TOP PICKS OF
SHOWS TO SEE
CHECK OUT OUR WHAT'S ON PAGES HERE for more shows at London pub theatres
See our selection of shows below including 'The Last Days of Liz Truss?' back by popular demand and other shows not to be missed.
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
The Last Days of Liz Truss? Written by Greg Wilkinson at White Bear Theatre, Kennington 18th - 29th March 2025
Join Liz, in her last morning at number 10, on a tragic-comic exploration of the tensions in politics: between ambition and ability, vision and reality, going short and playing it long. Can a fighter ever quit?
Drama SPENT at Old Red Lion Theatre, Islington 18th - 29th March 2025
"Doesontrol change depending on who holds it?
SPENT is a bold, provocative drama that dives into the shifting power dynamics of toxic relationships.When A, an ambitious executive, and B, a struggling artist, reach a breaking point, they must decide: stay together or go their separate ways? As their love unravels through work struggles, botched Valentine’s dinners, and bizarre dragon dildos, the question lingers—who’s at fault and, more worryingly, who holds the power? With two actors alternating roles each night, SPENT flips the script on how we perceive control and abuse, challenging assumptions and proving that power can shift regardless of gender.Book now and experience both versions of the story to see how power changes with each casting!
Link to trailer
★★★★★ - “This play is universal. A tremendously real and visceral exploration of gender dynamics” (Harry’s Theatre Life)
Comedy MURDER, OF COARSE! at Canal Cafe Theatre, Little Venice 24 March - 4 April
A fast-paced Agatha Christie knockoff full of silly accents & extravagant hats.
Ready for a raucous evening of silliness and extravagant* hats? You need Murder, of Coarse!
Join our intrepid actors as they bale against the most ambious and under-achieving Agatha Christie rip-off since Kenneth Brannagh’s Poirot. Can you keep up as six experienced and ambious actors switch and swap between 15 characters and thirty accents to solve the crime of the century?
Writer Nick Thomas trained at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Murder of Course is his debut play. He has a track record in writing gags and creating hilarious moments, having previously written sketch shows and worked with the team behind The Show that Goes Wrong.
Barstood Theatre Company previously performed a work-in-progress preview of the show at London’s Questors Theatre in January 2024. It was met with rapturous applause with audiences likening Murder of Course to the Edinburgh Award winning Police Cops and (something else here).
Look smart and book now for this limited London run.
*Well there are certainly hats anyway…
Drama AFTER AGINCOURT at Lion & Unicorn, Kentish Town 25 Mar - 5 Apr
After Agincourt centres on the Shakespearean character, Pistol: bitter, drunk and alone in the Boar’s Head Tavern, seven years after the battle of Agincourt. In gritty modern vernacular, he suffers through a brutal recollection of the before, during and aftermath of the battles that took place at Harfleur and Agincourt in 1415. Simultaneously, he obliterates the familiar and heroic image of Henry V who – as the story goes – courageously rallied his troops to fame and glory.
New musical FALLEN ANGEL, Book, Music & Lyrics by Sara Eder & Giles Fernando, at Drayton Arms Theatre 25 - 29 March
Come lose yourself at LAX airport for two hours in this new bittersweet romcom, folk-pop musical, Fallen Angel
Angel Keeley is masquerading as a musician. She has a new assignment: take failing musician Zach to Heaven, by getting him on a London-bound flight that’s going to crash. All Zach wants is to write one hit song. And he will, but Keely knows he won’t live to hear it be a hit. She can’t let him get on the plane.
Shortlisted for Stiles & Drewe Best New Musical
Drama Dysmorphia
Etcetera Theatre, Camden 25 Mar - 6 Apr
Dysmorphia is a love story like you have never seen. Theo, a soldier who has returned from war a shell of the man who went in, has to navigate his new life at home. Will he be able to overcome his trauma with the help of his fiancé, brother, and best friend who has her own inner demons, or will his world completely change forever? Trauma, broken loyalty, fear, friendship, and true, unpredictable love. Do not miss this breathtaking whirlwind of a rollercoaster love story, and journey of self discovery, that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Dark Comedy HAPPY HOUR, Solo Season at Bridge House Theatre, Penge 28 & 29 March
It’s more than an hour, and it’s not always happy. A dark comedy…One man’s odyssey, to save his son and his own sanity, from the sinister forces he’s exposed them both to. Bernie wants his pub to be “child friendly”, a party atmosphere, a sort of… Santa’s Grotto, with himself as Father Christmas, but he’s so busy making his dream come true, that his own ten year-old son, Teddy, doesn’t get a look in. Blind to his son’s need for love, his wife’s need for moderation and his best friend’s need for honesty, Bernie sails his prized ship, The Toby, directly and decisively, onto the rocks. Funny, full of laughter, moving, disturbing, poignant, and emotionally satisfying.
