Pop the champagne because *The Great Gatsby* is coming to the West End! The new Tony Award-winning musical, which opened on Broadway in April 2024, will arrive at the London Coliseum on 11 April 2025, running until 7 September.

An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, *The Great Gatsby* follows mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby, who hosts decadent parties but pines for his former flame Daisy Buchanan. The novel was adapted for the screen in 2013 by Baz Luhrmann, starring Leonardo...

'The Great Gatsby' musical to transfer to the London Coliseum 

1200 LT The cast of The Great Gatsby (c) Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

The new musical opened at The Broadway Theatre in April 2024, following a world premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey in late 2023. 

Help is on the way, dears! Everyone’s favourite Scottish nanny – first inhabited in the 1993 comedy film by Robin Williams, playing a divorced dad who disguises himself as Mrs Doubtfire so he can see his children – is now a West End star.

The inventive, heartfelt and raucously funny stage musical adaptation has become a new audience favourite, packed with gags, big musical numbers, and a touching reflection on how family can come in different forms, as long as there is love.

As you prepare for...

Make a day out of 'Mrs Doubtfire' in London

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Make your family visit to West End musical comedy *Mrs Doubtfire* a sure-fire hit by adding even more fun activities to your London trip.

Further casting has been announced for the Brie Larson-led production of Sophocles’s [*Elektra*,](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/42608-elektra) which begins performances at the Duke of York’s Theatre in the West End on 24 January, 2025.

Larson, who is making her West End debut, will be joined by Stockard Channing (*The West Wing, The Good Wife*), Marième Diouf (*Romeo and Juliet*), Greg Hicks (*Grapes of Wrath, Coriolanus*), and Patrick Vaill ([*Stranger Things: The First...

Further casting revealed for Brie Larson-led 'Elektra' in the West End

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Stockard Channing, Marième Diouf, Greg Hicks, and Patrick Vaill will join Brie Larson in Anne Carson's translation of Sophocles's great tragedy.

The full cast has been announced for William Shakespeare's *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*, which opens at the Barbican in London on 3 December, running until 18 January, 2025.

Joining Mathew Baynton (*Ghosts, Wonka*) as Bottom, is Andrew Richardson (*Guys and Dolls*) as Oberon/Theseus and Katherine Pearce (*Waterloo Road*), who returns to the RSC as Puck.

New company members also include Alexander Bellinfantie (Moth), Eliza Smith (Mustardseed), and Natalie Thomas (Peaseblossom).

They join...

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' announces full cast at the Barbican

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Joining Mathew Baynton as Bottom, is Andrew Richardson as Oberon/Theseus and Katherine Pearce as Puck. Eleanor Rhode directs Shakespeare's play about love, magic, appearance, and jealousy.

Lead casting has been announced for new musical *Hercules*, which opens in the West End next summer. Performances will begin at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 6 June, 2025.

Luke Brady will play the title role in the musical next year. His stage credits include *As You Like It* (RSC), *SuperYou* (Lyric Theatre), *Assassins* (Chichester Theatre), *The Prince of Egypt* (Dominion Theatre), *Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice,* and *The Taming of the Shrew* (Shakespeare’s Globe), while on screen he...

'Hercules' reveals lead casting in the West End

1200 LT Luke Brady to play Hercules in Disney-s Hercules - Photo by Phil Hill © Disney

*Hercules* has music by Alan Menken and lyrics by David Zippel, and a new book by Robert Horn and Young Vic outgoing artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah.

There’s no better way to escape those dark winter nights than with a trip to the theatre. Happily, November is serving up plenty of exciting London shows to keep any winter blues at bay, with some major openings in the West End and beyond. 

Those who can't wait for *The Greatest Showman* musical to arrive in London can whet their appetities with [*Come Alive!*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/37379-come-alive), a spectacular circus show based on the music of the hit 2017 film, with an...

Top theatre to see in London in November

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West End

Find out the best shows to see in London in November 2024, from *Barcelona* with Lily Collins and Álvaro Morte, to *Dr. Strangelove* with Steve Coogan.

Additional shows have been announced in the Bush Theatre's line-up for 2025, including a new play starring Olivier Award nominee and *It's a Sin* actor Omari Douglas.

He has been cast in Coral Wylie's new play *Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet, Yew*, which follows 19-year-old Pip as they dig into their family's past, unearthing old secrets. Directed by Debbie Hannan (Overflow), the cast also includes Wil Johnson, Pooky Quesnel, and writer Wylie. The show will run from 8 February to 22 March.

