It’s the news you’ve all been waiting for… our New Year Sale is back again, encouraging you to ‘Get into London Theatre’ with tickets for £10, £20, £30 or £40 to top London shows for performances between 1 January and 13 February 2020.
We’re delighted to announce today the more than 50 shows that will be taking part this year. Whether you’re mad for musicals, crazy for comedy or delighted by dramas, there’s something for everyone here.
Exclusive booking for Mastercard cardholders opens at 10am on Friday 6 December via Priceless.com and general booking will open at 10am on Friday 13 December.
Something to make you laugh…
If you’re looking for something to laugh away those winter blues then look no further. We’ve got a whole bunch of comedies in the New Year Sale that’ll have you laughing all the way to spring. From Mischief Theatre, faultless farces The Comedy About A Bank Robbery and The Play That Goes Wrong will have you rolling in the aisles with their perfectly timed physical comedy.
If you’re looking for a comic twist on the festive classics, look no further. The Vaults have put on a brand new version of Cinderella written by Luke Barnes and Not Too Tame, setting the classic British Panto in an even more classic British pub – make sure you get there early to grab a good seat and a pint from the on-stage bar.
In a similar meta-panto vein, Potted Panto are back in the West End for the fifth year running. Ever wondered what it would look like if two grown men tried to perform 7 pantomimes in 80 minutes? You need wonder no more.
You can always count on the National Youth Theatre to shake up a classic and they’re at it again this winter with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Featuring some of Britain’s brightest new talent, this production of Shakespeare’s big-hitter is set in ‘Athens on Sea’ – a seaside town we can all relate to.
Totally turning the tables too is An Act Of God, featuring comedian Zoe Lyons, portraying a world-weary God re-writing the Ten Commandments for the modern world. And if it’s comedians you’re looking for you can grab tickets to Adam Kay: This Is Going To Hurt as he returns to the Vaudeville for six nights only!
Something to get you on your feet…
We’re always looking for some motivation to jog off those mince pies in January, and we’re sure 2020 will be no exception. These shows will have you dancing in your seat, and the soundtrack will be bouncing round your head for days.
Smash-hit Everybody’s Talking About Jamie will inspire you to be yourself, love yourself and learn to walk in heels better (how does he do it?!) and you’ll find yourself humming the songs out loud on the bus weeks later. You can also catch Fame The Musical as it returns to London for a limited run, and grab your hit of teen angst and dance moves we don’t suggest you try at home.
If disco’s your style we have the perfect two musicals for you. Get your flares at the ready and allow Mamma Mia! to transport you back with the soothing tones of Abba, or keep on rollin’ with Tina – The Tina Turner Musical.
To get you jumping up and down for totally different reasons how about two shows that boast awards and standing ovations left, right and centre. Included in our New Year Sale you’ll also find West End classic Wicked, which has been one of London’s favourites for over 13 years now. Or check out new kid on the block, Come From Away, who swept up 9 Olivier Award nominations last year, and won Mastercard Best New Musical.
Something to belt out in the shower…
Nothing like a good sing song to blow away those cobwebs and start a new year afresh. If you’re looking to belt out some classics you already know and love, check out & Juliet, jam-packed with the pop hits of Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry.
If that sounds a little too Noughties to you get ready to be filled head to toe with the pop-country spirit of Dolly Parton in 9 To 5 The Musical, or take yourself straight back to the 80s with Thriller Live.
There’s a brand new musical in town, too, based on the songs of Bob Dylan – Girl From The North Country re-imagines some of his biggest hits as ensemble pieces that will break your heart and raise your soul.
From the big screen to the stage, you can catch a lot of musicals based on some of your favourite films in the New Year Sale. Step into Joe’s Diner in Waitress, with music and lyrics by award-winning singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles; get ready to stick it to the man with the talented kids over at School Of Rock – The Musical and triumph over evil with Matilda The Musical.
There are some more new musicals on the scene too! Get ready to have the cockles of your heart warmed by the new stage adaptation of Amélie The Musical. Also new to the West End is brand new musical Prince Of Egypt, featuring 10 new songs alongside 5 of the classic hit you’ll recognise from the 1998 Dreamworks film.
And of course we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention West End giant, Disney’s The Lion King which has just entered its 21st year stunning the capital with beautiful music, graceful puppets and an unforgettable experience.
Something to get the family together…
There are a whole host of shows in the New Year Sale that will delight the whole family.
