The Ultimate Guide to London’s Unmissable Shows Autumn 2023

Author	Vava Lotareva
Category	Columnists, Culture, Lifestyle, People, Town
Date	September 30 2023
Reading Time	3 min.

The Ultimate Guide to London’s Unmissable Shows Autumn 2023

British weather has been giving mixed signals lately, confusing Londoners with bright sun and hot temperatures and making them forget about the usual English autumn with its grey sky, pouring rain and the inability to spend time outside. There is, however, no doubt that all this is expected to make a come back quite soon so it would be wise to start planning your autumn activities now to make sure that you won’t be the only one stuck outside one-on-one with wind, slush and no plans. Considering London’s post-covid theatre renaissance, it would only be reasonable to hide from the horrible weather in the city’s many world-famous theatres that are bringing on shows that are simply unmissable.

1. Vanya

By now it has become a tradition to stage Chekhov’s masterpiece Uncle Vanya every few years in London, but this radical new version of the play promises a reimagined kaleidoscope of human emotions delivered by no other than Andrew Scott. The play runs from15th September 21st October and will be shown at the Duke of York’s Theatre and tickets are being sold out quickly.

https://www.thedukeofyorks.com/vanya

2. Sunset Boulevard

The legendary musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber first premiered in London’s Adelphi Theatre in 1993. Now it’s coming back to London for a 16-week run from 18th September to 6th January at the Savoy. Drained in champagne and cynicism, this story of fame, adoration and ambition is to to be missed.

https://sunsetboulevardwestend.com/

3. L’elisir D’Amore

Donizetti’s fun and witty comedy brings together Royal Opera House and Opéra National de Paris for an evening of love and adventure as a country boy Nemorino once again tries to win the heart of his haughty beau Adina with the use of Doctor Dulcamara’s “elixir of love”. The opera runs from 22nd of September to 10th October at the Royal Opera House.

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/lelisir-damore-by-laurent-pelly-details#background

4. Hamnet

Following a sold-out run in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Royal Shakespeare company is finally bringing this striking adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel “Hamnet” to London. Set in the late 1500s, the play follows the story of 11-year-old Hamnet after he loses his parents to plague at the same time pulling back a curtain on the life of the greatest writers in the English language and the special woman who was the constant presence and purpose of his life. The show un from 30th September to 17th February at the Garrick Theatre.

https://www.rsc.org.uk/hamnet/

5. Don Quixote

Romance, comedy and wit are reimagined with a hint Spanish heat in Carlos Acosta’s new ballet production at the Royal Opera House. Watch this new vision of Cervantes’s classical novel from 30th September to 17th November.

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/don-quixote-by-carlos-acosta-details

6. Rigoletto

Verdi’s devastating masterpiece comes back to the Royal Opera House to once again plunge the viewer into the world of luxurious decadence, corruption and social decay brought on stage by the director Oliver Mears. Rigoletto will be running from 12th October to 28th November.

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/rigoletto-by-oliver-mears-details

7. Lyonesse

Penelope Skinner’s searingly funny and passionate new play directed by Ian Rickson and starring Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas. Following a story of a talented but reclusive actress disappearing in mysterious circumstances. When she comes back 30 years later to tell her story mysterious events continue to occur as a young director assists her with a glorious return on the stage. The show runs from 17th October to 23rd December in Harold Pinter Theatre.

https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/lyonesse/harold-pinter-theatre/

8. King Lear

In this production of Shakespeare’s King Lear Kenneth Branagh both directs and leads the play with the masterfulness of a real star. The show will run from 21st October to 9th December and will take place at the Delfont Macintosh Theatre.

https://www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk/whats-on/king-lear

9. The Witches

The major adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved dark kids’ novel will be the first musical hosted by the National Theatre since the pandemic. Following the story of a young boy and his grandmother on their quest to uncover the villainous witches’ conspiracy to turn all the the world’s children into mice, it is truly an modern British classic. The show will run between 7th November and 6th January at the National Theatre at South Bank Centre.

https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-witches/

10. The House of Bernarda Alba

Playwright Alice Birch returns to the National Theatre for the production of her adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s classic tragedy about a family lead by a domineering matriarch, who imposes stifling eight years of mourning on her five daughters after the death of her second husband. Staged at the National Theatre, the show will run between 16th November and 6th January.

https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-house-of-bernarda-alba/

11. My Neighbour Totoro

This phenomenal live adaptation of the Studio Ghibli’s cult movie “My Neighbour Totoro” returns to London for a second run after its astounding success earlier last year. The show will run in Barbican between 21st November and 23rd March.

https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/my-neighbour-totoro-tickets/artist/5380315?awtrc=true&utm_source=TM-google&gclid=CjwKCAjw6p-oBhAYEiwAgg2PgmObiDETZQBZUClWR1E1E2ynMmksrdY1hzcWpzHwgXMg3ALMTUybjBoCFloQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

12. Infinite Life

Little is known so far about this new play brought to London by one of the most brilliant American playwrights of our time — Annie Baker, however it is expected to be “a surprisingly funny inquiry into the complexity of suffering, and what it means to desire in a body that’s failing you”. Staged at the National Theatre, the production will between 22nd November and 13th January.

https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/infinite-life/

13. The Homecoming

This bold refocusing of Harold Pinter’s powerful classic is brought to Young Vic by the Olivier-nominated director Matthew Dunster. The story follow the life of an East London family of butchers and boxers, whose academic son returns from America with a new wife that they have never met before. The show will run from 27th November to 27th January.

https://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/the-homecoming

14. Stranger Things: The First Shadow

This autumn the Phoenix Theatre becomes the host to the Stranger Things prequel. The story set in 1959 and will follow all the favourite adult characters from the original series as kids that are trying to uncover all the town’s mysteries with the help of the new student, Henry Creel. The show will run from 17th November and 25th August.

https://uk.strangerthingsonstage.com/?utm_source=ppc&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=onsale&gclid=CjwKCAjw6p-oBhAYEiwAgg2Pgm-hL2G70sn3MTh6ujWzP5hY–YeKe5fcfwzZqtB2JlYthEBSJVJoBoCvkAQAvD_BwE