LONDON'S BEST PLAYS

AG
Apr 28
3 min read

Updated: May 13

The Capital's Top Plays, as Nominated by YOU in the Time Well Spent Awards

With more than 300 theatres, the world’s most exciting and diverse writers, actors and creatives, London is home to the best theatre on the planet.

But which are London’s best plays? You have nominated the cream of the theatrical crop in the Time Well Spent Awards, below. The ultimate winner will receive their standing ovations in August.

______________

My Neighbour Totoro

After two record-breaking, award-winning Barbican seasons, the RSC’s awe-inspiring adaptation of the celebrated 1988 animated film has hit the West End.

The enchanting coming-of-age story bagged six Oliviers for its exploration of the magical fantasy world of childhood, using extraordinary puppetry, music and sets, and a powerful and tender story.

It invites audiences to discover their spirit, and shows the transformative power of imagination, following one extraordinary summer in the lives of sisters Satsuki and Meiadaptation, meeting fantastical creatures including Totoro, the ancient and loveable guardian of the forest.

My Neighbour Totoro, Gillian Lynne Theatre,166 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5PW

Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, this gripping stage prequel takes you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story – and may hold the key to the end.

The production takes place in Hawkins, 1959, nearly 20 years before the world in the hit Netflix supernatural juggernaut.

When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy, and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.

It features groundbreaking special effects - including a monstrous US naval vessel being pulled into a parallel dimension - and a beautifully tragic story of a troubled boy with superpowers and his conflict between good and evil.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow, The Phoenix Theatre, Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0JP

The Brightening Air

This world premiere from Olivier Award-winning writer and director Conor McPherson is an entrancing tale of fate, family and unseen forces in 1980s Ireland.

Siblings, Stephen and Billie home are ambling along in their decaying farmhouse, until the arrival of an ex-clergyman uncle with an unscrupulous plan, a sister-in-law seeking a miracle, and a walking midlife crisis of a brother, determined to make trouble.

With a stellar cast including Chris O’Dowd, Brian Gleeson and Rosie Sheehy, the production asks how much of living is really just forgetting?

The Brightening Air, The Old Vic, 103 The Cut, London SE1 8NB

Witness for the Prosecution

You are summoned for jury service at this spine-tingling Agatha Christie adaptation, in a unique courtroom setting within the magnificent London County Hall.

In this gripping, and immersive story of justice, passion and betrayal, Leonard Vole is accused of murdering a widow to inherit her wealth.

The stakes are high - will Leonard survive the shocking witness testimony. Will he be able to convince the jury, and you of his innocence and escape the hangman’s noose?

Witness for the Prosecution, County Hall, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 7GP

Unicorn

Mike Bartlett's explicit, funny and provocative new comedy about a married, middle-class and middle aged couple and their younger lover is directed by James Macdonald, and stars Nicola Walker, Stephen Mangan and Erin Doherty

Polly and Nick have it all. Happily married, two children, successful careers. And yet there's something missing.

The three become a throuple and it follows their experimentation and attempts to preserve their middle class family unit.

Unicorn, Garrick Theatre, 2 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0HH

The Mousetrap

Now in its 73rd year, the longest-running play in the world invites you to follow in the footsteps of millions, by immersing yourself in Agatha Christie’s genre defying whodunnit.

The suspenseful mystery from the Queen of crime, follows a group in a remote part of the countryside as they discover there is a murderer in their midst.

One by one, suspicious characters reveal their sordid pasts until, at the last nerve-shredding moment, the play finally unveils the identity and the motive. An irresistible treat for amateur sleuths.

The Mousetrap, St Martin’s Theatre, West St, London WC2H 9NZ

The Play That Goes Wrong

The West End’s longest running comedy follows the classic whodunnit story, about a murder at a country manor and an inspector sent to capture the criminal.

However, when this plot is given to the accident-prone thespians at The Cornley Drama Society, everything that can go wrong does.

The actors and crew battle against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call, for an evening of mayhem and escapist comedy.

The Play That Goes Wrong, Duchess Theatre, 3-5 Catherine St, London WC2B 5LA