Join us in celebrating the best of London theatre with Theatre Weekly’s Top Ten shows of 2023, from gripping dramas to crowd-pleasing musicals, our curated list reflects the cream of the crop that graced London’s stages last year
Dive into the best of London theatre with Theatre Weekly’s Top Ten Shows of 2023. As the curtain falls on another extraordinary year, our curated list celebrates the diverse and outstanding performances that made waves in the city.
From breakthrough plays to blockbuster musicals, our Top Ten Shows of 2023 list captures the essence of a year filled with theatrical brilliance. Join us in celebrating the shows that left a lasting impact on London’s vibrant theatre scene.
La Cage Aux Folles at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
La Cage Aux Folles tells the story of Georges (Billy Carter), the owner of a glamorous drag nightclub called La Cage Aux Folles, and his husband Albin (Carl Mullaney), the star performer of the club who goes by the stage name Zaza. The story takes off when Georges’ son, Jean-Michel (Ben Culleton), announces his engagement to Anne (Sophie Pourret), the daughter of a conservative politician, Edward Dindon (normally played by John Owen-Jones, but on this occasion, it was his cover, Craig Armstrong). The catch? Anne’s family is ultra-traditional and anti-gay.
How did it feel to be in the audience of La Cage Aux Folles? You’re entertained, warmed, intrigued, and, as strange as it might seem, you feel loved. You feel included. And that’s the point; you are what you are, and that’s precisely the message La Cage Aux Folles leaves you with – and it’s a welcome one.
The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre – Lyttleton
Richard Burton was a roaring success in the role of Hamlet, but the production became the longest running Hamlet in Broadway history. But if something was rotten in the state of Denmark, things weren’t much better in the rehearsal room. Directed by Sam Mendes, The Motive and the Cue covers the period from first table read through to the first performance.
Sam Mendes and Jack Thorne have together created a brilliant piece of theatre, certainly one that’s fascinating to anyone with an interest in the industry, but equally entertaining for anyone who loves a good story.
The Motive and the Cue has transferred to the West End
Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the Phoenix Theatre
If you know what a Demogorgon is then you’re amongst the millions of people worldwide who have tuned in to one of Netflix’s most viewed series, Stranger Things, and undoubtedly fall into the target audience for the new West End stage version, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which had its world premiere at London’s Phoenix Theatre.
While you can absolutely enjoy this as a stand-alone play, it’s the way it’s been so cleverly intertwined with the TV series that makes it a really compelling piece of theatre, you could hear audible gasps around the theatre as secrets were revealed and loose ends tied up. Visually, it’s stunning in every possible way and undoubtedly Stranger Things: The First Shadow sets a new standard for what we can expect from theatre.
A Strange Loop at the Barbican
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and taking home two Tony Awards, Michael R Jackson’s beguiling meta-musical, A Strange Loop, came to London and the Barbican Theatre for a limited engagement, directed by Stephen Brackett.
A heartfelt and authentic piece of writing about a life where discontentment and self-loathing can perhaps be overcome by refusing to make compromises to an unforgiving world.
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) at the Kiln Theatre
Adapted from their previous work, The Season, this new musical from Jim Barne and Kit Buchan is premiering at the Kiln Theatre, and while it may have all the hallmarks of those traditional Christmas films, this surprisingly heartfelt and funny musical dispenses with the predictable rom-com set up for something far more interesting.
It’s defined by its small cast and the combination of Dujonna Gift and Sam Tutty couldn’t be any better. If this were a movie, it would be the one that you curl up on the couch with when you want to laugh, cry and see a little sprinkling of snowfall.
Shirley Valentine at the Duke of York’s Theatre
An entire generation will associate the name Shirley Valentine with Pauline Collins, who portrayed the character in the West End, on Broadway, and on screen. Almost four decades on from the premiere of Willy Russell’s play, there was a new Shirley in town, and she was a revelation.
As a country, we fell in love with this Liverpool housewife in the eighties, but all these years later we can fall in love again, because Sheridan Smith’s heartfelt portrayal of Shirley Valentine was the must-see theatre event of the year.
A Little Life at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Anyone who read Hanya Yanagihara’s much praised, and controversial, novel would already be expecting a harrowing experience in the stage adaptation.
There’s little in the way of hope or redemption in A Little Life, it coerces the audience into hoping that Jude may soon die, just to escape the misery of living. A deeply moving and affecting piece of theatre, A Little Life is unflinching and searing in its portrayal of just how awful life can be.
For Black Boys… at the Apollo Theatre
Since premiering at the New Diorama Theatre and subsequently transferring to the Royal Court, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy had been the talk of the London theatre scene and landed it a West End transfer in March this year.
This trailblazing ensemble cast do not just perform the play, they live and breathe it in a way that is rarely seen on stage. For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy brings to the West End an essential set of lived experiences that have been missing from our stages for far too long.
For Black Boys Returns to the West End in 2024.
The Little Big Things at @sohoplace
This world premiere production comes to @SohoPlace, directed by Luke Sheppard, and is based on Henry Fraser’s best-selling memoir of the same name. As a promising rugby player with a real future in the game, Fraser went on his first ever ‘lad’s holiday’ with his two older brothers. A diving accident would leave Fraser paralysed from the neck down, and finding every aspect of his life changed forever.
The Little Big Things tells a truly inspiring story about a life-altering incident, but it could be life-changing for audiences who see it, so powerful is the message that in two short hours, you may find your perspective on the world changed irreversibly.
Next to Normal at the Donmar Warehouse
Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning Next To Normal had already proved that themes of mental health, grief, and drug abuse could be explored in a musical. For a long time the UK has patiently been waiting for it to cross the Atlantic, and Next to Normal finally arrived with a refreshed production directed by Michael Longhurst, at the Donmar Warehouse.
Next To Normal does an incredible job of considerately and sensitively opening up the conversation on Bipolar disorder, and how, as one of the songs mentions, the cure can be worse than the symptoms.
Next to Normal will transfer to the West End in 2024
