10 Best New Theatre Openings in October 2026

The Cherry Orchard

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Award-winning actress Kristin Scott Thomas plays Lyubov Ranevskaya, an aristocratic Russian landowner who returns to her childhood estate and finds her family home and beloved cherry orchard under threat in Conor McPherson's adaptation of Anton Chekhov's final play. This bold new staging explores a family on the brink of change and a world in transition.

• Playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre
• Opens 3 October

The Cherry Orchard Tickets

Fences

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From one of America's most influential 20th century writers comes a powerful story about race, class, and ambition.  Daniel Bailey directs August Wilson's landmark 1985 play, which explores the evolving African-American experience in the face of race relations. In this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning drama, Troy, a working class 53-year-old man, struggles to provide for his family as head of the household.

• Playing at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
• Opens 6 October

Fences Tickets

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (One Part)

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Return to the Wizarding World with these magical, whimsical sequel play to J K Rowling's beloved Harry Potter series, taking place nineteen years after the defeat of Voldemort and following Harry's son Albus as he tries to find his own way outside his father's shadow. The play has now been reimagined as a one-part production that condenses the story into one performance, so you can now experience the magic with a single ticket and visit!

• Playing at the Palace Theatre
• Opens 9 October 2026

Harry Potter Tickets

High School Musical

Photo by Matt Crockett

Based on the Disney Channel original movie that blew up into a pop culture sensation, this upbeat, joyful musical takes you back to East High School in the 2000s, where basketball hero Troy Bolton and brainy Gabriella Montez fall in love, causing their diametrically opposed social circles to come into conflict. With a talented cast and a soundtrack filled with all your favourite catchy songs from the film, this musical captures every bit of heart, humour, and high school drama that we loved in the original franchise.

• Playing at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
• Opens 12 October

High School Musical Tickets

The Lives of Others

Photo by Oliver Rosser

Keira Knightley, Stephen Dillane, and Luke Thompson star in Robert Icke's stage adaptation of the German psychological thriller, The Lives of Others, in which a Stasi agent in East Berlin finds his loyalties tested when he begins spying on a couple. A star-studded cast brings to life this story of surveillance, espionage, oppression, and the struggle for personal freedom, in its first-ever stage adaptation.

• Playing at the Adelphi Theatre
• Opens 14 October

The Lives of Others Tickets

The Pianist

Photo by Anthony Leary-White

Based on renowned pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman's internationally acclaimed memoir, which was the inspiration for Roman Polanski's Academy Award-winning 2002 film, The Pianist recounts Szpilman's harrowing experiences  in 1930s Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. It features Szpilman's own music with new lyrics and is freshly orchestrated by Simon Lee, bringing his music and story together on the stage for the first time

• Playing at the Park Theatre
• Opens 15 October

The Pianist Tickets

Martin Guerre

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In this musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, creators of Les Misérables and Miss Saigon,  a man returns to his wife and village after years away, only to be suspected of being an imposter by his community. Based on a remarkable historical mystery, retold many times in many mediums, this latest revival comes with new lyrics, new folk-inflected orchestrations and an immersive in-the-round staging.

• Playing at the Old Vic
• Opens 15 October

Martin Guerre Tickets

Love Never Dies - In Concert

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Jamie Muscato and Celinde Schoenmaker star in this dazzling sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, in a two-night-only concert. Return to the magical, mystical world of the Phantom in another story of love, obsession, and desire that continues the tangled relationship between the mysterious Phantom and the beautiful, talented Christine, this time on Coney Island.

• Playing at the London Palladium
• Opens 16 October

Love Never Dies Tickets

Jesus Christ Superstar

Sam Ryder in Jesus Christ Superstar at London Palladium. Photo by Johan Persson

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera returns after blowing audiences away during its summer run at the London Palladium. Sam Ryder and Tyrone Huntley star as Jesus and Judas, with a star-studded line-up of rotating King Herods, in this epic and timeless theatrical phenomenon that chronicles the last days of Jesus Christ's life, blending biblical history with a modern musical.

• Playing at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
• Opens 16 October

Jesus Christ Superstar Tickets

Hamlet Hail to the Thief

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Created by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, Hamlet Hail to the Thief is a dynamic new version of Hamlet where Shakespeare's words are illuminated by Radiohead's music. Experience Shakespeare's greatest tragedy retold through Radiohead's celebrated album Hail to the Thief, in a unique theatrical experience performed live by a cast of musicians and actors, which combines theatre, music and movement.

• Playing at the Barbican Theatre
• Opens 31 October

Hamlet Hail to the Thief Tickets

If you're looking for more inspiration, check out our list of Family Shows to Watch in London this Year. You can also read our thoughts on adaptations and whether there's a lack of originality in the West End.