I’m looking forward to March 2026 and what the theatre has to offer. Here is a list of openings/media nights, and extensions in March across London (and beyond). I’ll note below the ones I hope to cover with a *.
I’ve tried to highlight something for every taste and budget.
A
America the Beautiful (King’s Head) – Chapter 1 and Chapter 2; (Greenwich Theatre) – Chapter 3
In this sensational UK premiere from the writer of In The Company Of Men and The Shape Of Things comes an exclusive collection of savage short plays offering a uniquely skewed view of life and relationships in the modern world.
Written over the past decade for the Labute New Theater Festival in the US, these shorts are here brought together for the first time and for a strictly limited run, produced by Greenwich Theatre for the King’s Head. “There is no writer on the planet these days who is writing better than Neil Labute” (The New Yorker).
The first two chapters play at King’s Head Theatre from 9–21 March, before transferring to Greenwich Theatre for Chapter 3 from 31 March–4 April.
B
Body & Soul by English National Ballet (Sadler’s Wells) – 19-28 Mar 2026
How do we interpret the world around us? How do we respond and react, in our bodies and in our minds? Crystal Pite and Kameron N. Saunders create two powerful works which go to the very core of the human experience.
This bold new programme features the UK premiere of Body and Soul (Part 1) from acclaimed choreographer Crystal Pite, who originally created the piece for Paris Opera Ballet and has worked with companies across the world.
This hypnotic work presents variations on a theme of conflict. It opens with two dancers in black suits and white shirts, bathed in a stark light. They move to a voice, speaking in French, describing their actions. As the words repeat, with loops and echoes, the duet swells into a crowd, seamlessly blending precision and fluidity and morphing into mesmerising waves of movement across the stage.
Broken Glass (Young Vic) – 20 Feb – 19 Apr 2026
Brooklyn, New York, 1938. Sylvia Gellburg reads about the violent attacks against Jewish communities carried out an ocean away in Germany. Most people look away, believing it will pass. Not Sylvia. Her obsession grows, and soon she loses her ability to walk — a paralysis her husband, Phillip, believes is all in her head. Sylvia forms an undeniable bond with Dr Hyma,n and soon the cracks in her marriage become impossible to ignore. In the face of silence, Sylvia rises in defiance.
Jordan Fein (Fiddler on the Roof) brings this Olivier Award-winning Arthur Miller play to the Young Vic; a bold and passionate story about the consequences of disconnecting with the realities of our world.
C
Choir Boy (Stratford East) – 26 Mar – 26 Apr 2026
From Academy Award-winning writer Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight, The Brother/Sister Plays) comes this exhilarating and tender coming-of-age story. Nancy Medina’s celebrated production premiered at Bristol Old Vic in 2023 and won three Black British Theatre Awards, including Best Production and Best Director.
Pharus is a confident and gifted singer who has earned his position as a soloist. But when his pride is sullied by one of his peers, he falters… what does it mean to be a young, Black, queer man – and to be one at the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys?
We’re sent on an electrifying journey through the growing pains of humanity as the boys, together, navigate spirituality, sexuality, race, identity, and brotherhood on their way to becoming men. Threaded throughout with soul-stirring a cappella gospel hymns and spirituals, this beautiful, joyous play rejoices in all that it means to march to your own drum.
The Choir of Man (New Wimbledon) – 14-21 Mar 2026
Brimming with hits from artists such as Queen, Luther Vandross, Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns & Roses, Avicii and Katy Perry, to name but a few, this is a pub like no other!
A wildly talented group of incredible instrumentalists, world-class wordsmiths, and sensational singers, this cast of nine (extra)ordinary guys serve it all… live!
An uplifting celebration of community and friendship where everyone is welcome, don’t miss this feel-good night of foot-stomping entertainment, so good you’ll want to come back and see it again and again.