Making...

Bush Theatre announces new shows in 2025 season

1200 LT Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet, Yew

Work by Coral Wylie, babirye bukilwa, and Mohamed-Zain Dada will continue the Bush Theatre's programming in 2025, with Olivier Award nominee Omari Douglas returning to the stage.

New play *The Last Laugh* will run at the Noël Coward Theatre in the West End from 25 February to 22 March next year, ahead of a season in New York and a UK tour. 

Written and directed by Paul Hendy, the show re-imagines the lives of three of Britain's greatest comedy heroes: Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe, and Bob Monkhouse. *The Last Laugh* played at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer. 

Bob Golding, Damian Williams, and Simon Cartwright will all reprise their roles as Eric Morecambe,...

'The Last Laugh' to transfer to the West End

1200 LT THE LAST LAUGH. Bob Golding (Eric Morecambe), Damian Williams (Tommy Cooper) and Simon Cartwright (Bob Monkhouse). Photo Pamela Raith (1)

Written and directed by Paul Hendy, the show re-imagines the lives of three of Britain's greatest comedy heroes: Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe, and Bob Monkhouse.

Something wicked this way comes… and London is packed with spook-tacular shows and activities that are perfect for Halloween 2024. The annual fright night falls on 31 October, which is a Thursday this year, and if you just love everything about this spine-tingling holiday, then you’ll want to start thinking about your plans now.

One ghoulishly great way to celebrate Halloween is with a play or musical – perhaps one that centres on witches, like...

Top shows and attractions in London for Halloween

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Trick or treat! Discover a wide variety of fun activities and events to book for Halloween in London, ranging from spine-chilling shows to eerie attractions.

It’s Halloween, duh! [*Mean Girls*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/35503-mean-girls) has announced it will be extending performances at the Savoy Theatre in the West End until 8 June, 2025. 

Tina Fey's hit musical, which is based on the 2004 film of the same name, follows student Cady Heron as she attempts to fit into North Shore High after being home schooled in Africa. But when she gets involved with popular girl group The Plastics, she learns that there are few things more dangerous...

'Mean Girls' tickets now available through June 2025

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Tina Fey's hit musical, which is based on the 2004 film of the same name, follows student Cady Heron as she attempts to fit into North Shore High after being home schooled in Africa.

See the actors visiting the Donmar Warehouse! The cast has been set for the European premiere of *The Band's Visit*, David Yazbek and Itamar Moses's musical, which won multiple Tony Awards on Broadway.

Leading the cast are award-winning stage and screen actor Alon Moni Aboutboul as Tewfiq, and seven-time Israeli Female Singer of the Year award winner Miri Mesika as Dina. She is also a judge on the Israeli version of *American Idol*.

The cast also includes Sharif Afifi as Haled, Marc Antolin as Itzik, Harel Glazer as Papi, Levi Goldmeier as Zelger, Ido Gonen as Sammy, Michal Horowicz as Iris, Emma Kingston as Sammy's Wife (and Dina at certain performances), Yali Topol Margalith as Anna, Ashley Margolis as Telephone Guy, Carlos Mendoza de Hevia as Camal, Peter Polycarpou as Avrum, Maya Kristal Tenenbaum as Julia, and Sargon Yelda as Simon. Shira Kravitz and Nitai Levi are understudies.

The musical's onstage band includes Jason Alder, Ant Romero, Idlir Shyti, and Baha Yetkin.

Based on the film written by Eran Kolirin, *The Band's Visit* follows a group of musicians who find themselves lost in a remote town. In the short time they're figuring out how to get back on the road, they meet the locals and bring the town unexpectedly to life. The show premiered in New York in 2017 and won 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

Michael Longhurst directs *The Band's Visit* at Donmar Warehouse, which runs from 24 September to 3 December. It is his latest musical following his revival of *Caroline, or Change* starring Sharon D Clarke, which had acclaimed runs in both London and New York.

The creative team for *The Band's Visit* also includes composer/lyricist David Yazbek, book writer Itamar Moses, set designer Soutra Gilmour, lighting designer Anna Watson, sound designer Paul Groothuis, choreographer and movement and intimacy director Yarit Dor, musical director Tarek Merchant, and musical supervisor Nigel Lilley.

