New British musical *Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)* has extended performances by seven weeks at the Criterion Theatre in the West End. The show is now booking until 31 August.

Jim Barne and Kit Buchan's musical transferred to the West End earlier this month, following a sold-out, extended run at London's Kiln Theatre.

The production stars Olivier Award winner Sam Tutty (*Dear Evan Hansen*) as Dougal and Dujonna Gift (*Hamilton, Caroline or Change, Motown: The Musical*) as Robin....

'Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)' extends performances through August 2024

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Olivier Award winner Sam Tutty and Dujonna Gift star in this adorable two-hander by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan. Performances have been extended to 31 August.

Again! Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch… Again! God, I hope I get it… Originally devised, directed, and choreographed by Michael Bennett with a score by Marvin Hamlisch, the 1975 musical *A Chorus Line* returns to London this summer in a fresh production directed by Nikolai Foster and starring Adam Cooper and Carly Mercedes Dyer.

Cooper plays Zach, the domineering director-choreographer casting the chorus for a new Broadway musical who puts the hopefuls through the wringer – physically and...

Learn all about the history of 'A Chorus Line' in London and New York

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The iconic musical plays at Sadler's Wells this summer in an exciting new production starring Adam Cooper and Carly Mercedes Dyer.

A musical version of a chick flick? With spectacular fashion shows, epic backstabbing and a diva who’ll chill your soul, it could well be groundbreaking. *The Devil Wears Prada* struts into the West End this autumn. With an original score by Elton John and a cast led by Vanessa Williams and Matt Henry, start planning your outfit for the most stylish show in town! 

Based on the bestselling novel by Lauren Weisberger and the film starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, protagonist Andrea “Andy”...

Everything you need to know about 'The Devil Wears Prada' in the West End

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Elton John's musical version of the hit novel and film arrives at London's Dominion Theatre this autumn, starring Vanessa Williams and Matt Henry.


We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to shows in London, and it can be hard to keep up with everything that’s opening – we all have busy lives and it isn’t possible to fit everything in. Fortunately, second chances do sometimes arise!

A whole host of plays and musicals are being reprised in the West End this spring and summer, from celebrated musicals to classic drama and exciting contemporary writing. If it’s a show you’ve loved before, different cast members and venues can provide a whole...

Catch these incredible theatre shows as they return to the stage in London

From *Sister Act* and *Hadestown* to *Standing at the Sky's Edge*, there's a wealth of fantastic shows coming into town – so don't miss out!

Make a joyful noise! West End favourite [Lee Mead](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/lee-mead) will join the cast of [*Sister Act*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/28926-sister-act) at the [Dominion Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/dominion-theatre) this June.

Mead is best known for his West End performances in *Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Legally Blonde*, [*Wicked*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/313-wicked-tickets), and, most...

Lee Mead to join 'Sister Act' West End cast

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The London theatre veteran will join Ruth Jones, Alexandra Burke, and more in the musical based on the hit movie, which currently stars Beverley Knight.

The magic returns! [*My Neighbour Totoro*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/25389-my-neighbour-totoro-tickets), the stage adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki's beloved same-named Studio Ghibli movie, will transfer to the West End in 2025. The [Gillian Lynne Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/gillian-lynne-theatre) will host the 34-week run from 8 March to 2 November 2025. Opening night is 20 March.

*My Neighbour Totoro* follows two sisters, Satsuki and Mei, who move to the...

'My Neighbour Totoro' sets West End transfer

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Following two seasons at the Barbican Centre, the acclaimed play adapted from the classic Studio Ghibli film will play a 34-week run at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.

All hail Macbeth! *Macbeth*, starring [David Tennant](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/david-tennant) in the title role and Cush Jumbo as Lady Macbeth, will play in the West End this autumn, with performances running at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 1 October to 14 December.

The production comes to the West End from a critically acclaimed premiere at the Donmar Warehouse in fall 2023, with the entire original cast returning. Alongside Tennant (*Doctor Who*) and Jumbo (*The Good...

David Tennant and Cush Jumbo-led 'Macbeth' to transfer to the West End

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The critically acclaimed production played the Donmar Warehouse in 2023, also starring Tennant and Jumbo, and will now have a two-month run in the West End.

Truth is, no one can do what he does. Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in 1947, Elton John has been one of the world’s most successful pop stars and songwriters since he released “Your Song” in 1970. 

Collaborating with lyricist Bernie Taupin, some of his greatest hits include “Tiny Dancer”, “Rocket Man”, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, “I’m Still Standing”, “Are You Ready for Love”, and, of course, “Candle in the Wind”, which was revised as a tribute to Princess Diana following her death and became a...

Explore the fantastic stage musicals of Elton John ahead of 'The Devil Wears Prada'

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Follow our guide to the shows composed by legendary pop star Elton John, including *The Lion King, Billy Elliot, Tammy Faye*, and the forthcoming West End musical *The Devil Wears Prada*.  

