The best comedies in the West End

From madcap hotels to Shakespeare's sparring lovers to high school matchmaking gone wrong, here are the London plays and musicals most likely to bring a smile to your face.

The nights are drawing in and the world often feels like a difficult place to navigate. A comedy is the perfect way to escape from reality for a few hours with hilarious physicality and witty one-liners. To quote Stephen Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (overdue for a revival, surely): “Tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!”

Long-running shows continue to delight: audiences roll in the aisles at the antics of The Play That Goes Wrong every night, and The Book of Mormon has revelled in its lack of political correctness for over a decade. And there are many more providing just as uproarious gales of laughter for shorter periods. Read on for our guide to more wonderful shows to raise plenty of laughs over the festive period and into 2025.

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The Play That Goes Wrong, Duchess Theatre

All the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society wants to do is put on its latest show, a 1920s country-house murder mystery in the Agatha Christie vein – but everything conspires against this hilariously beleaguered amateur drama troupe.

Cast members forget their lines or are knocked out cold, music cues are muddled, the doors stick, and, piece by piece, the entire set collapses around them – even as the cast try desperately to keep the show going. Their wrongdoings will have you crying with laughter.

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Fawlty Towers, Apollo Theatre

Check-in at Torquay’s most notorious hotel has been extended a final time until 1 March, 2025 at the Apollo Theatre. Adapted by John Cleese himself from the episodes “The Hotel Inspector”, “Communication Problems”, and “The Germans”, you can enjoy three uproarious storylines woven together in one show – all the more scope for uproariously chaotic farce!

Hotelier Basil, his wife and co-manager Sybil, Spanish waiter Manuel, and long-suffering chambermaid Polly are all present and correct. Don’t miss out before the hotel’s doors are locked for good – ring for Manuel to book your tickets!

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Why Am I So Single?, Garrick Theatre

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s follow-up to mega-hit SIX is about two perennially single best friends. While navigating Tindr, Hinge, Bumble, and more without much joy, Oliver and Nancy make it their mission to write “a big fancy musical” based on their lives that might just help them to answer the titular question.

Friendship is every bit as meaningful and rewarding as romantic love, and provides even more scope for hilarity (as per the many references to the sitcom Friends). The score is influenced by disco, 1930s jazz, and pop, with dazzling choreography. Hilariously on-point Gen Z musical theatre is in the house – don’t miss it before it closes on 19 January, 2025.

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The Producers, Menier Chocolate Factory

Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom are back in a new boutique production of Mel Brooks’s musical based on his 1967 cult classic at the Menier Chocolate Factory, directed by Tony winner Patrick Marber. A get-rich-quick scheme contrived by two theatre producers proves to be more than either bargained for when a sure-fire flop becomes a hit, much to their consternation.

Andy Nyman (Hello, Dolly!) and Marc Antolin (I Wish You Well) star as Bialystock and Bloom, with Joanna Woodward (The Time Traveller's Wife) as Ulla. The classic numbers include “I Wanna Be a Producer”, “Keep it Gay”, “The King of Broadway”, and, of course, “Springtime for Hitler”. Talk about bad taste!

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Dear England, National Theatre

The prolific and multi-award-winning James Graham hit the back of the net with this football-themed comedy drama, which played at the National Theatre and in the West End in 2023-4 and returns to the National in 2025 in an “extra time” version following Euro 2024. Joseph Fiennes reprises his outstanding performance as Gareth Southgate, the manager with the unenviable task of turning the England team into champions, and coming to terms with his own emotional baggage in the process.

The play explores the state of the nation, masculinity, and mental health with a light touch affectionately satirical humour. Do bring tissues for the finale but it ought to end on a positive note about what we can achieve when we work together – stirring stuff indeed, but never earnest.

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Much Ado About Nothing, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Shakespeare set the blueprint for every rivals-to-lovers romantic comedy with this evergreen play, in which Beatrice and Benedick engage in a merry battle of wits before they realise that they really do have tender feelings for each other. Part of Jamie Lloyd’s Shakespeare season at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, it’s sure to be a classy and inventive affair – and ought to be very funny indeed.

“A star danced and under that I was born”, muses Beatrice. It’s certainly a starry cast: Hayley Atwell (Avengers: Endgame, Rosmersholm) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki, Betrayal) play Beatrice and Benedick. The chemistry ought to sizzle!

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The Last Laugh, Noël Coward Theatre

A comedy about comedy is coming to the West End in 2025 – how appropriate is that? Paul Hendy’s play, an Edinburgh Festival Fringe hit, tells the stories of three leading 20th-century British comedians: Tommy Cooper (Damian Williams), Eric Morecambe (Bob Golding), and Bob Monkhouse (Simon Cartwright).

These names are likely to evoke nostalgia in the hearts of many audience members, while their careers and styles of comedy will be new to others. It looks like a real intergenerational treat in which everyone will be entertained and informed.

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Clueless, Trafalgar Theatre

One of the smartest comedies of the 1990s, Amy Heckerling’s Californian update of Jane Austen’s Emma receives a musical makeover with a book by Heckerling herself and music by singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. Beverley Hills princess Cher is super-rich and ultra-spoiled but good-hearted and prides herself on her matchmaking skills. When she takes new girl Tai under her wing and tries to set her up with the most popular boy in the school, what could possibly go wrong?

This new musical boasts a fresh young cast and plenty of ‘90s nostalgia. To date, there’s never been a great Jane Austen-inspired musical – hopefully this will be the “handsome, clever and rich” experience we’ve all been waiting for.

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The Book of Mormon, Prince of Wales Theatre

Created by South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone and composer Robert Lopez (Frozen, Avenue Q), The Book of Mormon is a rip-roaring satire that takes no prisoners and has been entertaining audiences for over a decade.

The musical follows two naïve and mismatched Mormon missionaries posted to a remote village in Uganda. It pokes fun at everyone, including the Mormons whose only knowledge of Africa comes from The Lion King, but it also shows a sweet friendship developing. The Book of Mormon is a madcap comedy with heart.

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