Welcome to a selection of unmissable West End productions and regional theatre.
This season’s Stage Watch selections bring together major West End transfers, acclaimed revivals, and powerful new interpretations of familiar stories, alongside intimate regional productions exploring family, identity, and ambition.
From The Old Vic to the Noël Coward and Trafalgar Theatre to Oxfordshire’s own stages, these are the shows to look out for over the coming weeks and months.
Glengarry Glen Ross
The Old Vic, London. Booking 04 June to 18 July
David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize–winning drama Glengarry Glen Ross returns to the stage in a bold new all-female production at The Old Vic, reimagining the brutal world of high-pressure real estate sales through a contemporary lens.
Set in a cutthroat Chicago office, the play follows four desperate estate agents competing in a ruthless sales contest where only the top performer wins. With stakes that escalate from luxury rewards to outright dismissal, ambition quickly curdles into deception, betrayal, and moral collapse.
Directed by Tony Award-winning Patrick Marber, this production brings fresh urgency to Mamet’s razor-sharp dialogue and tense ensemble dynamics. Featuring Rosa Salazar and Indira Varma, the staging interrogates power, capitalism, and survival in a system designed to break its participants.
Best for: Fans of intense character-driven drama, modern classics, and psychologically charged ensemble theatre.
Tips: Expect strong language, high tension, and a fast-paced production that leans heavily on performance and dialogue rather than spectacle.
Into the Woods
Noël Coward Theatre, London. 22 September 2026 – 09 January 2027.
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods transfers to the West End following an acclaimed run at the Bridge Theatre, in a new production directed by Jordan Fein.
This inventive revival brings together familiar fairytale characters — from Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood to Jack and the Baker and his Wife — as their stories intertwine in a darkly comic exploration of wish fulfilment and consequence. As dreams are granted and consequences unfold, the woods become a place where “happily ever after” is only the beginning of the story.
With design by Tom Scutt and Kate Fleetwood returning as the Witch, this production balances wit, darkness, and musical richness in a staging that highlights both spectacle and emotional depth.
Best for: Musical theatre lovers, Sondheim fans, and audiences who enjoy fairytales with a darker edge.
Tips: Recommended age 12+. Contains themes of grief, death, and violence alongside haze, strobe, and loud sound effects.
Oh, Mary!
Trafalgar Theatre, London. Until 02 January 2027.
The award-winning comedy Oh, Mary! arrives in the West End, following its acclaimed success on Broadway, with a limited run at the Trafalgar Theatre.
This darkly comic reinterpretation of Mary Todd Lincoln’s final weeks before Abraham Lincoln’s assassination presents a surreal, exaggerated portrait of repression, longing, and chaos inside the White House. Told with sharp absurdist humour, the play reframes historical tragedy through a deliberately irreverent and modern comedic lens.
With high-profile performances from Catherine Tate, Cole Escola, and Jinkx Monsoon across its run, the production has been praised for its bold tone and energetic staging.
Best for: Fans of dark comedy, absurdist theatre, and unconventional historical reinterpretations.
Tips: Recommended age 14+. Contains haze effects and a staged gunshot. Short, fast-paced, and intentionally provocative.
Waitress
New Theatre Oxford. 29 June to 04 July.
The hit musical Waitress returns on tour, telling the story of Jenna, a small-town waitress and gifted pie-maker searching for happiness beyond her difficult marriage and everyday routine.
With music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, the show blends humour, heart, and resilience as Jenna finds unexpected support from her colleagues and begins to rediscover her sense of possibility. As new relationships form and old patterns are challenged, she learns that courage and creativity can be ingredients for change.
This female-led creative production has become a modern musical favourite, known for its emotional honesty and uplifting score.
Best for: Fans of contemporary musical theatre, character-driven storytelling, and feel-good productions.
Tips: Expect emotional themes including domestic struggle and self-discovery, balanced with humour and a strong, memorable soundtrack.
Things I Know to Be True
Unicorn Theatre, Abingdon. 17 to 20 June.
Abingdon Drama Club presents Andrew Bovell’s Things I Know to Be True, a tender and emotionally charged family drama exploring love, identity, and the shifting dynamics between parents and their adult children.
Bob and Fran have spent their lives raising four children and building a stable home, but as adulthood takes hold, long-held expectations begin to fracture. Told through the perspectives of the siblings, the play traces how personal independence can both strain and deepen family bonds.
As each character confronts their own path, Bovell’s writing reveals the quiet complexity of ordinary lives and the emotional weight of letting go.
Best for: Audiences who enjoy intimate contemporary drama and character-led storytelling.
Tips: Expect an emotionally intense, reflective production with strong themes of family conflict and personal identity.