Revivals of musicals are often every bit as revelatory as new takes on classic plays. In recent years, Daniel Fish’s *Oklahoma!* imbued the 1943 Rodgers and Hammerstein classic with a chillingly contemporary significance without changing a word, and Jamie Lloyd’s stripped back *Sunset Boulevard* recently swept the Olivier Awards.

This summer, *Starlight Express* makes a spectacular return in a specially designed auditorium. There’s star casting aplenty as Imelda Staunton leads *Hello, Dolly!*...

Experience London shows in a new light with tickets to West End musical revivals

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Relive all the joy of classic West End musicals as they return to London in 2024, including *Hello, Dolly!*, *Starlight Express*, and *Kiss Me, Kate*.

The [London Palladium](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/london-palladium) will show a *Robin Hood* pantomime in December, continuing its annual tradition of presenting a panto each Christmas season. Performances will run from 7 December 2024 to 12 January 2025.

The star-studded cast includes [Julian Clary](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/julian-clary) as Robin Hood, Jane McDonald as Maid Marion, Paul Zerdin as Will Scarlet, [Nigel...

Jane McDonald, Julian Clary to lead 'Robin Hood' panto in December

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Numerous award-winning West End actors will join the ninth annual panto at the historic venue, with performances running from December 2024 to January 2025.

The touring musical adaptation of <a href="/show/amelie">Amelie</a>, based on the popular 2001 film, is set to run at <a href="/theatres/the-other-palace">The Other Palace</a> in London over Christmas.With music by Daniel Messé, lyrics by Nathan Tysen and Daniel Messé and a book by Craig Lucas, the musical is about a woman who can secretly influence the lives of those around her. It's based on the film by Guillaume Laurant and Jean-Pierre Jeunet.Amelie will run at <a href="/theatres/the-other-palace">The Other Palace</a> from 29th November to 1st February 2020.Audrey Brisson will reprise her role of Amelie form the tour, alongside Sophie Crawford, Faoileann Cunningham, Rachel Dawson, Oliver Grant, Chris Jared, Caolan McCarthy, Samuel Morgan-Grahame, Emma Jane Morgan, Kate Robson-Stuart, Josh Sneesby, Jez Unwin and Johnson Wills.The musical first ran on Broadway in 2017 where it starred Phillipa Soo, and make its UK premiere when the current tour opened at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury earlier this year.It features songs such as "Where Do We Go From Here", "Halfway", "Times are Hard for Dreamers" and "The Girl with the Glass".<a href="/show/amelie">Amelie</a>&nbsp;is at <a href="/theatres/the-other-palace">The Other Palace</a> from 29th November to 1st February 2020.<a href="/show/amelie">Amelie tickets</a> go on sale on Friday.Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Amelie musical adaptation to run at The Other Palace this Christmas

Amelie

Off-West End

The quirky hit film is now a charming musical about a Parisian girl and her good deeds

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Following an Olivier-nominated engagement at The Other Palace, *Amélie the Musical* returns to London in 2021. Audrey Brisson reprises her acclaimed title role in the West End premiere of Amélie in London. 

*Amélie* is based on the five-time Oscar nominated 2001 movie of the same name, starring Audrey Tautou. Throughout the musical, Amélie tries to make the world a better place. Improvising small acts of kindness wherever she goes, Amélie aims to bring a smile to every face she sees. Happiness doesn’t have to cost a thing in her mind. But when Amélie has a chance to fall in love, can she make herself feel good? To find her own peace of mind, Amélie must risk everything to say what’s in her heart.

The *Amélie* musical features a book by Craig Lucas, music by Daniel Messé, lyrics by Messé and Nathan Tysen. Michael Fentiman directs, also directing *The Windsors: Endgame* at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Songs in Amélie include “Times Are Hard for Dreamers.”

*Amélie* received its world premiere at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California, in 2015. *Frozen* star Samantha Barks originated the role of Amélie. Amélie then made its Broadway premiere in 2017, where it ran for two months at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

The UK premiere of *Amélie* was in 2019 at the Watermill Theatre, starring Audrey Brisson and Danny Mac. *Amélie* then ran over the Christmas period in 2019, receiving three Olivier Award nominations including Best New Musical.

In an *Amélie* review at the Criterion Theatre, the musical is “at its high, very high indeed. There is a reassuring edge of darkness to the show, compounded by Dik Downey’s truly eerie puppets and Audrey Brisson’s excellent central performance, which resists dreaminess and instead beds down into a stubborn wiriness... it seeks out moments to relish."

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Wish you could influence the lives of those around you? That’s what Amélie is able to in the *Amélie* musical. Walking around the streets of Paris, Amélie is constantly inspired by her own justice, constantly seeking to help others. She takes a blind beggar on a tour of Paris. She sets up a couple to fall in love. She even falls in love herself. But, when Amélie and Nino form a close bond, what will happen to her? Book *Amélie* tickets to see if she can she tell the truth and say how she really feels. 

If you’re someone who constantly dreams of a brighter tomorrow, wishing your future could change, then *Amélie* is the musical for you. Wearing its heart on its sleeve and charming its audience members, *Amélie* will change your life in ways you won’t believe. *Amélie* is at the Criterion Theatre, following a critically-acclaimed engagement at The Other Palace.