Chopped Liver and Unions (Tabard) – 22-24 Mar 2026
Sara Wesker – trade unionist, political activist and radical – led the “singing strikers of 1928” to improve the working conditions of female garment workers in London’s East End. But her love of the cause battled with the love of her life. Which would win? And was it all worth it?
A tale from a century ago but very much a play for today, this 5-star reviewed, OffFest-nominated one-woman play gives a vivid account of the life of a forgotten woman who should be revered as a working-class heroine.
Consumed (Park Theatre) – 18 Mar – 18 Apr 2026
A 90th birthday party that no-one seems to want.
Four generations of Northern Irish women, reunited under one roof.
A house full of hungry ghosts, with more than one skeleton in the closet.
Turn off your phones at dinner.
Winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2022, Karis Kelly’s play is a pitch-black and twisted comedy of dysfunctional family dynamics, generational trauma and national boundaries.
D
Dead Poets Live (Coronet) – 7-8 Mar 2026
Dead Poets Live‘s Emily Dickinson returns to The Coronet, starring Patsy Ferran.
“Though I read and teach Emily Dickinson constantly, I remain a bewildered idolator, struggling to understand her enigmatic sublimities… At her strongest, she has something in her lyrics that recalls the swiftness and compression of Shakespeare’s mind.” – Harold Bloom
Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) wrote nearly 1,800 poems – epigrammatic, metaphysical, tragic, playful, intimate, and unsettling. Her work resists easy interpretation, condensing vast emotional and philosophical worlds into lines of startling precision and power.
Drawing on poems, letters, and critical insight, Dead Poets Live brings Dickinson’s life and work vividly to the stage, exploring the mind of a writer who remains at once deeply personal and profoundly unknowable. This dramatised reading invites audiences into the wit, intensity, and radical originality of one of America’s greatest poets.
E
The Extraordinary Life of a Rat Racer (Etcetera) – 7-10 Mar 2026
Pulled earrings. Slit wrists. Chopped veins. T-rex arms.
Eva is just a regular rat racer. Single mother to a 6-year-old boy, she is stuck in a world that keeps punching her down, andis desperately trying to play the game – pay the bills, get him to football, try to survive mum’s comments.
But her mind has different plans. On the way to an important job interview, Eva gets bombarded by a series of ever-worsening intrusive thoughts.
So prepare for the uncomfortable and dive into Eva’s mind. Guided by Arthur, a grotesque, sadistic, half-real figure, this two-hander surreal dark comedy will bring you on a journey that will shift your concept of normality.
G
Grit, Glitter and Gaslight: The Sarah McGuinness Show (Circle and Star) – 3-21 Mar 2026 (not Mondays)
Emmy-nominated, Sarah McGuinness has transformed her behind-the-scenes life with the stars into a critically acclaimed show, a one-woman musical cabaret, first performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023, then transferring to London for a successful run in 2024. Now this feisty doyenne to the stars strips back the shrouds of celebrity mystery and takes her audience on a jukebox-journey of her career in showbusiness.
Documentary maker and musician Sarah has turned the lens on herself to present an original, poignant and powerful cabaret telling her life story, presenting an extraordinary musical journey of her own life, blending the power of live performance, storytelling and song. Through the music of David Bowie, Kate Bush, Kurt Weill, Sondheim and Kander & Ebb’s “Cabaret” as well her own songs, this production takes audiences from Sarah’s childhood on the Irish border in Derry, examining both her complicated relationship with her Irish roots and her family’s dysfunction, through to the heights of her international success as her life intertwines with entertainment icons.
I
I’m Every Woman (Peacock) – 5-28 Mar 2026
NOTE: Due to essential building works requiring the temporary closure of the Peacock Theatre, the originally scheduled March engagement of I’M EVERY WOMAN – THE CHAKA KHAN MUSICAL will no longer proceed. Affected ticket holders for the Peacock Theatre will be contacted directly by Sadler’s Wells box office with details regarding refunds and available rebooking options.
