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. 

A new cast will take over in Danny Robin’s Olivier-nominated play [*2:22 - A Ghost Story*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/23977-222-a-ghost-story) at the [Criterion Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/criterion-theatre). The new company will star in performances from 6 September to 8 Jan. 2023. Book *2:22 - A Ghost Story* tickets on London Theatre.

Laura Whitmore will play Jenny in *2:22 - A Ghost Story*. The *Love Island* host makes her West End debut in the role. 

“Theatre has always been my first love and I can’t wait to get back on stage. I am a huge fan of the previous productions and delighted to be getting stuck in with rehearsals and working alongside such a hugely talented cast and team,” said Whitmore.

[Matt Willis](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/actor-profile/matt-willis) will play Ben in *2:22 - A Ghost Story*. The Busted member has previously starred in *Waitress* and *Little Shop of Horrors*. Tamsin Carroll will play Lauren and Felix Scott will play Sam.

*2:22 - A Ghost Story* follows Jenny and Sam, a couple who have just moved into their new home. While Jenny believes the house is haunted, Sam is skeptical, so they invite dinner guests over and discover strange and frightening goings-on in their house.

*2:22 - A Ghost Story* premiered at the Noel Coward Theatre in 2021, with Lily Allen in the cast. The ghost play then moved to the Gielgud Theatre in winter 2021. 

The current cast features Tom Felton as Sam, Mandip Gill as Jenny, Beatriz Romilly as Lauren and Sam Swainsbury as Ben.

Matthew Dunster directs Danny Robins’s *2:22 - A Ghost Story*, and the show features set design by Anna Fleischle, costume design by Cindy Lin, lighting design by Lucy Carter, and sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph Sound.

## Who is in *2:22 - A Ghost Story* in London?

The *2:22 - A Ghost Story* West End cast stars Laura Whitmore as Jenny, marking her West End debut. The cast includes Matt Willis, Tamsin Carroll, and Felix Scott. Previous *2:22 - A Ghost Story* cast members include Giovanna Fletcher, Lily Allen, Hadley Fraser, Stephanie Beatriz, and Tom Felton.

*2:22 - A Ghost Story* is at the Criterion Theatre.

Book *2:22 - A Ghost Story* 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=23977&content_product_id=23977&performance_type=E&venue_id=132)

*Photo credit: 2:22 - A Ghost Story cast (Photo by Simon Turtle)*

Laura Whitmore and Matt Willis to star in ‘2:22 - A Ghost Story'

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Age guidance: 14+ Please note the performance contains strobe lighting, flashing lights, loud sound effects, smoke effects and periods of darkness in the auditorium.

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Genre: Play

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A spine-tingling tale returns to the West End — see it if you dare! In this supernatural thriller, something otherworldly happens every night at 2:22am. Do you believe the dead can return? Test your courage.

*2:22 - A Ghost Story* is at the Lyric Theatre from January 2023. [Find out more about *2:22 - A Ghost Story* tickets from January 2023.](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/26645-2-22-a-ghost-story-lyric-theatre)

British theatre has an impressive heritage when it comes to scary stories, so the *2:22 A Ghost Story* play follows a fine tradition. The most famous example is Susan Hill’s *The Woman in Black*, which Stephen Mallatratt adapted for stage in 1987, and which has been performed in London since 1989 — making it the second-longest-running play in West End history. We’ve also had theatrical chillers like *The Exorcist, Ghost Stories, Variant 31, Witness for the Prosecution*, and *Frankenstein*.

Now hitting the West End is *2:22 A Ghost Story*, written by Danny Robins. Robins has form in this area: he created the BBC series *Young Dracula* and two spook-tastic podcasts, *Haunted* and *The Battersea Poltergeist*. *Haunted* examines real-life experiences, from a racetrack where drivers are seemingly reanimated to parents who were convinced that a ghost was trying to kill their baby daughter, while *The Battersea Poltergeist* blends drama and documentary to investigate one of Britain’s strangest and most disturbing hauntings.

## What happens in *2:22 A Ghost Story*?

The *2:22 A Ghost Story* play features an intriguing premise. When Jenny and Sam move into a new house, Jenny is convinced their new abode is haunted. They argue about whether or not ghosts exist with their first dinner guests — and all four decide to stay up until 2:22am to confront the unknown. 

The premiere of *2:22 A Ghost Story* took palce at London’s Noel Coward Theatre in 2021. The original cast featured Lily Allen, Hadley Fraser, Julia Chan and Jake Wood. Then *2:22 A Ghost Story* returned to the West End for Christmas 2021, starring Encanto actress Stephanie Beatriz. *2:22 A Ghost Story* is now at the Criterion Theatre for 2022, its third venue in a year.

