From a timeless fairytale reimagined at Shakespeare’s Globe to a much-loved children’s classic returning to the stage, this season’s theatre line-up moves between family entertainment, literary adaptation, celebrity-led drama and the enduring pull of a cinematic favourite.

There is plenty here for audiences looking beyond the obvious, too: Affluenza brings a rising television star to the London stage for the first time, while Ballet Shoes revisits a beloved story about three young women determined to make their own way in a world that expects something different of them. And for anyone who simply wants a great night out, Dirty Dancing brings one of cinema’s most recognisable romances back to Oxford.

Pinocchio

Globe Theatre, London.
Booking from 28 Nov 2026 to 03 Jan 2027. Tickets from £6.00

The story of the wooden puppet who longs to become human receives a fresh musical treatment at Shakespeare’s Globe, with Pinocchio placing Geppetto and his creation at the heart of a tale about family, belonging and the desire to escape the confines of an expected life.

Written by Charlie Josephine, whose previous work includes I, Joan at the Globe and Cowbois at the Royal Court, with music and lyrics by Jim Fortune, the production promises a distinctly theatrical take on the familiar story. Geppetto is presented as a restless maverick dreaming of a life beyond his traditional town; together, he and Pinocchio embark on a journey that becomes as much about discovering what it means to be human as it is about adventure.

Directed by Globe Associate Artistic Director Sean Holmes, the production combines live music with the kind of exuberant humour that should make it an appealing festive choice for a mixed-age audience. Previous productions have attracted four-star notices from The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent and The Reviews Hub, with WhatsOnStage describing it as a “beautiful new musical”.

Best for: Families looking for a substantial festive theatre experience, fans of inventive musical theatre, and audiences who enjoy classic stories with a contemporary sensibility.

Tips: The running time is approximately 2 hours 10 minutes including an interval. Age guidance is 5+, making it particularly suited to families with primary-school-age children and upwards.

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Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show!

Theatre Royal Haymarket, London.
Booking from 04 Dec 2026 to 03 Jan 2027. Tickets from £12.00. Save up to 44%

Christmas at the theatre gets a distinctly oinktastic makeover as Peppa Pig and her family return to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in a new live adventure. This time, there is a new arrival on the way, and Peppa, George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig have a house to prepare before baby Evie arrives.

The premise is deliberately close to the everyday world familiar to the show’s youngest fans: there is building, decorating and plenty to organise, with the audience invited to help the family get everything finished in time. Music, adventure and surprises provide the theatrical framework, turning a recognisable television world into an accessible first stage experience.

At around 1 hour 20 minutes including an interval, it is also sensibly paced for younger theatre-goers. The production allows babies under 12 months to sit on an adult’s lap without a ticket, while prams and buggies can be left in the theatre cloakroom, subject to space.

Best for: Pre-school and early-years audiences, first-time theatre-goers, and families looking for an easy introduction to live performance.

Tips: The short running time makes this one of the more manageable family theatre outings. Babes in arms are permitted, although cloakroom space for collapsed prams and buggies is limited.

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Affluenza

Riverside Studios, Studio 2, London.
Booking from 26 Sep to 21 Nov 2026. Tickets from £30.00

Noah Schnapp, best known for playing Will Byers in Stranger Things, makes his professional stage debut in Affluenza, a drama set among the ultra-wealthy world of the Hamptons. He appears alongside Janette Manrara, Juliet Cowan, Wallis Currie-Wood and Rupert Young.

The play takes its starting point from the controversial idea of “affluenza” — whether extreme privilege can distort a person’s understanding of responsibility and right and wrong. A teenager’s drunken car journey ends in devastation, leading to a legal case that raises uncomfortable questions about wealth, family influence and the workings of the American justice system.

Rather than treating privilege simply as a backdrop, Affluenza looks at its consequences: the expectations inherited through family, the power available to those who possess it and the moral choices made when wealth changes the rules. Schnapp’s stage debut adds another layer of interest, particularly for audiences familiar with his television work.

The production is part of a five-play season at Riverside Studios, with further creative and casting information still to be announced.

