TRADGE'S TOP PICKS: Autumn 2025

Winter's nigh, and summers oer, so to keep us occupied during the inevitable shift from warm summer days to long winter nights, we have a wonderful range of musicals, plays and more set to open this autumn around the UK, here are some of the highlight of what's coming up!

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LONDON

The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde)

Noël Coward Theatre - opening 17/09

Tickets: book here

"The National Theatre’s sold-out production of The Importance of Being Earnest transfers to the Noël Coward Theatre this Autumn, in a co-production with Sonia Friedman Productions. Directed by Max Webster (Donmar’s Macbeth; Life of Pi) this joyful and flamboyant reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s ‘glittering masterpiece’ (Telegraph), is a hilarious story of identity, impersonation and romance." - Delfont Mackintosh

Runtime: 2 hours, 45 minutes (incl. interval)

Content warnings: strong language, suggestive content

Production warnings: smoke and haze

Accessibility information: click here

Songs for a New World: 30th Anniversary Concert (Jason Robert Brown)

Eventim Apollo: playing 21/09 at 3pm & 7:30pm

Tickets: book here

"...moving collection of powerful songs sung by world class talent, examines life, love, and the choices that we make. Songs For A New World transports audiences through time and space to meet a startling array of characters – every one of them so different, but all representing our world today and our hopes for a new world…" - Eventim Apollo

Runtime: 2 hours (incl. interval)

Content warnings: strong language; adult themes; references to violence, suicide

Accessibility information: click here

Punch (James Graham)

Apollo Theatre: opening 22/09

Tickets: book here

"Following sold-out runs at the Nottingham Playhouse and Young Vic, Punch, transfers to the West End for a strictly limited 10-week season from 22nd September. Don’t miss your chance to see this critically-acclaimed new play in a ‘powerhouse of a production’ (Whatsonstage) at the Apollo Theatre. " - Nimax Theatres

Runtime: 2 hours, 25 minutes (incl. interval)

Content warnings: Strong language; references to violence, death, bereavement, alcohol and substance misuse, and mental health; knives on stage

Production warnings: Loud music throughout; flashing lights throughout; strobe lighting; sudden noises; theatrical smoke and fire/flame effects

Age guidance: 12+

Accessibility information: click here

Shantify (Jo Parsons, Emily Wood)

Ambassador's Theatre: playing 28/09 at 3pm and 6pm

Tickets: book here

"Join us as we set sail with our crew of West End Wonderboys, as they transform Show Tunes, Rock Classics, and Pop Bangers into spectacular sea shanties. With an all-new setlist featuring audience favourites, this is the hottest, funnest, shanty-est show of the year!" - ATG Tickets

Runtime: 1 hour (no interval)

Content warnings: N/A

Production warnings: smoke, haze, flashing lights

Accessibility information: click here

Hot Mess (Ellie Cootes, Jack Godfrey)

Southwark Playhouse Elephant: opening 16/10

Tickets: book now

"After a billion years of bad dates, Earth has finally found the one… Humanity. Sparks fly. Technology flourishes. Wheat is harvested. But what begins as a passionate love affair between the universe’s most iconic couple quickly descends into a hot mess." - Southwark Playhouse

Runtime: 1 hour, 5 minutes (no interval)

Content warnings: distressing or potentially triggering themes, strong language

Production warnings: haze and flashing lights.

Age guidance: 12+

Accessibility information: click here

Paddington: The Musical (Tom Fletcher, Jessica Swale)

Savoy Theatre: opening 01/11

Tickets: book here

"...London isn’t all cream teas and friendly faces – and even the happiest families have their cracks beneath the surface. So when Paddington’s life is suddenly in peril, the Browns must decide just how far they’re willing to go — and what they’re willing to risk — to give this special bear a home." - ATG Tickets

Runtime/Content warnings: not yet available

Accessibility information: click here

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Regional/UK Tour

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

UK Tour starting at Leeds Playhouse: 08/09

Tickets: book here

"Aaron Sorkin’s riveting, award-winning stage adaptation of the seminal American novel about racial injustice and childhood innocence became a Broadway and West End sensation with star-studded sell-out seasons on both sides of the Atlantic. Now this thrilling courtroom drama embarks on a UK & Ireland tour for the very first time..."

Runtime: 2 hours, 50 minutes (incl. interval)

Content warnings: full list on Leeds Playhouse website

Age guidance: 12+

Fiddler on the Roof (Bock, Harnick, Stein)

UK Tour starting at Edinburgh Festival Theatre: 09/09

Tickets: book here

"It’s 1905 in the tiny village of Anatevka. Tevye, a Jewish milkman, lives his life by their proud traditions. For his five daughters, that means a visit from the matchmaker. As each daughter challenges his beliefs, against the backdrop of a changing world, can he hold on to his roots, or must he bend to the will of his children and embrace the unfamiliar?" - Fiddler on the Roof

Runtimes: 2 hours, 40 minutes (incl. interval)

Content warnings: themes of displacement; scenes of violence and antisemitism

Production warnings: smoke, haze and flashing lights

Age guidance: 12+

Military Wives (Debbie Isitt)

York Theatre Royal: opening 10/09

Tickets: book here

"With their husbands and partners away at war, the women are isolated, bored and desperate to find a focus to take their minds off feelings of impending doom. Enter Olive who arrives on the ‘patch’ to help them form a choir and learn to sing. But Olive gets a lot more than she bargains for with this diverse group of women" - YTR

Runtimes/content warnings: not yet available

Age guidance: 12+

Accessibility Information: click here

13 Going On 30 (Zachary, Wiener, Goldsmith, Yuspa)

Manchester Opera House: 21/09 - 12/10

Tickets: book here

"Don’t miss this hilarious and inspiring new musical about the choices we make, the friends we choose and the beauty of never losing your sparkle. The story you love – now with incredible original songs – 13 Going On 30: The Musical is a feel-great reminder that being yourself never gets old." - ATG tickets

Runtimes/Content warnings: not yet available

Accessibility information: click here

Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks)

Hope Mill Theatre: 10/10 - 30/11

Tickets: book for Manchester/book for Liverpool

"Grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced “Fronk-en-steen”) inherits his family’s estate in Transylvania. With the help of a hunchbacked sidekick, Igor (pronounced “Eye-gore”), and a leggy lab assistant, Inga (pronounced normally), Frederick finds himself in the mad scientist shoes of his ancestors." - Hope Mill Theatre

Runtime: not yet specified

Content warnings: strong language; adult humour; grotesque imagery

Accessibility information: Hope Mill / Liverpool Playhouse