Where to watch celebrities onstage in the West End

See celebrities and award-winning performers in West End shows. Watch stars on stage in the London theatre scene, and book tickets to star-studded shows now.

The West End is allowing audiences to see world-class entertainment before their very eyes. There are plenty of opportunities to catch celebrities in person, from high-energy musicals and classic dramas to new stories. Having a celebrity in a show can introduce a new audience to the theatre, which can only be a good thing.

Which celebrities are in the West End?

Here are some of the starry performances on offer in 2024 and beyond. We've listed some of the major performers taking part in London shows in the coming months. But if you're looking for even more opportunities to be a star-spotter, then check out our stars on stage page.

Jodie Whittaker

The 13th Doctor in Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker has returned to the London stage for the first time in 12 years in Zinnie Harris’s adaptation of The Duchess of Malfi. Whittaker plays the tragic Duchess, who finds herself at the mercy of her two jealous and controlling brothers. She was last on stage in Antigone at the National Theatre in 2012, having made her stage debut in The Storm at Shakespeare's Globe in 2005. Her screen work includes the TV series Broadchurch alongside fellow Doctor David Tennant and prison drama Time, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham.

Book The Duchess tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Mark Strong and Lesley Manville

Strong and Manville are playing opposite one another in Robert Icke's modern adaptation of Sophocles's Oedipus. They star as the husband and wife, who discover through a separation at birth that they are actually mother and son. Strong previously appeared on stage in David Hare's adaptation of thriller The Red Barn, also directed by Icke. His screen credits include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Imitation Game, and The Critic, the latter of which also stars Sir Ian McKellen. Manville was last seen on stage in director Jeremy Herrin's production of Tony Kushner's The Visit at the National Theatre, which opened just before Covid. She started her stage career with the RSC in the late 1970s and won the Olivier Award for the 2013 revival of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts. She also stars in The Critic alongside Strong and McKellen and recently played Princess Margaret in Netflix series The Crown.

Book Oedipus tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Mark Rylance and J. Smith-Cameron

Rylance and Smith-Cameron play husband and wife in Séan O’Casey’s 1924 drama, which is set in Dublin’s working-class tenements during the Irish Civil War. Rylance's screen credits include Bridge of Spies and TV series Wolf Hall, but he is best known for his rich history of stage roles, particularly the works of William Shakespeare. He was last seen on stage in Dr Semmelweis at the Harold Pinter and, before that, revived his acclaimed performance as Johnny "Rooster" Byron in Jerusalem, for which he received an Olivier Award in 2010. He also earned an Olivier for the part of Olivia in Much Ado About Nothing in 1994, as well as Tony Awards for roles in Boeing-Boeing (2008), Jerusalem (2011), and Twelfth Night (2014). J. Smith-Cameron made her West End debut in Juno and the Paycock, having previously starred in the play in 2013 in an Off-Broadway Irish Repertory Theater production. She is best known for playing Gerri Kellman in the hit TV series Succession, also starring Brian Cox, Sarah Snook, and others.

Book Juno and the Paycock tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Steve Coogan

Coogan stars in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, which is based on the 1964 Cold War political satire film and follows a U.S. Air Force general who becomes convinced of a plot by the Soviet Union to poison Americans. Best known for playing politically incorrect radio and television presenter Alan Partridge, Coogan began his career on the satirical puppet show Spitting Image in the 1980s. He has since starred in films such as Night at the Museum, Minions, and Philomena, which he also wrote and produced.

Book Dr. Strangelove tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Lucian Msamati and Ben Whishaw

Msamati and Whishaw play Estragon and Vladimir in Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece Waiting for Godot, a tragicomedy about two foolish men waiting for a mysterious figure to appear. Whishaw has appeared on screen as the voice of Paddington in the first two films and the upcoming third installment Paddington in Peru. He also plays the role of Q in three James Bond films. Whishaw's stage credits include Bluets — staged earlier this year at the Royal Court — Mojo at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2013), and Cock at the Royal Court in 2009. Msamati's screen credits include Gangs of London and Game of Thrones. He was the first black actor to play Iago in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2015 production of Othello and also played Toledo in the National Theatre's Olivier award-winning revival of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom in 2016.

Book Waiting for Godot tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Lily Collins

The Emily in Paris star will make her stage debut in Barcelona alongside Money Heist’s Alvaro Morte this year. She plays a US tourist on a hen do, who embarks on a passionate one-night stand with an older Spanish man. Her screen career began at the age of two in the BBC sitcom Growing Pains. Since then, she has appeared in the biopics Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019), Tolkien (2019), and Mank (2020), as well as the 2009 film The Blind Side, alongside Sandra Bullock. She also played Fantine in the BBC miniseries Les Misérables (2018–2019).

Check back for Barcelona tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Vanessa Williams

Gird your loins! Vanessa Williams takes to the stage as Runway Magazine editor-in-chief Miranda Pristley, as the 2003 book by Lauren Weisberger and 2006 film finally makes its way to the West End. Williams is best known for her screen roles in Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty, but she also has an extensive theatre resume on Broadway, earning a Tony Award nomination for The Witch in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods in 2003. She was due to make her West End debut in Josie Rourke’s production of City of Angels in 2020, but the show was cancelled during previews due to Covid.

Book The Devil Wears Prada tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Asa Butterfield

Following in the footsteps of former castmates such as Ncuti Gatwa, Tanya Reynolds, and Kedar Williams-Stirling, Sex Education star Asa Butterfield makes his stage debut next year at Riverside Studios in Second Best. Directed by Michael Longhurst, and based on David Foenkinos’ best-selling novel, Second Best is a new comedy about the paths we don't take, following the life of 10-year-old Martin Hill who narrowly missed out on being cast as Harry Potter. Butterfield's other screen roles include The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and TV series Merlin.

Book Second Best tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Jonathan Bailey

Best known for his role as Anthony Bridgerton in the steamy Netflix TV series, Bailey's stage career started long before the hit Regency-era show. He started out as a child actor in Les Miserables in the West End and went on to win an Olivier Award for the role of Jamie in Company. He was last seen on stage at the Ambassadors Theatre in 2012 in Cock, a play about a gay man who develops feelings for a woman. Next year, he will return in Richard II at the Bridge Theatre, Shakespeare's play about a charismatic king who makes poor political decisions. Oh, and he can next be seen on the big screen in Wicked, alongside Cynthia Eviro and Ariana Grande.

Book Richard II tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Cate Blanchett

Blanchett will star opposite Tom Burke in Duncan Macmillan and Thomas Ostermeier’s new version of Chekhov’s The Seagull next year — a play that explores the romantic and artistic complications between four characters. She was last seen on stage in the controversial When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other, which received mixed reviews at the National Theatre in 2019. On screen, she won Oscars for The Aviator (2004) and Blue Jasmine (2013), and has been nominated for six others, including Elizabeth (1998), Notes on a Scandal (2006), I'm Not There (2007), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Carol (2015), and Tár (2022).

Check back for The Seagull tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk