloyd Webber Evita or Sunset Boulevard coming back to London seem to grow fainter with each passing month. Also, the Adelphi doesn’t have a balcony!
But one Lloyd Webber megahit which could be available is Jesus Christ Superstar starring Sam Ryder as Jesus.
The show is queued up for the London Palladium this summer, from June to early September, but if the Adelphi was willing to wait a few months (heck, those renovations could overrun!), then maybe it’s time to keep one of the Palladium summer hits alive for longer.
Tickets have been selling like hotcakes, and that’s before full casting is announced. We’ve had crazier ideas!
One Day The Musical in rehearsals
One Day The Musical
Based on David Nicholls’ bestseller and the hugely successful movie and TV series, One Day The Musical is about to start an out-of-town tryout in Edinburgh from 6 February to 19 April 2026. If successful, it could be a potential for a limited Adelphi season.
The producers and director Max Webster aren’t taking any chances with the casting, getting Jamie Muscato (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge!) to play Dexter, and Sharon Rose (Sylvia, Hamilton) as Emma.
Sharon will be tied up with Sylvia from September, so if the show did move to the Adelphi in July it wouldn’t be with her.
The Karate Kid The Musical and 13 Going on 30 The Musical
Other shows we’ve considered
Shows we’ve considered but rejected include The Karate Kid The Musical, which is touring this spring and summer in the UK, and then heading to Toronto from September to November for the Mirvish Theatres season. Those dates seem to rule out the Adelphi.
We’ve also ruled out 13 Going on 30 for the same reason. The show is heading to Toronto from November 2026 to January 2027, so the dates don’t work. Like The Karate Kid, it is West End-bound, so keep your eye on where these two new musicals might head to.
Wildcards include the current tours of 2:22 A Ghost Story, and Priscilla Queen of the Desert, both of which currently end in July 2026 – unless they add more dates.
Shows not even anywhere near announced, but persistently rumoured as coming in include New York show of the moment Death Becomes Her; Drew McOnie’s The Artist; Broadway’s The Notebook and The Outsiders; and Emma Thompson’s Nanny McPhee.
Your guess is as good as ours!
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