From Shakespeare by candlelight and a musical about an unlikely alliance to a 1970s feminist satire and a musical adaptation of a beloved novel, November is shaping up to be a rich month for London theatre. These are the ten shows we’re most looking forward to this month.
New productions are poised to welcome new audiences across London this November, and it’s shaping up to be a rich and varied month. Whether you’re keen to settle into the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for Shakespeare’s political tragedy Julius Caesar or watch a landmark satire from the late 1970s reach the National Theatre’s stage, there’s something for every taste. If musicals are more your thing, there is a true-story tale of unlikely solidarity at the Bridge Theatre and a new adaptation of a beloved novel to explore.
From old classics and new British plays to musicals with big, romantic songs, these are the shows we’re most looking forward to in November.
10 new shows opening in November 2026
Cloud 9
National Theatre
Booking from 2 November 2026 until 13 January 2027
Caryl Churchill’s satirical comedy Cloud 9, first staged in 1979, remains one of the most influential plays of the last half-century. This new production reunites the playwright with director Dominic Cooke, with whom she has a long-standing creative partnership spanning multiple major theatrical productions.
Blending surreal comedy with sharp political satire, the play challenges conventional ideas around gender, sexuality and colonialism as it explores two different times.
Its first act is set in a Victorian colonial household in Africa, where a British official’s family lives by rigid societal rules before the second act jumps ahead a century, to London in 1979, where the same characters have aged only by about 25 years.
National Theatre - Lyttelton Theatre, London
Julius Caesar
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Booking from 6 November 2026 until 14 February 2027
Shakespeare’s political thriller comes to the intimate, candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for the first time. Directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins, this new production of Julius Caesar promises to be an intimate affair with plenty of atmosphere.
Shakespeare’s tragedy of ambition, conspiracy and the cost of political violence is a popular play to stage, but it’s never been done quite like this. Modelled on a Jacobean indoor theatre, the production will be lit entirely by candlelight.
The play follows a plot to remove Julius Caesar, led by Cassius and Brutus, that escalates into civil war once public opinion turns.
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London
Nine Night
Kiln Theatre
Booking from 12 November 2026 until 2 January 2027
When Nine Night first arrived in the West End in 2018, following a run at the National Theatre, playwright Natasha Gordon became the first black British female playwright to have a play staged in the West End.
Eight years later, the acclaimed family drama returns to London in a brand-new production at the Kiln Theatre. Directed by Amit Sharma, this new staging promising laughter and sorrow in equal measure, using an intimate space to draw the audience closer to this intimate moment.
The play follows a Jamaican-British family as they gather for a nine-night wake, exploring how grief, memory, and the tensions between generations play out in a household where everyone has something to say.
Kiln Theatre, London
PRIDE The Musical
Bridge Theatre
Booking from 12 November 2026 until 8 May 2027
Based on the 2014 film, PRIDE the Musical is perhaps the most talked about premiere of 2026. After playing sold out runs in Wales and at the National Theatre, the musical takes the stage at the Bridge Theatre for an extended run and it’s a must see.
Telling the true story of how a group of London LGBTQ+ activists raised money for striking Welsh miners during the 1984–85 miners’ strike and the unlikely alliance that formed between the two communities, it’s one of the hot tickets on London’s stage this month.
The musical reunites writer Stephen Beresford and director Matthew Warchus – the duo behind the beloved film – with music by Christopher Nightingale, Josh Cohen and DJ Walde.
Bridge Theatre, London
Speculations
Marylebone Theatre
Booking from 30 October 2026 until 3 January 2027
While it technically opens two days before November, Speculations at the Marylebone Theatre is still making the list. This new political thriller from Torben Betts looks into the mysterious deaths of Marilyn Monroe, President John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald through the lens of journalist Dorothy Kilgallen.
Trevor Nunn directs this world premiere, and Olivier Award winning actress Janie Dee stars as Kilgallen, fresh off a West End run in The Truth.
The twentieth century’s most notorious deaths are always a captivating topic, and the real life reporter who wouldn’t take no for an answer, promise an evening of gripping and sharp mystery.
Marylebone Theatre, London
Sylvia
Royal Albert Hall
Booking from 13–15 November 2026
Playing for five performances only, this is one show you won’t want to miss. West End royalty Beverley Knight returns to the role that earned her an Olivier Award in Sylvia, the hip hop, funk and soul musical that celebrates Sylvia Pankhurst.
Knight stars as historic figure Emmeline Pankhurst, opposite Naomi Katiyo as her daughter Sylvia, the lesser-known Pankhurst who fought for social justice alongside her mother and her sisters. in the suffragette movement.
The musical arrives at the Royal Albert Hall following a a sold-out run at the Old Vic and short UK tour.
Royal Albert Hall, London
The Afronauts
Royal Court Theatre
Booking from 14 November until 19 December 2026
Ryan Calais Cameron returns to the Royal Court after his smash hit For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy with a world premiere play that tells a different story.
In The Afronauts, he dramatises the story of Edward Mukuka Nkoloso, a Zambian schoolteacher who in 1964 gathered a group of young dreamers outside Lusaka to train them for a mission to the stars.
Cameron will co-direct the piece alongside Monique Touko, who recently made waves with her production of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and Marie & Rosetta.
Royal Court Theatre, London
One Day The Musical
Garrick Theatre
Booking from 17 November 2026 until 14 March 2027
The beloved story of Emma and Dexter comes to the West End this November, starring West End darlings Jamie Muscato and Sharon Rose. Adapted from David Nicholls’ bestselling novel, One Day the Musical premiered in Edinburgh with a sold out run before making its way down to London.
With a book by David Greig (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and a score by Abner and Amanda Ramirez of Johnnyswim, this new take on a beloved story of love, timing and missed chances is sure to be a hit with London audiences.
Like the novel it’s based on, the musical follows Emma and Dexter, who meet on the night of their graduation in July 1988 and are revisited each year on St Swithin’s Day across two decades.
Garrick Theatre, London
Jumpers
Hampstead Theatre
Booking from 25 November 2026 until 23 January 2027
Of all of Tom Stoppard’s works, this comedy, first staged in 1972, is perhaps one of his lesser revived works, but if you’re a fan of Arcadia or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, it’s worth a visit.
Jumpers mixes murder, metaphysics and acrobatics with Stoppard’s signature brand of wordplay and intellectualism. The play’s first London revival in over 20 years is directed by Blanche McIntyre, and stars Rhea Norwood (Heartstopper, Cabaret) as Dotty and James Corrigan (A Dolls House, My Lady Jane) as George.
The farcical comedy centres on George Moore, a moral philosopher whose attempt to write a paper on the existence of God is repeatedly interrupted by his wife’s nightclub act and a murder at his home.
Hampstead Theatre, London
The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book
National Theatre
Booking from 13 November 2026 – 6 February 2027
Rudyard Kipling’s stories, first published in 1894, come to life an a brand new adaptation by Anupama Chandrasekhar (The Father and the Assassin). Directed by the National Theatre’s new artistic director Indhu Rubasingham, The Jungle Book promises to be an enchanting reimagining.
Billed as a festive winter warmer, this new production will see audiences transported to the lush and vibrant world of the jungle, where Mowgli and his animal friends find themselves on an unforgettable adventure.
Puppetry by Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes will bring beloved characters Baloo, Bagheera and Shere Khan to life on stage, and its one the whole family is sure to enjoy.
National Theatre - Olivier Theatre, London
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