See 'Doctor Who' actors in the West End

From the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, to David Tennant, companions, villains and more, catch stars of the sci-fi favourite in London theatre now.

The BBC’s long-running sci-fi drama Doctor Who is back on our screens with a fantastic new lead, Ncuti Gatwa, and the popular return of showrunner Russell T Davies. But you don’t have to travel the galaxies to catch stars of the show – they’re on London stages too.

This Christmas, Gatwa is going to demonstrate that Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Earnest is bigger on the inside, and right now you can see Freema Agyeman (aka companion Martha Jones) performing alongside Spider-Man star Tom Holland in the buzzy new production of Romeo & Juliet. Plus it's just been announced that Jodie Whittaker, aka the Thirteenth Doctor, will star in The Duchess – read more here.

Of course, we all know that David Tennant, who recently returned to the TV series, is also an acclaimed classical stage actor, and you can catch his Macbeth when the Donmar Warehouse production comes to the West End.

But they’re far from the only ones mixing TARDIS adventures with Shakespearean declaiming, big revivals and more. So, follow us on this who’s who tour of Doctor Who stars in London shows. We can promise wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey fun – and plenty of great booking recommendations. Geronimo!

Ncuti Gatwa in The Importance of Being Earnest

Following his breakthrough role as Eric in Netflix’s Sex Education, plus roles in Barbie and Masters of the Air, Gatwa has become an international household name thanks to his casting as the Fifteenth Doctor in the beloved BBC show. The character was introduced as part of “bi-generation” with David Tennant, and he’s now travelling time and space with companion Ruby Sunday.

Gatwa also has some great theatre credits to his name, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe, and he will make his National Theatre debut this winter in Oscar Wilde’s glorious social comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, playing the cheeky Algernon Montcrief, alongside Sharon D Clarke and Hugh Skinner.

Check back for The Importance of Being Earnest tickets on London Theatre soon.

Freema Agyeman in Romeo & Juliet

Doctor Who was a big moment for Agyeman, too. She joined the show in a guest role, and then was cast as the Doctor’s new companion for season three, Dr Martha Jones, in 2007. She later returned for the grand climax of season four, and she appeared on the spin-off Torchwood as well.

Agyeman has made time for theatre alongside her screen work, starring in family drama Apologia at the Trafalgar Studios, alongside Stockard Channing, and last year in a revival of Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage at the Lyric Hammersmith. Currently, Agyeman is a giving a standout performance as the Nurse in Jamie Lloyd’s riveting, stripped-back West End take on Romeo & Juliet, led by Tom Holland.

David Tennant in Macbeth

Tennant is adored by Doctor Who fans as the wonderful Tenth Doctor. The role utilised his extraordinary skillset – from buoyant comedy and soulful romance to steely drama when called upon to face down a fatal alien threat. He did three seasons of the show, and then delighted viewers by making a surprise return in 2023, along with Catherine Tate.

The versatile Tennant has appeared in many other projects too, including classical drama on stage; he’s collaborated frequently, and to great acclaim, with the RSC. If you missed his utterly chilling Macbeth in the cutting-edge Donmar production that used binaural sound, then you’re in luck: he’s reprising his must-see performance in the West End this autumn.

Check back for Macbeth tickets on London Theatre soon.

Brian Cox in Long Day’s Journey Into Night

The Olivier, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor has done everything from King Lear to the X-Men movies, Frasier to Logan Roy on Succession. Cox has also cropped up on our sci-fi favourite, voicing the Ood Elder in Christmas special "The End of Time", and also playing Sydney Newman, the BBC’s head of drama, in An Adventure in Space and Time, a drama all about the creation of Doctor Who.

Cox has added another towering father figure to his CV with his latest stage project, Eugene O’Neill’s semi-autobiographical masterwork Long Day’s Journey Into Night. You’ve still got time to catch him (just!) in this mighty West End revival, which also stars Patricia Clarkson, Laurie Kynaston, Daryl McCormack and Louisa Harland.

Book Long Day's Journey Into Night tickets on London Theatre.

Ian McKellen in Player Kings

McKellen is no stranger to franchises: he famously played Magneto in X-Men and Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit series. He also lent that inimitable voice to an imposing Doctor Who villain in another Christmas special, "The Snowmen", playing the Great Intelligence in this shiver-inducing Victorian fable.

He is also ticking off another major Shakespearean role by playing another knight, Falstaff, in Robert Icke’s bold reimagining of Henry IV Parts 1 and 2. You can catch his performance in Player Kings in the West End now, alongside Ted Lasso’s Toheeb Jimoh, in this gripping update on the Bard’s history plays – bringing the action bang up to date.

Book Player Kings tickets on London Theatre.

Sharon Duncan-Brewster in Death of England: Closing Time

Duncan-Brewster’s wide-ranging career encompasses everything from soaps like EastEnders to Star Wars, Dune and Sherlock spin-off Enola Holmes. She also played Bowie Base One crew member Maggie Cain (who, memorably, gets possessed by a virus) in the Doctor Who special "The Waters of Mars" – part of the extended farewell for Tenannt’s Doctor.

Excitingly, Soho Place is bringing together Clint Dyer and Roy Williams’s three interconnected state-of-the-nation dramas (previously seen at the National Theatre) to play in rep in the West End for the first time. Duncan-Brewster co-stars with Erin Doherty in the third of these powerful pieces, Death of England: Closing Time.

Book Death of England: Closing Time tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: Macbeth (Marc Brenner)