What new musical or play to see in London?

When we recently had the crazy idea of flying to London next month for a few days, because we would already be on the East Coast and it seemed so close, I was really attracted to Girl from the North Country. But that was n the basis of reviews, so I do not speak from personal experience.

Hamilton has opened in London, but it's probably as hard to get tickets there as it is in New York.

Lola- will you be going to London? If so, please post if you see some shows. I’m not a Bob Dylan fan so I’m with Emma about Girl from North County

Emma- thanks for the advice. I like a couple of Meatloaf songs but not a big enough fan to see a whole show with his music. I did look up reviews on Jaime and it looks great. I’m really interested in that. You fell asleep watching Imelda Staunton?! Loved to hate her in Harry Potter movies. I must admit I’ve been known to fall asleep in movies and at an Eddie Murphy concert but that was when I worked ovenight shifts.

Darren- I’ve been lucky enough to see Hamilton and even luckier enough to just pay the regular box office price! It’s really all they say it is. Incredibly amazing!

Hamilton tickets are impossible to get.

This is the website to review: https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/whats-on

Then check what might offered at the 1/2 price booth in Leicester Square. https://officiallondontheatre.com/tkts/

From personal experience Book of Mormon (offensive to some, hysterically funny to me), 42nd street (loved it), and the tireless Woman in Black.

Have you seen 39 Steps? We saw it in September, it was really good.

I just returned from London and did three shows: Harry Potter..., The Comedy About a Bank Robbery and Witness for the Prosecution at County Hall. My thoughts - if you haven't already read the HP play in book form - don't! I started it but never finished and was so happy to be engrossed and surprised along with everyone else. You'll be glad you saw it.

I loved The Play That Goes Wrong (saw in 2016) but was underwhelmed by The Comedy About a Bank Robbery (2018). Felt like it didn't come close to the talent and humor that we so enjoyed in the previous show. If you haven't purchased those tickets yet, do some more review reading.

I saw The Mousetrap in 2015 so this year I was very excited to see Witness for the Prosecution. I would see it again! The actors' voices were a bit quieter than I needed at times but the show was so well performed and the cast moved around the stage so beautifully that the County Hall setting really made it special. Consider Witness for the Prosecution - not a musical but a brilliant Agatha Christie show. Direct site with no booking fees: https://www.witnesscountyhall.com/

I think Book of Mormon will be closed before you get there but if not, consider seeing it if you haven't already. A little blasphemy never hurt anyone, right? I also saw Aladdin in Chicago this summer and thought it was beautifully done. I believe it's on in London until June or July.

Whatever you choose - enjoy the shows!

Emma- I do enjoy Shakespeare but still debating if I want to buy groundling tickets and stand for the whole show at the Globe. I want to save tired feet for sightseeing, not show watching lol.

Robin- I will look at 39 Steps, thank you!

MNFerst- I’m glad I’m not the only one who couldn’t get through the book. I was a bit disappointed that it didn’t grab my attention but I read the play reviews that were all positive which is why I decided to get the ticket. I was actually thinking of bringing the book and reading it in the trip but I will take your advice and not read it. I’m even more excited now to see it! Sorry to hear about The Bank Robbery...wasn’t as good as the original, I will rethink that and also look at Witness for the Prosecution. As for Book of Mormon, I’m going to see it for the second time in March and I’m sure I’ll laugh harder the second time. Thanks for the tips!

Claudia-I heard Hamilton tickets are much cheaper and easier to get in Chicago. My friend’s parents are going next month and were able to get tickets for $200. I was lucky enough to have a friend that had season tickets at Pantages so I saw it last year with her. Thank you for the link to London Theater. It’s much better than the LSBO app that I found. By the way, are you interested in an LA/OC travel group? I can’t believe we don’t have one here yet.

I'm going to differ with MNFerst ever so slightly about The Comedy About a Bank Robbery. I saw The Play That Goes Wrong in 2016 and laughed so hard -- as did the rest of the audience -- that my face hurt by the end of it. I saw Bank Robbery last year and, MNFerst is right, it wasn't as uproariously hilarious as Goes Wrong. BUT it was still very funny (I thought) and contains lots of silly word play and some very clever staging. I do wonder if I went into it with extremely high expectations after seeing Goes Wrong .... The audience may not have been roaring, but they were all still laughing a great deal and certainly seemed to be having a good time. I'd say I definitely got 20GBP of entertainment out of it.