'An exceptional performance-must be seen to be believed' ★★★★★ Latest 7
Drama A GHOST OF A CHANCE by Nick Hennegan at Theatre at the Tabard, Chiswick 2 Apr - 19 April 2025
Bob is at breaking point. Once a proud man, he’s now in despair after losing his job—a secret he keeps from his wife and child. Every day, he pretends to go to work, hides overdue bills, and watches his world crumble. With his house on the brink of repossession, Bob has hit rock bottom.
Then, one fateful night, an unexpected lifeline appears: the winning lottery numbers. But in this cruel twist of fate, salvation comes at a price—one so dark and unthinkable that Bob must decide just how far he’s willing to go to save his family.
The play was first performed 27 years ago at a pub theatre in Birmingham and then headed on to the Edinburgh Fringe winning the National Theatre's Guinness Award.
From local writer, Nick Hennegan, this intriguing ghost story persuasively invites us to think about the frailty of life and the moral dilemmas inherent in being human.
Revived for the first time since its initial run, it now plays a limited three week run this April.
'An absorbing, entertaining play, full of originality' The Stage
Drama THE PSYCHIATRIST at White Bear Theatre, kennington 8 - 26 April 2025
After working as a psychiatrist and physician for 40 years, Julian Bird started acting in his sixties. The Psychiatrist is a two-hander, in which Bird takes the title role. It is based on real events and portrays a psychiatrist’s struggle with poor resources, whilst trying to achieve a better life for his patients. Troubling events and losses in the psychiatrist’s personal life lead him to seek help from a psychotherapist while he continues his work. In alternating scenes, he is shown as a patient and as a therapist.
Following his career in psychiatry, Julian Bird trained as an actor at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. His TV credits include East Enders and The Tudors for the BBC. He received critical acclaim for his role as Sigmund Freud in Freud’s Last Session at the King’s Head in 2022.
Julian Bird said: “From my own experience I am well aware that at times of stress the mental health of psychiatrists can be a critical factor in the treatment of their patients. Audiences will get a realistic feel for the tensions, frustrations and dangers of working with inadequate resources and a fascinating insight into the mental health problems of a psychiatrist.”
The Psychiatrist is directed by Kenneth Michaels, returning to the White Bear after directing The Dedication in October 2024, and produced by Alistair Brown. Further casting is to be announced.
Drama SISTERS by David Storey at Jack Studio Theatre, Brockley 8 - 26 April
When Adrianne arrives unexpectedly at her sister Carol’s marital home, she realises nothing is quite what it seems or what she expected. She is forced to question who these people are, and what goes on upstairs? Carol has questions too. What has happened to Adrianne’s successful career in London, & why has she decided to visit after eighteen years? The sisters’ search for the truth has shocking consequences for both. Sisters is set in a large council estate in the industrial North of England. It is a remarkable, unsettling play about unrealised ambition, love, morals & madness. It was first presented at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in 1978.
Musical LAMBCO Productions Presents Supersonic Man by Chris Burgess at Southwark Playhouse 9 Apr - 3 May
“So – you’re becoming a cyborg?”
Fun-loving influencer Adam and the love of his life, Darryl, are having the time of their lives. They’re young, they’re thriving, they’re carefree. But life is about to throw them a curveball.
This joyous and moving new musical set amidst the LGBTQI+ community of Brighton, asks how we find new ways to survive and love when faced with cataclysm.
Inspired by the true-life story of Peter Scott-Morgan, as depicted in the Channel Four documentary: ‘Peter – The Human Cyborg’, Supersonic Man follows Adam’s mission to challenge a terminal diagnosis in the only way he can imagine – he’s going to become a human cyborg.
Musical ORDINARY DAYS, Music and lyrics by Adam Gwon, at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in Highgate 22 - 27 April
Ordinary Days tells the story of four young New Yorkers whose lives intersect as they search for fulfillment, happiness, love, and cabs. Through a score of vibrant and memorable songs, their experiences ring startlingly true to life.
Ordinary Days is an original musical for anyone who's ever struggled to appreciate the simple things in a complex place. With equal doses of humor and poignancy, it celebrates how 8.3 million individual stories combine in unexpected ways to make New York City such a unique and extraordinary home. A Life affirming and heartfelt musical that will leave audiences laughing one second and weeping uncontrollably the next.
Directed by Karl Steele (Artistic Director of The Old Joint Stock in Birmingham)
Psst ... more shows being added each week
We are very proud to announce that LONDON PUB THEATRES MAGAZINE is now an OFFIE AWARD WINNING publication
A ONEOFF Special Award (February 2024) has been awarded to London Pub Theatres Magazine and Editor Heather Jeffery for providing a vital forum for highlighting the excellent work that happens in rooms in pubs, with sensitive editing, and an acute sense of the importance of tiny fringe venues to the health and development of British Theatre
London pub theatres magazine is published in Rickmansworth by London Pub Theatres Magazine Ltd ISSN 2977-6724