Check back for information on *The Band's Visit* tickets on London Theatre.

*Photo credit: Moni Aboutboul as Tewfiq and Miri Mesika as Dina. (Photo by Helen Murray)*

'The Band's Visit' sets cast at Donmar Warehouse

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Genre: Play

The Band's Visit

In a quiet desert town way off the beaten path, a band of musicians arrive lost. As they wait for the next bus out, these unexpected visitors bring the town to life in surprising ways, proving that even the briefest visit can stay with you forever.

*The Band’s Visit* rejoices in the way music makes us laugh, makes us cry, and ultimately, brings us together.

The Band's Visit - LON - London Theatre

Sometimes a simple mistake can change everything. This acclaimed musical tells the story of a simple encounter that reshapes the lives of an orchestra and a small town.
Based on the award-winning Israeli film, the musical also collected 10 Tonys during its Broadway debut. 
Book your tickets to *The Band’s Visit* at the Donmar Warehouse today.

“Who can live without hope?” That’s the quietly profound takeaway from David Yazbek and Itamar Moses’s exquisite gem of a show, *The Band's Visit*, which swept the Tonys in 2018 – winning 10 awards, including Best Musical. An adaptation of the 2007 film of the same name, it’s a modest premise: in 1996, an Egyptian orchestra travels to Israel to play at the opening of a new Arab cultural centre, but accidentally wind up in a dead-end town instead. 

A wry introduction downplays it even further, teasingly saying of this event “You probably didn’t hear about it. It wasn’t very important.” And, in the grand scheme of things, that might be true. But just by spending time with this small group of people, we witness the miraculous truth that you can find the extraordinary within the ordinary, that wider international conflicts melt away when you put human beings together, and that music and stories are the lifeblood of any community.

This happy accident stems from a mispronunciation: the band mean to travel to Petah Tikvah, and instead find themselves in (the fictional) Bet Hatikvah. That leads to the gloriously incongruous sight of the Alexandra Ceremonial Police Orchestra, in their perfectly pressed pale-blue uniforms, awkwardly milling around the dusty café of this desert wasteland – and gawped at by the idling locals. 

The latter bemoan in song that this is a place where nothing happens: it feels like they’re “moving in a circle” laments one man, as he literally spins around on the stage’s revolve – one of numerous deliciously witty touches in Michael Longhurst’s meticulous production. But they’re not the only ones who are stuck, and, as the locals accommodate these strangers for the night, an unlikely exchange occurs that sets them all on a new path.

The most intense of these is between the buttoned-up conductor, Colonel Tewfiq Zakaria, and blunt café owner Dina. The former won’t even remove his hat initially; the latter is all frank, earthy sensuality and passionate outbursts. She even chops watermelon with furious abandon. But the mismatched pair begin to find connections: both are lovelorn and lonely, and they share a love of Arab culture. In the ravishing “Omar Sharif”, Dina recalls her adoration of the actor in the movies she watched as a girl – a song so suffused with longing and desire that you almost feel voyeuristic.

And yet that’s topped by the moment in which Tewfiq shows Dina how to conduct, in silence. Each has cracked the other open, and what passes between them is now beyond words. This dynamic is handled with tender dignity by Alon Moni Aboutboul, who gradually sheds Tewfiq’s gruff layers, and Miri Mesika, the Israeli superstar singer. The latter is simply a knockout: her voice is so rich, so velvety, that you get lost in its depths.

The subplots all have sweet moments and comic value, but are more variable. Most charming is the roller disco double date, in which the lothario trumpeter Haled (a suitably flirtatious Sharif Afifi) helps Papi (an endearing Harel Glazer) to overcome his romantic anxieties. Meanwhile violinist Camal and a local boy known only as Telephone Guy get into a hilarious stand-off over who has possession of the only payphone (Carlos Mendoza de Hevia and Ashley Margolis are a fantastic double act).

Clarinettist Simon confesses his writer’s block to host Itzik, his wife Iris, and her father Avrum (a great turn by Peter Polycarpou). The men bond over how music can fuel love, as Avrum recalls meeting his late wife, and Simon and Itzik start to inch forward in their lives. However, Iris gets the short straw: she’s written as grumpy and hysterical, when in fact her response is pretty reasonable: she works fulltime as carer, while her husband remains unemployed, and she also looks after their newborn baby and both men. Generally, the women – other than Dina – are underdeveloped here. A shame in a piece that otherwise takes such care with its characterisation; it slightly broke the spell for me.