Claudia,

If you want to see Hamilton in London, tickets for the next booking booking period (July 30 to Dec 15) go on sale Monday, January 29 at noon GMT.

When the first booking period opened (back in January 2017), I checked for tickets several hours after the booking period opened and was able to get tickets for May 2018. If you know that you will be in London this fall, there is a pretty good chance you can buy a ticket if you are willing to commit on Monday.

http://hamiltonmusical.com/london/tickets

http://theatremonkey.com/
Here is lots of advice about what's on, plus evaluations of good and bad seats in particular venues. I don't need to travel across an ocean to see international musicals and so prefer to sort out either dramas on current topics or comedies, trusting I can translate at least some of the local in-jokes. There's always (or at least often) Shakespeare beyond the Globe. Anything at the National complex or Royal Shakespeare Company is worth considering, often contemporary as well as historical. The Royal Court, Sloane Square, is where new and radical material is tested. Pinter et al called it home and it was the birthplace of the Rocky Horror Show.

Teresa- for £20, I may still see Bank Robbery. Why not, right?

Laura- I wouldn’t mind seeing Hamilton again but the new release dates will be for after my visit, unfortunately. It is mind blowingly good. Lin Manuel is a genius.

Southam-thank you for all the tips. I really do want to see a show that I won’t see anywhere else at the moment.

I see that Fanny & Alexander with Penelope Wilton and Kevin Doyle will be at the Old Vic when I'm in there in early April. That sounds fantastic! But so expensive unless you're sitting in the Bayliss Circle which looks like it's hard to see the actors.

I was looking at the same question this weekend and am thinking about seeing Witness for the Prosecution. It got good reviews and is in a very interesting setting. I think it's worth checking out; London Theatre Direct is offering discount (no fees) on tickets purchased I think until mid-February, if you aren't already on their email list it might be worth signing up - I've tried to include the link below.

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/oct/23/witness-for-the-prosecution-review-christie-thriller-makes-judicious-use-of-county-hall

https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/2741/witness-for-the-prosecution-tickets.aspx?utm_source=London+Theatre+Direct&utm_campaign=9f430bc0e2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_25&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0dc745c598-9f430bc0e2-242675401&mc_cid=9f430bc0e2&mc_eid=470f7ab1ef

Claudette,
I would do 42nd Street. There is a possibility it might move to Broadway - seems to be a toss-up between that production and one that is in Chicago. I have tickets for NY production of Cursed Child next fall. I might be seeing something in May when I go to London but very unsure as my time there is very limited.

If you decide to start a LA/OC travel group let me know, I would be interested.

Globe: I may have missed something, but you have plenty of time to purchase Globe tickets online that are not groundlings. A press release this month reports Hamlet, As You Like It, The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Winter's Tale, Othello and Love's Labour's Lost will be played this summer - no dates yet. If none of those appeal, you can scratch that venue off your list. More than once, I have caught a matinee the day of arrival. I admit, I would fall asleep at night. Seats are comfy enough - you can rent a pillow.

For theater goers who are hard of hearing the following website lists productions which have open captioning performances and the dates of those performances.

https://officiallondontheatre.com/access/captioned/

Larlock- I sent you a PM. I’m trying to get a group meeting together. First meeting is set for Feb 17.

Definitely see Everybody's Talking About Jamie! Girl From the North Country's closed now, but it was brilliant. Sad you missed it!

Have you checked out www.theatremonkey.com and www.SeatPlan.com for recommendations for seats? They're both great sites that help with choosing seats and have loads of additional, useful info. SeatPlan lets you add reviews and earn credits for theatre tokens, it's a really great system if you're a regular theatregoer.

Here’s an update as I arrived back from London 2 weeks ago. I saw Young Frankenstein which is just as funny as the movie. I saw Everyone’s Talking About Jaime which was fantastic and I heard may be turned into a movie. I’m hoping they cast theater Jaime as the movie Jaime because he was just so charming and talented. Lastly, I saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 and 2 and I really really hope they turn it into a movie with the original cast. Oh, that would just be incredible and every HP nerd’s dream!