## How long is *2:22 A Ghost Story?*

The *2:22 A Ghost Story* play runs for 2 hours, including a 15-minute interval. Matinee performances begin at 2:00pm or 2:30pm, and evening performances begin at 6:00pm or 7:30pm.

2:22 A Ghost Story - LON - London Theatre

Buy 2:22 A Ghost Story Tickets showing at the Criterion Theatre, London. Choose your own seats with the best availability from London Theatre.

2:22 A Ghost Story Tickets | Criterion Theatre | London Theatre

Two couples wait to see if a ghost will appear - but maybe you'll spot it first! This spooky thriller has returned to the West End after two record-breaking runs. 
Believers and skeptics battle over the dinner table, but only you can decide if this is a haunting, or if another mystery is afoot.  
Get *2:22 - A Ghost Story* tickets at the Criterion Theatre today. 

The *2:22 - A Ghost Story* West End production continues a strong tradition of spooky fare in this famous theatre district, including the historic long-runner *The Woman in Black*, which uses traditional stagecraft to create a terrifying psychological horror experience. 

Robins’s play likewise digs into the core questions about our belief, or scepticism of, visitors from the beyond; the plot involves the couple and their first dinner party guests debating a mysterious happening at 2:22am, and deciding to stay up and face it together.

## What to Watch For:

- Danny Robins is no stranger to scary happenings. He created the BBC’s *Young Dracula* series and also two podcasts that examine the supernatural. *The Battersea Poltergeist* examines a haunting that became national news, with one house beset by loud noises and objects flying around, while *Haunted* digs into people’s real experiences with ghosts — like a spirit trying to murder a couple’s baby daughter.
- Director Matthew Dunster also has form when it comes to chilling plays. He helmed Martin McDonagh’s *A Very Very Dark Matter*, about the disturbing world of Hans Christian Andersen, and also McDonagh’s *Hangmen*, featuring the second-best hangman in England — and a mysterious stranger who wreaks havoc.
- The show features illusions by Chris Fisher. He’s a member of the Magic Circle and made a key contribution to productions like *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child* and *Back to the Future: The Musical*.
- Also featured among this all-star creative team is designer Anna Fleischle, who collaborated with Matthew Dunster on *A Very Very Dark Matter* and *Hangmen* — winning Olivier, Critics’ Circle and Evening Standard Theatre Awards for the latter. She was Olivier nominated again for the play *Home, I’m Darling* and musical *Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.*