I’M EVERY WOMAN – THE CHAKA KHAN MUSICAL will now make its London Premiere with a limited engagement at Hackney Empire from 20 – 25 March. Tickets go on general sale from 11am on 5 March at hackneyempire.co.uk.
With 22 albums, 25 chart-topping hits, 70 million records sold and a career spanning five decades, Chaka Khan has shaped the sound of generations. Now, her story explodes onto the stage in a dazzling world premiere musical starring Alexandra Burke (Sister Act, The Bodyguard, Chicago, The X Factor winner 2008) for 4 weeks only.
Featuring a book that includes an array of Chaka’s famous friends from Joni Mitchell and Prince to Stevie Wonder and Steve Winwood, in addition to the songs that made her a global icon, including I Feel for You, Tell Me Something Good, Ain’t Nobody, Sweet Thing, Through The Fire and many more. This groundbreaking production delves into the woman behind the music-her rise to fame, her battles behind the spotlight, and her powerful journey of resilience.
In the Print (King’s Head) – 26 Mar – 3 May 2026
It’s 1985, and Brenda Dean is the first woman to lead a major British trade union. But she quickly faces a crisis as Rupert Murdoch unleashes his clandestine plans to revolutionise the production of British newspapers.
With 5,000 jobs on the line and the future of newspapers in the balance, she decides to take on Murdoch and his growing global media empire. But with time running out, and Murdoch’s influence expanding, can she pull together the might of the unions to bring him down?
From the writers of the box office smash The Gang of Three comes this politically charged thriller about “The Battle of Wapping”. A year-long clash of wills between Rupert Murdoch and Brenda Dean, where treachery, secret plots, technological change and civil unrest collide.
J
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding (Lyric Hammersmith) – 18 Mar – 25 Apr 2026
Welcome to Jaja’s! This bustling Harlem braiding salon is where neighbourhood women come to have their greatest hairstyle dreams come true, all in the hands of a lively group of West African, immigrant braiders.
Across one hot summers day, these women experience everything in the pressure cooker of the sweltering shop: from demanding customers to secrets and lies, laughter and betrayal. But each of these women has big dreams as well, dreams which increasingly pit them against the city they call home.
The UK premiere of this Tony Award-winning comedy reunites the team behind smash-hit School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play in writer Jocelyn Bioh and director Monique Touko.
John Proctor is the Villain (Royal Court) – 20 Mar-25 Apr 2026
Five young women running on pop music, optimism and fury are about to shed light on the darkest secrets in their small town.
A story about girlhood, power, and questioning the narratives we’ve been taught.
Tony Award-winner Danya Taymor (The Outsiders) directs Kimberly Belflower’s bitingly funny, seven-time Tony Award-nominated fresh take on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
K
Kinky Boots (London Coliseum) – 17 Mar-11 Jul 2026
Fall head over heels this Spring! The multi-award-winning musical KINKY BOOTS is strutting its way to London in a joyous, brand-new production starring Strictly Come Dancing’s Johannes Radebe and multi-platinum-selling recording artist Matt Cardle.
The acclaimed West End and Broadway sensation runs at the spectacular London Coliseum from March for a strictly limited season only.
L
The Last Days of Liz Truss (The Other Palace) – 3-15 Mar 2026 (not Mondays)
Join Liz, on her last morning at number 10, in an exploration – equally comic and tragic – of the tensions in politics: between ambition and ability, vision and reality, going short and playing it long.
Can a fighter ever quit?
This award-winning production (Emma Wilkinson Wright, Best Actor, London Pub Theatres Awards 2025) transfers to The Other Palace Studio after two critically acclaimed and sold-out runs at Kennington’s White Bear Theatre.
M
Mary Queen of Scots (Sadler’s Wells) – 5-8 Mar 2026
As death approaches, Elizabeth I of England is haunted by memories – real and imagined – of her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots.
This major new production from Scottish Ballet’s choreographer-in-residence Sophie Laplane and co-creator, James Bonas (The Crucible), draws on the complex relationship between these two extraordinary queens. Laplane’s bold choreography blends classicism with modernity, reshaping a familiar story with powerful originality.
