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April Preview: 40 Shows To Enjoy This Month

As the second quarter of 2026 begins, April treats us to a shower of exciting new shows in the West End, and all over the UK. Here are 40 shows to enjoy this month:


TWO (Park Theatre)

1st - 25th April


After a run at Greenwich Theatre last year, the acclaimed immersive production of Jim Cartwright’s two-hander transfers with Peter Caulfield and Kellie Shirley reprising the roles of all 14 characters in local boozer ‘The Clock and Compass’.



ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (Old Vic)

1st April - 23rd May


Aaron Pierre, Giles Terera and Olivia Williams star in Clint Dyer’s bold new staging of Ken Kesey’s novel that reignites the spirit, in a searing exploration of colonialism and the social structures built to silence dissent.



I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL (The Other Palace Studio)

2nd - 26th April


The Edinburgh Festival Fringe hit new 80's rock-horror musical transfers to London in a fully staged production



DEAR JACK, DEAR LOUISE (Arcola Theatre)

2nd April - 2nd May


Two-time Olivier Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig presents the UK premiere of this warm, witty and deeply moving portrait of two people kept apart by war, finding love against the odds.




GOD IS A WOMAN (King’s Head Theatre)

3rd April - 1st May


This one-woman show from British BAFTA Breakthrough comedian Luisa Omielan is a pitch for a musical all about Mary Magdalene.



KISS OF THE SPIDER-WOMAN (UK Tour)

3rd April - 6th June


Anna-Jane Casey and George Blagden star in a new production of Kander and Ebb’s musical, embarking on a short tour in Leicester, Bristol and Southampton.



FLYBY (Southwark Playhouse Borough)

3rd April - 16th May


The world premiere of a daring new musical by Theo Jamieson, directed and co-created by Adam Lenson fusing an intimate and exhilarating love story with the vast and endless loneliness of space.  



HEART WALL (Bush Theatre)

4th April - 16th May


A bittersweet, tender exploration of the long tail of grief and the fickleness of memory, this new play by Kit Withington asks where we go when the walls start closing in and home has become somewhere you don’t know.



ROWLING IN IT (King’s Head Theatre)

6th - 18th April


Written and performed by Laura Kay Bailey, this play explores the complicated reality of portraying real people whose public views cause harm and the personal fallout when a role collides with your own values.



KNOCKED CONSCIOUS - A SKETCH COMEDY (Riverside Studios)

8th - 11th April


After a sell-out run at Waterloo East Theatre, the high-energy ensemble returns fir 70 minutes of brand new sketch comedy, blending clever writing and sharp character work. Expect fast-paced sketches, and more than a few surprises.



INVISIBLE ME (Southwark Playhouse Borough)

8th April - 2nd May


Only Fools and Horses star Tessa Peake-Jones returns to theatre in Bren Gosling’s fun-loving comedy drama about turning sixty, navigating singledom, and refusing both labels presents unfiltered narratives that prove there's no retirement age on romance.



IPHIGENIA (Arcola Theatre)

9th April - 2nd May


Blending the brutal beauty of ancient tragedy with voices of today, this bold new production features contemporary testimonies from mothers who have lost children to war. Their raw, intimate and fiercely honest words reframe the myth for a modern world. A story of sacrifice, motherhood and the human cost of war – then and now.



THE RESISTABLE RISE OF ARTURO UI (The Swan)

11th April - 30th May


Mark Gatiss stars in the title role in Stephen Sharkey’s translation of Brecht’s riotous 1941 ‘gangster spectacle’, a blistering satire on Hitler’s ascent to power with new music composed by Placebo.



MANAGED APPROACH (Riverside Studios)

13th - 25th April


A semi-verbatim play exploring the UK’s first legalised red-light district in Holbeck, Leeds. Focusing on a mother and daughter whose opposing views mirror the community’s divided response, the production interweaves verbatim interviews with sex workers to reveal the realities of modern sex work.



AN EVENING WITHOUT KATE BUSH (Underbelly Boulevard)

14th - 26th April


The award-winning cult cabaret made by Sarah-Louise Young & Russell Lucas returns to London following critically acclaimed sold out tours of Australia and New Zealand.



BETWEEN THE RIVER AND THE SEA (Royal Court)

15th April - 9th May


Written by Yousef Sweid and Isabella Sedlak, this play arrives in London following international acclaim in a story about family, fear, and imagining a future beyond borders.  



THRILL ME - THE LEOPOLD AND LOEB STORY (Waterloo East Theatre)

16th April - 3rd May


Marking 15 years since its London Premiere, the gripping, intimate musical retelling of the infamous Leopold and Loeb case returns in a bold new production.



PLEASE PLEASE ME (Kiln Theatre)

16th April - 23rd May


The electrifying story of The Beatles’ meteoric rise and the hidden struggles of their beloved manager – the unsung, gay legend and ‘Fifth Beatle’, Brian Epstein.



PRIVATE LIVES (Reading Rep)

16th April - 19th May


Amy Di Barolomeo and Orla O’Sullivan star in a new production of Noel Coward’s quick-fire relationship comedy.


