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

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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.

*2:22 — A Ghost Story* is set to return to London’s West End for a strictly limited 10-week. The play will open at the Gielgud Theatre on 25 May.

The play premiered at the Noël Coward Theatre in 2020, and featured Lily Allen, Julia Chan, Hadley Fraser, and Jake Wood. A number of famous faces have gone on to star in the production, including Giovanna Fletcher, Tom Felton, Laura Whitmore, Cheryl, and Sophia Bush, among others. This run at the Gielgud marks the play's seventh West End season. ...

'2:22 — A Ghost Story' to return to the West End

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A number of famous faces have starred in *2:22 — A Ghost Story*, including Giovanna Fletcher, Tom Felton, Laura Whitmore, Cheryl, and Sophia Bush. 

Get ready for a combination of Charles Dickens and country music with the European premiere of [*Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/25620-dolly-partons-smoky-mountain-christmas-carol). The musical will run at the [Queen Elizabeth Hall](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/queen-elizabeth-hall) this Christmas, with previews from 8 December, an opening night on 13 December, and performances to 8 Jan. 2023. 

Instead of setting the tale in Dickensian England, the story takes place in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee in the 1930s. Ebenezer Scrooge owns a mining town but fails to recognise his employee’s hard work. When a Christmas Eve snowstorm hits, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts who show him a new light. 

The musical combines Charles Dickens’s characters and Dolly Parton’s music. 
“Bringing our reimagined Charles Dickens classic to London feels like a homecoming. My songs weave the music of my beautiful Smoky Mountains into this timeless Christmas story, and I can’t wait for London audiences to hear them as we tell that story, set in a place that is truly special to me,” said Parton.

Dolly Parton is an American singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist, who grew up in Tennessee, close by to the Smoky Mountains. She notably played Doralee Rhodes in the *9 to 5* film, which was later adapted into a musical. Parton also starred in the 1986 film, *A Smoky Mountain Christmas.*

*Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol* first premiered at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston in 2019. *Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol* is an adaptation by David H. Bell, Paul T. Couch and Curt Wollan. The musical features a book by David H. Bell and music and lyrics by Dolly Parton. Casting and a further creative team will be announced at a later date.

*Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol* is at Queen Elizabeth Hall.

*Photo credit: Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol in Boston (Photo courtesy of production)*

Dolly Parton’s ‘Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol’ to open in London

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Genre: Musical (US and AUS)

Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol

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Please note that Dolly Parton is not appearing live in this production.

Set during the 1930s in the Great Smoky Mountains of east Tennessee, this heart-warming and truly unforgettable production imagines Ebenezer Scrooge as the owner of a mining company town, where his callous greed blinds him to the joys and gifts of the season.

As a Christmas Eve snowstorm approaches, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts who compel him to see life anew and discover that love is the greatest and most precious gift we have.

Dickens’ classic characters and Parton’s one-of-a-kind songwriting and storytelling expertise are certain to make this the most joyful Christmas event. Dolly Parton: ‘I’ve been busy writing new songs that I hope will bring some of the warmth, love and good memories that I have of Christmas time in the smoky mountains of my youth.’

Presented in association with Fiery Angel Entertainment.

Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol - LON - London Theatre

Buy Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol tickets showing at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. Choose your own seats with the best availability at London Theatre.

Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol Tickets | Queen Elizabeth Hall | London Theatre

Charles Dickens and Dolly Parton come together for a country-infused *Christmas Carol* in London. Join Ebenezer Scrooge in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.
See the European premiere of this warm, joyful Christmas musical.
God bless us everyone! Check out *Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol* in London today.

Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol - LON - TodayTix

How can you possibly reconceive still further *A Christmas Carol*, the Dickens title that seems on the verge of taking over London theatre at the moment? One unexpected answer is to hand it over to Dolly Parton, the singer-songwriter country music goddess last represented on the West End nearly 4 years ago with her stage musical, *9 to 5.*

But whereas that screen-to-stage transcription was a comparatively synthetic affair, [*Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/25620-dolly-partons-smoky-mountain-christmas-carol-tickets) is an unexpected delight. And whilst its overtly Christian nature may come as something of a surprise to London’s inevitably more secular audience, the show itself, and Alison Pollard’s deeply affectionate rendering of it, fairly brim with sincerity and heart.

I felt the odd tear moistening my eye well before the final reprise of “Circle of Love”, one of the many musical earworms in Parton’s score: and many will note the resemblance of that title to a certain time-honoured Disney song that taps into a similarly wide embrace. (The difference is that these lyrics specifically reference God’s love.)

The setting here are the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee during the 1930s —that’s to say rural Appalachia where the 76-year-old Parton was herself born into poverty. It’s “the season of generosity and charity,” but a crusty Ebenezer Scrooge (Robert Bathurst) is having none of it. 

Jacob Marley has died, and so Scrooge is busy serving foreclosures even as the locals await a blizzard: “It’s colder than cold,” both in the world at large and within Scrooge’s heart. On these chilly evenings just now, visitors to the South Bank will surely agree. 

The status quo is upended by the reappearance of Marley in the growly presence of a hard-working George Maguire — like most of the cast, the Olivier-winning Maguire juggles multiple roles. Three ghosts, it seems, will manifest within as many hours in an attempt to kick the nightshirt-wearing Scrooge into a newly engaged and empathic life.

There’s no one called Belle in this iteration, nor will you find satsumas or mince pies falling from above, as at the Old Vic. The references instead are to hayrides, maple syrup, and oatmeal served with raisins.

“People need Christmas, all people – even you,” an avuncular Ghost of Christmas Present (Minal Patel) informs our anti-hero, who is forced to confront his younger self before taking the second chance on life that he hasn’t thought could be possible. (The scenes of the older Scrooge re-examining his past put me rather improbably in mind of a honky-tonk version of Stephen Sondheim’s *Follies*.)

David H. Bell’s book may at times take the nearby availability of syrup a bit too literally, even if that liquid is seen here to contain not inconsiderable amounts of alcohol. You don’t expect this sort of adaptation to strive for Steinbeck-style verisimilitude about a citizenry under economic or even racial stress.

But taken on its own, openhearted terms, the show captivates throughout, buoyed aloft by music and lyrics from Parton that range from plaintive solos and duets to rousing company numbers with titles like “Good Time”: you get what it says on the tin but with more exuberance (and, may I say, better American accents) than I had anticipated.

Bathurst more often than not makes an agreeably bemused surveyor of Scrooge's life, while a firm-voiced Danny Whitehead does the bulk of the vocal heavy lifting as both the young Scrooge and the mother-less Fred, nephew to the senior Scrooge. There’s outstanding musicality from a clarion-voiced Sarah O’Connor, and I loved the *Fiddler On the Roof*-style side-of-the-stage presence of Corey Wickens as a purely fiddle-playing Ghost of Christmas Future.

Scott Davis’s set, hanging chairs and all, makes deft use of a tricky space: the [Queen Elizabeth Hall](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/queen-elizabeth-hall) isn’t the ideal venue for theatre, which only redoubles this production’s achievements. (I liked the large box on view of Tide detergent, even if that washing powder wasn’t actually introduced, apparently, until 1946.) And given that musicals more often than not require change, it seems right that Scrooge only lets loose in song at the eleventh hour to sing the inevitable paean to self-transformation called – what else? – “I’ve changed.”

Spurious uplift in musicals runs all too rampant, but the sentiment here is fully earned as Scrooge learns the never-too-late value in acquiring a generosity of spirit. Those wondering where to begin that purchase could start by attending this show.

*Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol is at Queen Elizabeth Hall through 8 January. Book Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol tickets on London Theatre.*

[![LT - CTA - 250](//images.ctfassets.net/6pezt69ih962/1t6HRGmhlYl70k6PmR0mOZ/3caac861bc1d4233cd7844652c925623/LT-CTA-250.png)](https://ticket.londontheatre.co.uk/booking/calendar?product_id=25620&content_product_id=25620&venue_id=19)

*Photo credit: Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol (Photo by Manuel Harlan)*

'Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol' review — a country-infused seasonal delight warms the soul

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The building was originally opened in March 1967 by Her Majesty the Queen and this historic restoration was possible through generous support from Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Queen Elizabeth Hall reopened in April 2018 following almost three years of renovations with world class, environmentally-improved new facilities for audiences and artists. The building also houses Purcell Room — a smaller, more intimate space.


Dolly Parton’s ‘Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol’ to open in London

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