If you don’t quite get the white Christmas you were dreaming of, fear not! From winter classics The Snowman and A Christmas Carol to not one but two different productions of the Snow Queen at The Park Theatre and The Rose Theatre Kingston, you can still get your snow fix!
If you’re looking for a panto (and quite frankly, who isn’t?) then we’ve got you covered on that too! Check out Cinderella at the Lyric Hammersmith, Theatre Royal Stratford East’s Dick Whittington or the star-studded Goldilocks And The Three Bears at the London Palladium to get the ‘he’s behind you’s out of your system for another year.
For a nostalgic kick, there are also a couple of theatre adaptations of some of Britain’s most beloved children’s books – what better way to introduce a new generation to some of your favourites. The Tiger Who Came To Tea is a children’s show with plenty of singalongs and interactive fun based on the beloved Judith Kerr picture book. Oi Frog & Friends Live is a little more recent, but has rapidly become a new firm fave similarly full of bright puppets and more rhymes than you know what to do with..
For older children, the celebrated Leeds Playhouse production of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe has transferred down to London with heaps of magical realism and charming illusions.
Something to expand your horizons…
There’s a real range of dramas on in London at the moment, from brand new plays to much-anticipated revivals and new interpretations of the classics.
In our New Year Sale, you can grab tickets to see the incredibly starry cast in Uncle Vanya, featuring Toby Jones and Richard Armitage as well as Rosalind Eleazar, Aimee Lou Wood, Anna Calder-Marshall, Dearbhla Molloy, Peter Wight and Ciarán Hinds!
There are three fantastic shows at The National – a retelling of Chekhov’s Three Sisters set against the backdrop of the Biafran Civil War in Nigeria, a revival of The Visit starring Lesley Manville and Hugo Weaving, and The Welkin, a new play from Lucy Kirkwood about a woman condemned to hang in 1700s Britain starring Maxine Peake.
The National’s production of Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste Of Honey has transferred over to Trafalgar Studios, if you missed the critically acclaimed production the first time round.
The RSC’s London season also has some fantastic offerings for you, with brand new productions of As You Like It, The Taming Of The Shrew and Measure For Measure. The RSC also present Kunene And The King, in which two men from contrasting walks of life are thrust together to reflect on a quarter century of change in South Africa.
The 35th anniversary production of Coming Clean – centred around the open relationship of seemingly perfect couple Tony and Greg – has come back to London to break some more hearts in the intimate Trafalgar Studios.
If you’re looking for something a bit different, you could always check out The Gift, which describes itself as “an outrageous comedy drama about imperialism, cross-racial adoption, cultural appropriation and drinking tea”. What could be better?
Something that will amaze you…
It’s not just drama and musicals in the New Year Sale, we’ve got a whole bunch of dance, opera and variety shows too!
There are a couple of offerings from the English National Ballet; Le Corsaire, which follows the swashbuckling adventures of a dashing pirate, Conrad, and his feisty girlfriend Medora as well as tickets to their 70th Anniversary Gala, which will feature performances from shows over the last 70 years, integrating live dance with archive footage.
For a modern twist on an old fairytale, Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes is back at Sadler’s Wells for another winter season, while Opera Undone takes classic operas Tosca and La Bohème and reduces them to 60 minutes each and translating them into English in an attempt to open up Opera to a wider audience.
We’re also very excited to offer you tickets for the European premiere of Circus 1903. Including all of the wonder, glitz and glamour of an old-fashioned circus right down to the elephants! Though in this production they take the guise of beautiful life-like, life-size puppets.
Something to make you shiver…
If your brain needs stimulating after vegging out in front of the telly all Christmas, what better than a good old fashioned scare to wake you up?
West End Agatha Christie classics The Mousetrap and Witness For The Prosecution are both in the New Year Sale this year, and they’ll keep you guessing all the way to the curtain call – just make sure you keep the secrets!
If you’re looking for all-out scare tactics though, The Woman In Black is, as ever, your best call. Even with minimal props and a tiny cast of two, this storytelling stalwart still manages to be objectively terrifying.
Touching The Void is the new play based on the film & autobiography of the same name. Following climber Joe Simpson’s struggle home after he was left with a broken leg at the bottom of an icy ravine, this chilling drama is beautifully staged and will have the adrenaline swirling round your body from the word go.
If you want more of an existential scare, however, Faustus: That Damned Woman is the one for you. Based off the age-old Faust myth, Chris Bush’s new adaptation recasts Faust as a woman and tells us through a new lens the price of selling your soul to the devil.