## What to Watch For

- Audrey Brisson reprises the role of Amélie in London. In 2020, Brisson received her first Olivier nomination for playing Amélie. 
- *Amélie* received three Olivier nominations in 2020, including Best New Musical. Amélie was nominated against *Dear Evan Hansen, & Juliet* and *Waitress*. 
- The *Amélie* musical is inspired by the 2001 film of the same name, starring Audrey Tautou. To date, *Amélie* is one of the most successful French films released of all time.
- *Amélie* was on Broadway in 2017, starring Hamilton’s Phillipa Soo. But, the role of *Amélie* on stage was originated by Samantha Barks. 

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The fear going into Craig Lucas's musical adaptation of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's now-iconic 2001 film is that the whimsicality of the original might calcify into an unbearable, teeth-rotting level of tweeness. On the whole, this is, remarkably, not the case with Michael Fentiman's production, which premiered in 2019 at the Watermill before transferring to The Other Palace and now the Criterion.&nbsp;As a young girl, Amélie Poulain is misdiagnosed with a heart defect and is sequestered away from other children. After her mother passes away and her father recedes into grief, she takes to Paris, where she waitresses in a cafe full of quirky characters who make up a kind of Francophone Lonely Hearts Club. She is devoted to helping others, but unwilling to allow herself to find happiness. It's not the most inherently dramatic of plots, and Lucas's lovingly rendered adaptation runs at a hefty 2 hours and 30 minutes.Fentiman's production is fleet-footed, but the narrative in the second half boils down to a series of plans laid out and then executed by Amélie, and it all begins to feel ploddingly sequential. Daniel Messé's music is, initially at least, an irresistible smorgasbord of cellos, violins, flutes, and the inevitable accordion (though it is smartly underused) which are all performed by the actor-musicians, who swoop and weave across the stage with impressive dexterity. Once again, though, the second half is where the music sags, becoming swamped in strings, each song blending into the next. The supporting characters too are granted short shrift by Lucas, though Caolan McCarthy stands out with a beautifully droll performance as frustrated writer Hippolito.&nbsp;It is Madeleine Girling's design which is the star of the show: an exquisite terrarium which contains a menagerie of hidden delights — Amélie's chocolate-box apartment hidden behind a glowing clock-face, a transportive photo booth, rusted green wrought iron Metro signs. The design is where Amélie could have faltered: too stylised and sweet, and it could tip into the excessively quaint. Instead, Girling's design feels like it lays out a precedent for an undeniably romantic but still rustic story, one shot through with more grubbiness than we might expect.There is a reassuring edge of darkness to the show, compounded by Dik Downey's truly eerie puppets and Audrey Brisson's excellent central performance, which resists dreaminess and instead beds down into a stubborn wiriness. Fentiman excels at sleights of hand and pockets of unexpected magic — a lampshade hoisting Amélie up to her apartment, a surprisingly adept Elton John pastiche (McCarthy again, who excels) — and it seeks out those moments with relish.At its highs, Amélie is very high indeed. It is a shame that there is a frankly unforgivable level of racial homogeneity in the cast which feels entirely misplaced given that the production leans into the idea of a bustling metropolis, and Lucas has seemingly sidestepped the opportunity to update some of the more questionable aspects of this 20 year old film. A chocolate box that is perhaps more bitter than one might have expected — both to its credit and its failings.<a href="/show/amelie">Am</a>é<a href="/show/amelie">lie is at the Criterion Theatre to 25 September. Am</a><a href="/show/amelie">élie tickets are on sale now on London Theatre</a>.Photo credit: Audrey Brisson in Amélie (Photo by Pamela Raith)

'Amélie' is undeniably romantic and filled with pockets of unexpected magic

Photo credit: Audrey Brisson in Amélie (Photo by Pamela Raith)

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Be among the first to see the West End Premiere of this theatrical experience from September 2023.

When the Criterion Theatre first opened in 1873, the space was designed as a concert hall. The Criterion Theatre is the only West End theatre to be situated almost entirely underground — even the Upper Circle is not at street level. 

The Criterion Theatre housed comic opera in its early years, including works by W. S. Gilbert and George Grossmith. A decade after opening, the theatre had to be renovated to meet the Metropolitan Board of Works standards for ventilation. This work also saw the installation of electricity to the theatre. The building surrounding the theatre was extensively rebuilt between 1989 and 1992, but the Victorian auditorium was well-preserved and still stands today. 

Notable shows at the Criterion Theatre include *The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)* by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, the long-running play *The 39 Steps* and Mischief Theatre's *The Comedy About A Bank Robbery*.

## Criterion Theatre Seating Information

The auditorium has three levels – Stalls, Dress Circle and Upper Circle.

The front rows of the Stalls offers good views of the stage, though the seating is not raked steeply. 

The Dress Circle has specifically designated ‘restricted view’ seats due to the number of pillars supporting the Upper Circle in Row C.

The Upper Circle offers unrestricted theatre views.

Amelie musical adaptation to run at The Other Palace this Christmas

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