Soutra Gilmour’s striking, contemporary set is complemented by dazzling costumes that capture the grandeur of the era, with nods to haute couture and punk. New music, by the team behind 2022 hit Coppélia, is performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra.
Moonlight: The Philip Lynott Enigma (Eventim Apollo) – 29 Mar 2026
Moonlight tells a deeper story of an Irish rock music icon — exploring Philip Lynott’s formative years, his struggles, and his legacy and inspiration to musicians around the world, honouring him in the pantheon of great Irish poets.
Peter M. Smith leads an incredible cast bringing “Philip Lynott” to life like never before, supported by acclaimed actor Padraic O’Loingsigh in the role of “Brendan Behan”. International star Brian Kennedy plays “Oscar Wilde”, and Thin Lizzy co-founder/guitarist Eric Bell plays himself, bringing unbeatable authenticity to the production.
The amazing Moonlight Band blasts out the Thin Lizzy anthems and new original tracks live, in a high-energy, unforgettable show that will have you on your feet, laughing, crying and singing as we tell a unique story that needs to be told.
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Nosebleeds (Glitch) – 11-16 Mar 2026
‘I had one when I found out. Just as I saw my mum pick up the phone.’
When war breaks out in Ukraine, a young person starts to get nosebleeds. A lot. It’s all they think about. These nosebleeds aren’t just nosebleeds, they are signs of grief, danger and uncertainty. In this story of self discovery, this unnamed narrator goes to lengths to come to terms with why they are getting so many nosebleeds and what they truly mean?
Nosebleeds is a hysterically heartbreaking story of a young person trying to navigate guilt, shame and conflict between both home countries. Join this narrator on a journey of battling family dynamics that parallel the conflict happening thousands of miles away.
O
Oh Zeus! (UK tour) from 20 Mar 2026
Kings of Comedy Le Navet Bete are back! For lovers of Fawlty Towers, Bottom and The Play That Goes Wrong, Oh Zeus! is a riotous, all-out hilarious ride through Greek mythology.
When the stability of Olympus is threatened by the marriage of Zeus’s daughter Hebe, to a mere mortal, the King of the Gods hatches a plan to derail the wedding. Three actors play 40 characters in this mythical farce through Ancient Greece, the Underworld and back. Expect sensational physical comedy, outrageous jokes, fast-paced chaos, and more togas than you can smash a plate at.
From one of the UK’s most-loved comedy theatre companies and creators of Dracula: The Bloody Truth, King Arthur and Treasure Island, “you are promised a non-stop evening of entertainment from a company that has a bottomless pit of talent at their disposal”.
The Old Ladies (Finborough) – 24 Mar-19 Apr 2026
A Cathedral city in England, 1935.
Three elderly women live in uneasy proximity in a gloomy house, eking out their days on their limited savings.
Their fragile lives seem uneventful, but beneath the surface, obsession, malice and greed fester, culminating in a shocking outcome…
Adapted from Hugh Walpole’s classic 1924 novel by Rodney Ackland, the acclaimed writer of Absolute Hell, The Old Ladies is a devastating dark psychological drama: a powerful study of fear and isolation amongst those society has forgotten.
Our Town (Rose Theatre Kingston) – to 28 Mar 2026
Grover’s Corners is a quiet little town, full of ordinary folk, living everyday lives. They work, they laugh, they sing, they fall in love and raise their children, and grow old.
But within those moments of ordinary, everyday life, there are truths that reach out to us all. And a passionate demand to cherish every moment, right now, while we still can.
Our Town is American playwright Thornton Wilder’s masterpiece, and this new production — starring internationally celebrated actor Michael Sheen — sees the story through a Welsh lens, bringing new life and vivid resonance for modern audiences.
