A list of ten musicals currently playing in London that most regular theatre-goers would put close to the top. Ordered roughly by how confidently we would recommend each to a first-time visitor.
- The Lion King - design, score and longevity all working together.
- Hamilton - the show that changed what a Broadway and West End score can sound like.
- Les Miserables - the longest-running musical in the world for a reason.
- Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club - the most ambitious immersive reimagining in years.
- Wicked - reliably the strongest family musical in London right now.
- SIX - eighty minutes, no interval, pure pop.
- Matilda the Musical - the RSC's hit in its long Cambridge Theatre home.
- Operation Mincemeat - the smartest small-scale musical of the last few years.
- The Phantom of the Opera - the original West End spectacle, still at His Majesty's.
- Mamma Mia! - the jukebox musical that started a genre.
Listings are updated as cast changes and limited runs come and go.