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<a href="/actor-profile/lily-allen">Lily Allen</a> shrieks before she even says a word in <a href="/show/222-a-ghost-story">2:22: A Ghost Story</a>, which tips you off immediately as to the way Danny Robins's debut West End play is due to proceed. But the name-grabbing debut on view is, of course, singer-songwriter Allen, who was due some years back to be penning a major musical of Bridget Jones's Diary from which she parted company along the way.Instead, here Allen is, looking sleek and glam and very much forming part of the four-person ensemble that has been assembled by the director Matthew Dunster (of Hangmen renown, amongst other titles) in a putative scare-fest that is at heart the story of two couples in crisis. That shifting dynamic finds itself in thrall to numerous tropes of the genre - tricks of sound and light and sudden screams intended to elicit the same from the audience and which you'll either find nerve-shredding or cheesy, depending on your susceptibility to such things. To my mind, none of the jump-scare moments rival the frissons I recall from the comparatively undemanding likes of <a href="https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/the-woman-in-black">The Woman in Black</a>, but 2:22 A Ghost Story to its credit has far more on its mind, including a meditation on the debilitating legacy of loss that stays with you long after the collective nervous laughter from the crowd has ceased.Allen knows her way around a stage and is part of an acting family, so it's not much of a surprise that this isn't the deer-in-the-headlights moment some might have feared. (Madonna's Broadway and London stage runs, both of which I saw, have been cited by way of comparison but aren't really relevant.) In fact, Dunster keeps the actor whooshing around designer Anna Fleischle's attractive set, as Allen's character, Jenny, tries to make sense of footsteps she has been hearing in baby daughter Phoebe's room at 2:22 across successive mornings. (Quite why they don't simply bring Phoebe downstairs until the very final scene, rather than leaving her so long unattended, is left unanswered.)To try and make sense of this recurring conundrum, Jenny has enlisted over risotto and quite a lot of wine an assist from her sceptical, hyper-rationalist husband Sam (Hadley Fraser, the musicals veteran in expert form) along with Sam's longtime American psychoanalyst chum Lauren (Julia Chan) and her builder-boyfriend, Ben, who showed up to do Lauren's bathroom and evidently never left. That role seems intended as comic relief and is rather belligerently played as such by Jake Wood until such time as the character darkens and all bets are off. At one bizarre moment, Ben ends up in spiritualist mode rather like an EastEnders equivalent of <a href="https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/blithe-spirit">Blithe Spirit</a>'s Madame Arcati.Robins commendably has plenty on his mind, in marked contrast with usual shows of this kind: you don't expect societal commentary, for instance, from Deathtrap. But I'm not sure it's in the best of taste to compare ghosts to refugees, given the very real suffering experienced by the latter, and some of the angst is very clunkily expressed: "I want to be more than just a sponge," Jenny protests well into the second act, around the same time that we get the cod-philosophical "life is pointless and life is final."&nbsp;Elsewhere, Julia responds to the rising tensions by proffering herself as "Switzerland" in human form - evidence of a script that gathers humour into its fearful embrace.The evening is on stronger ground layering the strangeness on view in a stylish home whose skylight is singled out as a thing of beauty and whose sliding door seems to give way to a landscape of foxes whose piercing night cries (indices of copulation, we are told) are used several times to fearmongering effect. Add to all this a dodgy boiler, windows that seem mysteriously to open, and the unexplained presence of white spirit in the sink, and it's no wonder that Jenny is soon striding about with a hammer when, that is, one or another character isn't heard demanding the impossible from a mobile phone. (Alexa is given enough of a workout to merit inclusion on the payroll.)"This isn't The Exorcist," Sam maintains at one point, noting the absence of ectoplasm from an increasingly shouty narrative that wants to disturb on a human level well away from the familiar horror-landscape theatrics. (The film Ghost gets its own name check.) There's plenty said about the trauma of childbearing and class and marital tensions, not to mention the primacy in our psyche that is granted to fear over love, to command attention well before the sounds of thunder arrive seemingly on cue. If 2 22: A Ghost Story is remembered as the play that posited Lily Allen as a viable theatrical presence, its primary debt is owed less to the likes of, say, Andy Nyman's Ghost Stories than to the eternal challenge, at times truly fearful, that most of us will recognise inherent in simply being alive.<a href="/show/222-a-ghost-story">2: 22 A Ghost Story is at the Noel Coward Theatre to 16 October.</a>Photo credit: Julia Chan, Lily Allen, Hadley Fraser and Jake Wood in 2:22 A Ghost Story (Photo by Helen Murray)

Lily Allen makes an admirable stage debut in the scary and shouty '2:22: A Ghost Story'

Photo credit: Julia Chan, Lily Allen, Hadley Fraser and Jake Wood in 2:22 A Ghost Story (Photo by Helen Murray)

Read our review of 2:22 A Ghost Story starring Lily Allen at the Noel Coward Theatre at London Theatre.

2:22 A Ghost Story starring Lily Allen Review | London Theatre

Born in London in 1983, Matt Willis is an English singer and actor. 

Willis found fame as one-third of British boyband Busted. Formed in 2000, the award-winning band released tracks including “Year 3000” and “What I Go To School For."  After splitting in 2005, Willis went solo and released his 2006 album, aptly named Don’t Let It Go To Waste. The band Busted eventually came together after a decade, releasing their latest album in 2018.

In 2010, Willis made his West End debut in *Flashdance* at the [Shaftesbury Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/shaftesbury-theatre). He played Nick Hurley in the limited run, in a production which [London Theatre praised](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/reviews/flashdance-the-musical) as having "an underlying grittiness which is both realistic and convincing." The following year, he took over the role of Fiyero in *[Wicked](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/wicked)*, continuing in the production for over a year.

More recently, Willis has starred in *[Little Shop of Horrors](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/little-shop-of-horrors)* at [Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/regents-park-open-air-theatre). [London Theatre raved](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/reviews/review-little-shop-of-horrors-at-regents-park-open-air-theatre) that Willis “shows a fearless enthusiasm to play the fool and shows off a versatility of caricatures and accents, as demented dentist Orin in the first half and a host of other over-the-top figures in the second half.”  He returned to the West End to play Bob Cratchit in *[A Christmas Carol](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/a-christmas-carol-the-musical-staged-concert)* at the [Dominion Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/dominion-theatre). In 2021, he played Dr. Pomatter in the UK tour of *[Waitress](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/waitress)*.

Matt Willis - LON

Born in London in 1983, Matt Willis is an English singer and actor. Willis found fame as one-third of British boyband Busted. Formed in 2000, the award-winning band released tracks including “Year 3000” and “What I Go To School For."

Matt Willis - Stars on Stage | London Theatre

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Unbelievable

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.

Laura Whitmore and Matt Willis to star in ‘2:22 - A Ghost Story'

Who is in 2:22 - A Ghost Story in London?

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