R
ROI (Hampstead) – 6 Mar-11 Apr 2026
Fresh from her feature in Forbes 40 Under 40, venture capitalist May Lee is on the hunt for her first unicorn – the rarest of beasts, in the form of a start-up with a $1bn valuation. It would skyrocket both her career and net worth, guarantee promotion to partner and cement her legacy as one of the best in the business. Enter Willa McGovern, a hungry young entrepreneur with an idea that could be life-changing not only for May, but the entire human race…
With her mentor, Paul, keen for results and the potential of saving countless lives, May quickly discovers that ambition, ego and cold hard cash can twist even the purest of intentions. As technology hurtles toward making science fiction into reality, the question becomes not whether we can change the world, but what it will cost us when we do.
Ruth (Wilton’s Music Hall) – 18-28 Mar 2026
In 1955, Ruth Ellis became the last woman to be executed in Britain.
A glamorous nightclub hostess. A violent, upper-class lover. A series of gunshots that shocked the nation. Tried, condemned and hanged at Holloway Prison, her fate was sealed by a society quick to judge and slow to listen. Now her story is retold with urgency and fire.
Ruth is a bold British noir musical that delves into sex, class, power and injustice in 1950s Britain. In the era of #MeToo, Ellis’s story of abuse, control and patriarchal judgment feels chillingly contemporary—less a historical scandal than a modern reckoning.
S
Slippery (Omnibus) – 17 Mar-11 Apr 2026
“Gave it to me when he died. Thought it was a bit odd. F*ck flowers. Have an espresso machine.”
3AM in a London flat. Jude and Kyle return from A&E. Jude has slipped, but they’re both falling.
A decade after their messy breakup, old habits die hard as their surprise reunion threatens to undo them both.
Off-West End Award-winner Matthew Iliffe directs this heart-stopping comedy-drama by ‘rising star playwright’ (Time Out) Louis Emmitt-Stern.
SPRINT Festival (Camden People’s Theatre) – through Mar 2026
It’s the million-and-one-th (we’ve lost count) edition of London’s best-established carnival of new and unusual theatre, SPRINT Festival.
From 3 – 27 March, we’ve assembled the most scintillating new artists making performance today – artists with bold ideas, artists who won’t play by the rules, and artists in many instances making their first professional work. With SPRINT, you never quite know what you’re going to get, but you can be damn certain you’ll have a good night out.
Sugar Daddy (Underbelly Boulevard) – 5 Mar-4 Apr 2026
One summer, Sam met the sexy silver zaddy of his dreams. But in the midst of the pandemic, the love of his life tragically passed away. Searching for a way to survive his grief, Sam did the only thing he knew: he turned the unbearable into comedy. Done live on stage. In front of thousands of strangers. Some of them are straight. All around the globe.
T
Teeth ‘n’ Smiles (Duke of York’s) – from 13 Mar 2026
Before The New York Dolls. Before Debbie Harry. Before Kurt Cobain. There was Maggie Frisby. Once the roaring voice of 60s counterculture, now broke and disillusioned, a band’s youthful dreams of anarchic rebellion collapse into bitteness. Amidst the wreckage, lead singer Maggie tears through the night fuelled by booze, fury and a voice that refuses to die.
50 years after David Hare’s trailblazing play set The Royal Court alight, Teeth ‘n’ Smiles is ready to burn things down all over again. The ship is sinking but the music remains the same. Starring Rebecca Lucy Taylor aka Self Esteem as Maggie.
Tobermory (Questors) – 13-21 Mar 2026
The upper echelons of 1930s English society have gathered at a house party, but tea and pleasantries are cast aside when one of the guests reveals that she has been conducting an experiment. When her wild claims are proved to be true the birthday weekend is thrown into murderous chaos. Can the cat be put back in the bag? Will there be crying over spilt milk or spilt blood? At the end of the weekend, who will live to tell the cat’s tale?
Based on the short story ‘Tobermory’ by H.H. Munro aka Saki, this black comedy of manners examines the intricacies of the love between pets and people.