But you forgive an awful lot thanks to the sheer wonder of Yazbek’s score, which mixes traditional Arabic music with Broadway ballads, rhythmic jazz and beguiling klezmer to stupendous effect. And the performers are equally phenomenal, especially woodwind player Andy Findon and percussionist Ant Romero. The boundaries blur between actor and musician, song and speech, and between languages and nationalities.

Soutra Gilmour’s set gives them free rein, with minimal furniture and stone steps at the back where the band congregate, while Anna Watson’s lighting smoothly shifts us into the intimate, confessional night where kindess, patience, just listening helps to unburden the soul, climaxing in the yearning plea of song “Answer Me”. Not much happens here – and yet everything happens. Captivating.

*The Band's Visit at the Donmar Warehouse to 3 December.*

*Photo credit: Alon Moni Aboutboul and Miri Mesika in The Band's Visit at the Donmar Warehouse (Photo by Marc Brenner)*

'The Band's Visit' review — this exquisite gem of a show finds the extraordinary in the ordinary

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Read our four-star review of *The Band's Visit*, the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical now premiering at the Donmar Warehouse in London to 3 December.

The Donmar Warehouse is a captivating theatre venue located in the bustling theatre district of Covent Garden, London. Known for its dynamism, intimate environment, and productions that often stir substantial acclaim, the theatre comfortably accommodates 251 spectators, across its stalls and circle, striking an impactful yet warm connection between performers and audience. Host to an impressive history, the Donmar Warehouse continuously draws in locals and tourists with its blend of classic theatre and contemporary performance art. Its dedication to fostering new talent is matched by its commitment to honour the traditional, offering a unique blend that appeals to a broad audience. 
**How to Get to the Venue:**
The Donmar Warehouse is accessible via various modes of public transportation given its central location. The nearest underground station is Covent Garden, which comes on the Piccadilly Line, just a short five-minute walk away. Additional stations within walking distance are Leicester Square and Holborn. Buses are another viable option, with multiple lines available on Kingsway, Charing Cross Road, and The Strand. Arrival by car is also possible; however, due to its central city location, parking is limited and the congestion charge may apply. To find the best route for your journey, consider using a transport app or the Transport for London website.

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Donmar Warehouse

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The Donmar Warehouse opened on 18 Jul. 1977, as the Royal Shakespeare Company acquired the space as a theatre. The Donmar is a thrust theatre, meaning actors perform to audiences on three sides.

The theatre quickly became a testing ground for [Royal Shakespeare Company shows](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/whats-on/rsc) and Stratford-upon-Avon transfers. After half a decade of RSC ownership, Nica Burns took over as artistic director from 1983 to 1989.

In 1992, the Donmar Warehouse became an independent producing house in 1992, and Sam Mendes took over as artistic director for ten years. Under Mendes, notable shows include *Cabaret* in 1993, starring Alan Cumming and [Jane Horrocks](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/actor-profile/jane-horrocks), as well as revivals of *The Glass Menagerie*, *Endgame* and *Into the Woods*. Michael Grandage then took over as the Donmar’s artistic director in 2002; it was his first London theatre leadership.

In 2021, the Donmar Warehouse partnered with Wessex Grove, a UK based production company. The companies will develop new shows and take the theatre’s work to a wider audience.

## Donmar Warehouse Seating Information

The Donmar Warehouse seats 251 people across two levels - Stalls and Circle.

The Donmar Warehouse auditorium is on an upper level, and is approached by stairs. The Donmar is wheelchair accessible, with three wheelchair spaces in the auditorium.

In the stalls, seating is on one level, with side seats on the rake. As there are few rows on each side, there is good visibility of the stage in all stall seats.

The circle seats offer good visibility also, with a maximum of three rows of seating. There is a safety rail, but this does not impede on viewing. 

Donmar Warehouse - London Theatre

The Donmar Warehouse, opened in 1977 by the Royal Shakespeare Company, is a 251-seater thrust theatre that became an independent producing house in 1992. It has partnered with Wessex Grove in 2021.

Donmar Warehouse - TodayTix

The Donmar Warehouse is a renowned theatre in London's Covent Garden, hosting a blend of classic and contemporary performances. Accessible via Covent Garden Underground Station.

'The Band's Visit' sets cast at Donmar Warehouse

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