This Week in the West End: What to See, 22 to 28 June 2026

The week of 22 to 28 June 2026 is a critics' week. Two of the summer's most talked-about productions take their press nights inside these seven days, a major new play begins previews at the end of the week, and three of the most photographed stars in town are all on stage at the same time. Pulling our live booking data for the week, we count 50 productions on sale across central London, with prices starting from £12.50 and a median that sits at £32. Here is where we would point you, drawn from what is actually open and confirmed to be playing rather than a fixed list.

Two press nights land this week

This is the week the critics file their verdicts on two of the summer's headline shows. At the Aldwych, Sinatra The Musical reaches its official opening on Wednesday 24 June, after previews that began on 3 June. Directed by Kathleen Marshall with a book by Joe DiPietro, it tells the story of Ol' Blue Eyes through the songbook you already know, and it is booking a long way ahead, to April 2027. A few minutes' walk away on the South Bank, the National Theatre opens The Misanthrope in the Lyttelton on Tuesday 23 June. Martin Crimp's sharp new version of Moliere, directed by the National's artistic director Indhu Rubasingham, marks Sandra Oh's return to the London stage opposite Tom Mison. Both are catchable this week with the ink barely dry on the reviews.

A major new play begins at Wyndham's

The end of the week brings the return of one of the most acclaimed plays of recent seasons. Aaron Sorkin's stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird begins previews at Wyndham's Theatre on Thursday 25 June, with Richard Coyle back as Atticus Finch, the role he took over to great praise during the play's earlier West End run. Directed by Bartlett Sher, it is booking through to 12 September, with its official press night the following week. If your trip falls late in the week, this is the new arrival to know about.

Three stars on stage at once

It is rare to have this much star wattage in the building on the same night. At the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Ralph Fiennes plays the great Victorian actor-manager Sir Henry Irving opposite Miranda Raison's Ellen Terry in David Hare's Grace Pervades, a run that continues to 11 July. At the Trafalgar, Catherine Tate is in the final stretch of her run as Mary Todd Lincoln in Oh, Mary!, with her last performance on 18 July before the show's creator Cole Escola returns to the role on 20 July. And at the Noel Coward, Adrian Lester leads the Royal Shakespeare Company's West End transfer of Cyrano de Bergerac, a production that only opened on 13 June and runs through to early September. Three very different performances, all on stage this week.

Last chance: Kinky Boots at the Coliseum

If a show has been sitting on your shortlist, this is the one with a clock on it. Kinky Boots is in the final weeks of its strictly limited run at the London Coliseum, which must end on 11 July. The Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein musical fills the largest theatre in the West End with one of the warmest crowds in town, and on the Coliseum's vast stage the number that closes the first act is worth the trip on its own. Our closing-soon page tracks the rest of the run as the data moves.

The long-runners still holding the line

Behind the headlines, the backbone of any West End week is the set of shows that have outlasted every trend. Disney's The Lion King remains the highest-rated of the big musicals in our data, at 4.9 stars across more than 10,000 reviews, and an obvious safe pick for a first West End trip. Wicked, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton and The Book of Mormon are all booking deep into 2027, and our live data shows entry-level tickets to most of them still under £30 if you choose a weekday. If you would rather lean into the newer hits, The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion and Hadestown at the Lyric are both running at 4.8 stars across thousands of reviews.

Where to start if it is your first West End week

Our live data shows 22 productions on sale at £30 or under and eight at £20 or under, so a first West End trip is genuinely accessible if you plan around weekday performances. The most obvious entry points right now are Mamma Mia! at the Novello, with tickets from £19 for the longest-running of the feel-good musicals, and The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess, a small West End institution in its own right. Family groups have Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge, also from £25, and My Neighbour Totoro at the Gillian Lynne, the Studio Ghibli stage adaptation that quietly sits at 4.9 stars in our data. Our best-value tickets piece for this week goes deeper on what £25 actually buys you.

Frequently asked questions

What is opening in the West End the week of 22 to 28 June 2026?

Two productions take their press nights this week: Sinatra The Musical at the Aldwych Theatre, with its official opening on 24 June, and The Misanthrope in the National Theatre's Lyttelton, with its press night on 23 June and Sandra Oh leading the cast. Aaron Sorkin's To Kill a Mockingbird then begins previews at Wyndham's Theatre on 25 June, with Richard Coyle as Atticus Finch.

Which star-led runs are on stage in London right now?

Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Raison are on stage in Grace Pervades at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Catherine Tate is in the final weeks of her run as Mary Todd Lincoln in Oh, Mary! at the Trafalgar, with her last performance on 18 July. Adrian Lester leads the Royal Shakespeare Company's Cyrano de Bergerac at the Noel Coward, and Sandra Oh joins them this week in The Misanthrope at the National.

Which West End show is closing soonest?

Of the shows in our live data, Kinky Boots at the London Coliseum is the nearest big closing, with its strictly limited run ending on 11 July 2026. Catherine Tate's run in Oh, Mary! also ends on 18 July, though the production itself continues with new casting. Our closing-soon page is kept up to date as runs are confirmed.

How much does a West End ticket actually cost in summer 2026?

Across the 50 shows on sale this week our live data shows a price floor of £12.50, a median of £32, and 22 productions available at £30 or under. The high end sits near £120 for premium tickets to Mamma Mia! The Party, but the realistic budget for a quality West End ticket on a weekday is closer to £25 to £40 than the headlines tend to suggest.

If you want more from this week's coverage, head to our companion pieces on the best-reviewed West End shows right now, our weekly best-value tickets round-up, and the wider view of UK theatre this week. For evergreen reading, our guide to The Lion King and our round-up for first-time theatregoers are good starting points, and the live West End shows index is kept current as the data moves.