U
Ukraine Unbroken (Arcola) – to 28 Mar 2026
From the producer-director of the Olivier Award-nominated The Great Game – Afghanistan comes a powerful cycle of short plays about courage, truth and survival in the face of tyranny.
Ukraine Unbroken charts twelve turbulent years of modern Ukrainian history, from the Maidan protests of 2014 to Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and beyond. Across five gripping plays by some of today’s most acclaimed British and Ukrainian writers, including David Edgar, David Greig and Natalka Vorozhbyt, we explore the resilience of a nation determined to remain free.
Performed with live Ukrainian music from Mariia Petrovska on the bandura and woven through with headlines and voices from the front line, Ukraine Unbroken is a portrait of resistance and resilience.
The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin (New Diorama) – 3-24 Mar 2026
Alec has done something he truly, deeply regrets. He spends his days pouring his guilt into an AI chat bot, obsessively unravelling the consequences of his actions. It was not his fault. Yet why does it feel like it was?
A rotten stench invades his flat: toxic algae climbing the walls, crude oil climbing his throat. He wants to vomit, he wants to purge, he wants to expel this disgusting substance out. A looming presence lurks in the corner of his living room. Staring at him. Smiling. Spreading. Something Alec can no longer ignore.
The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin is an absurdist, existential examination of the psychological and physical unravelling of Alec Baldwin – not the real one – as he grapples with a pervasive sense of nausea towards himself and the desensitised digital society he inhabits. Marinating in the violence, complicity, and paradox of modern life, this is a psychedelic multimedia romp into the psyche of a human pushed past breaking point.
V
Vincent in Brixton (Orange Tree) – 14 Mar-18 Apr 2026
Before the sunflowers, before the madness, before the fame, there was a quiet kitchen in South London.
It’s 1873, when Ursula’s modest boarding house is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of a young lodger by the name of Vincent van Gogh. As the household is thrown into chaos, the intimacy of daily life sparks something unexpected between them: longing, purpose and transformation.
The OT presents the first major revival of Nicholas Wright’s Olivier Award-winning Vincent in Brixton. It is directed by the OT’s Carne Associate Director Georgia Green, following her much-admired production of The Mikvah Project.
W
Welcome to Pemfort (Soho) – 13 Mar-18 Apr 2026
Uma’s running a struggling countryside castle, and everything’s finally falling into place for Pemfort’s first Living History event.Glenn’s got his sword-fighting down, Ria’s befriended a deer, and new arrival Kurtis is settling in well.
But in a village where everybody knows everybody, some truths refuse to stay buried.
A new play from writer Sarah Power (Grud) and director Ed Madden (The Habits) about what we owe each other when the past demands a reckoning.
Women’s Voices: A Celebration (Playground Theatre) – through Mar 2026
WVAC is returning with even more opportunities for women creators to share their work and stories. With a stellar line-up in the works, we’re offering you dance, music, theatre, talks and film. Whether you are a writer, director, performer, musician, creative or just interested in the festival, we encourage you to discover a show for yourself.
Join us in shaping the next edition of this groundbreaking festival, and help us continue to amplify women’s voices across the arts.
The Wrong They Knew (Chickenshed) – 5-28 Mar 2026
The Wring They Knew is a powerful story of courage, community, and the fight to be heard – inspired by real events of the time.
London, the middle of the 20th century. The streets of Forest Hills erupt with unrest, Teddy Boy gangs and police clash with Black and mixed-race families in a city divided by fear and prejudice. Yet amid the turmoil, a group of families from across the community dream of creating a Community Carnival – a celebration of unity and hope in the face of hate and the first one of its kind.
Among them, a spirited group of children and teenagers stand strong, using humour, curiosity and friendship to make sense of the chaos around them. The Wrong They Knew is a moving, defiant story about standing together, finding your voice, and the extraordinary power of community to overcome barriers that shouldn’t exist.
Header photo credit: Photo by Kevin Schmid on Unsplash