Tickets from www.readingrep.com.


THE WAVES (Jermyn Street Theatre)

16th April - 23rd May


Virginia Woolf’s masterpiece is brought to heart-thumping life in this tender, thrilling story about growing up together.


THE PRICE (Marylebone Theatre)

17th April - 7th June


Jonathan Munby directs two-time Olivier Award- winning Henry Goodman in one of Arthur Miller's most intimate and explosive dramas: a gripping portrait of family where memory, regret, and emotional inheritance collide.



DRIFTWOOD (The Other Place)

17th April - 30th May


The first play from Martina Laird is set in 1950s Caribbean in a deeply evocative story of self-determination and the search for family and belonging.



FIREWING (Hampstead Theatre)

17th April - 23rd May


The debut play by INSPIRE graduate David Pearson, Firewing is a striking new play about connection, artistry and control. 



MASS (Donmar Warehouse)

18th April - 6th June


Carrie Cracknell directs Adeel Akhtar, Amari Bacchus, Monica Dolan, Paul Hilton, Lyndsey Marshal, Rochelle Rose and Susie Trayling in a cathartic and profoundly moving drama by Fran Kranz.



TROMPE L’OEIL (Contact)

18th April - 2nd May


A hilarious circus and musical romp - combining queer theatre, cabaret, circus and illusion.



TWO HALVES OF GUINNESS (Park Theatre)

20th April - 2nd May


Revealing a mysterious life story worthy of the darkest Ealing Comedies, revisiting the most memorable characters played by Alec Guinness, and encountering a galaxy of stars along the way.



HEARTSINK (Riverside Studios)

21st April - 10th May


In this bitingly funny, bittersweet comedy, served with a healthy dose of gallows humour and a slice of magical cake, we learn what it means when the doctor becomes the patient. 



JEEZUS! (New Diorama Theatre)

21st April - 9th May


Catholic guilt collides with unrepentant queerness in this sinful, heart-pounding mix of live music, dark humour, and Latin heat. If Bo Burnham, Bad Bunny, and Bertolt Brecht had a baby, this would be it.



COCK (Colab Theatre)

22nd April - 2nd May


Mike Bartlett’s razor-sharp modern classic returns to London this spring in a bold, intimate new staging from Talk Is Free Theatre.



ENTERTAINING MURDER (Upstairs At The Gatehouse)

23rd April - 10th May


This murder mystery musical is inspired by the true story of Edith Thompson and her young lover Freddy Bywaters. 



TENDER (Soho Theatre)

23rd April - 30th May


From writer Dave Harris and director Matthew Xia comes a steamy, boisterous and tender story about breaking free from masculinity’s seductive cage.



A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Shakespeare’s Globe)

23rd April - 29th August


In this vibrant new production of Shakespeare’s classic comedy, the Globe Theatre becomes a space for communal celebration under starry, summer skies.



JACK & SARAH (The Mill At Sonning)

23rd April - 14th June


Based on the much-loved 1995 film starring Richard E. Grant and Dame Judi Dench, this heartwarming, witty, and unexpected romantic comedy is about finding love, family, and second chances in the most unlikely places.



CATEGORY IS: MACBETH (Emerald Theatre)

24th April - 28th May


Reimagining one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedies in a city where being gay is an act of rebellion and drag is a form of survival. Starring a cast of ferocious drag performers, this is an all-new Macbeth born under strobe lights and police sirens, where prophecy comes whispered over eyeliner mirrors and power is seized in heels sharp enough to kill.



GRACE PERVADES (Theatre Royal Haymarket)

24th April - 11th July


Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Raison star in the critically acclaimed West End transfer of David Hare’s play, following a sell-out season at Theatre Royal Bath.



MAGIC (Chichester Festival Theatre)

24th April - 16th May


David Haig and Hadley Fraser star as Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle in this world premiere based on extraordinary historical events that asks what we’re prepared to believe, and why



DISENCHANTED (Lichfield Garrick)

24th April - 2nd May


The hilarious hit musical with more bite, more sass, and zero damsels in distress, mashing up all of your favourite fairy tales.



THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND (@SohoPlace)

25th April - 18th July


Based on the international best-selling memoir, this bold and uplifting new musical tells the extraordinary true story of William Kamkwamba.



I DREAM (The Other Palace)

27th April


As civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy slips away from this life, his lifelong bond with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rises into sharp and haunting focus, powered by a contemporary score rooted in gospel and soul,



THE KARATE KID (UK Tour)

28th April - 1st August


The heartfelt coming-of-age story takes flight with spectacular musical numbers and dazzlingly inventive choreography. Daniel LaRusso’s journey is reimagined through movement, music, and raw, energetic storytelling.



What are you most looking forward to seeing in April?


Let me know in the comments or on all my socials - @ATDazzles on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and TikTok, and look out for reviews of many of them on the website over the next month as well as conversations with the stars of the latest shows on my podcast All That Chat, with new episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify every Monday.


To have your show included in the May preview or any other monthly post, send me an email with details of your show and I’ll include as many as possible.

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