Best for: Audiences interested in contemporary drama, stories about wealth and privilege, and those curious to see a familiar screen actor take on the stage for the first time.

Tips: Running time, age guidance and content warnings are yet to be confirmed, so check the theatre’s information before booking. The subject matter suggests a more serious and potentially challenging evening than the family productions elsewhere in this selection.

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Dirty Dancing

New Theatre Oxford.
06 to 10 Oct 2026. Tickets from £19.69

Some films become so embedded in popular culture that their stories seem almost impossible to separate from the music that accompanies them. Dirty Dancing is one of them, and its stage incarnation returns to Oxford with the romance of Baby and Johnny, the heat of summer and a soundtrack packed with songs that have become cultural touchstones.

The story follows Baby and Johnny, two fiercely independent young people from very different worlds whose meeting transforms what should have been an ordinary summer. The stage production recreates that emotional collision through dance, music and the familiar story of rebellion, first love and self-discovery.

For fans of the original film, much of the appeal lies in the soundtrack: Hungry Eyes, Hey! Baby, Do You Love Me? and, inevitably, The Time of My Life all feature. But the production also leans heavily into its live theatrical energy, with a large cast of dancers bringing the choreography and physicality of the story into the theatre.

With a running time of just over two hours including an interval, this is the most straightforwardly nostalgic choice of the five — a production designed to send audiences out humming the soundtrack.

Best for: Fans of the original film, musical theatre audiences, dance lovers and anyone after a feel-good evening of romance and nostalgia.

Tips: The production contains the songs and dance moments audiences will be expecting, but its appeal is rooted in the emotional story as much as the spectacle. At New Theatre Oxford from 06 to 10 October, it is the obvious choice for a big-screen classic brought into a live setting.

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Ballet Shoes

New Theatre Oxford.
05 to 08 Jan 2028. Tickets on sale from 24 Sep

Noel Streatfeild’s Ballet Shoes returns in a new stage adaptation that puts ambition, sisterhood and female independence at the centre of its story. Adapted by Kendall Feaver and directed by Katy Rudd, this reimagining brings a beloved children’s classic into the theatre while retaining the spirit of the original.

Set in a crumbling house filled with dinosaur bones and fossils, the story follows three adopted sisters — Pauline, Petrova and Posy — as they grow up and begin to discover distinct ambitions of their own. Under the guidance of their guardians and an assortment of unlikely lodgers, each must find a way to pursue what she loves while helping to keep the family together.

What gives the story enduring appeal is the contrast between the sisters. Their ambitions are not identical, and neither are their routes into adulthood. Against a world that places limits on women’s choices, Ballet Shoes becomes a story about finding an identity, supporting the people around you and refusing to let circumstances dictate the size of your dreams.

The production has been described by The Guardian as “spectacular”, with Rudd — whose credits include The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Nanny McPhee — directing the adaptation. Casting is still to be announced, with a note that Anton Du Beke will not appear in any performances.

Best for: Families, fans of classic British children’s literature, and audiences drawn to stories of ambition, sisterhood and finding your own path.

Tips: The Oxford run is scheduled for January 2028, with general sale opening on Thursday 24 September. Casting is still to be announced, so the eventual line-up will be worth watching as the production develops.

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Beryl Cook and Friends brings the much-loved British artist’s exuberant characters out of the frame and into the Oxfordshire landscape, marking what would have been her 100th birthday.

Gallery

There is something particularly fitting about encountering Beryl Cook’s characters somewhere people have come to enjoy themselves.

A woman in a flamboyant dress appears among the shops. Elsewhere, figures garden, dance, shop and socialise. A pigeon watches from the greenery, while dogs and cats join the cast. Around them, visitors continue on their own journeys through Bicester Village.

For the next few weeks, Cook’s world has become part of the Oxfordshire landscape.

Beryl Cook and Friends, presented by House of Voltaire and Bicester Village, opened on 10 September — the day Cook would have turned 100 — and transforms the mile-long shopping destination with life-size cutouts, murals and installations drawn from some of her best-known paintings.

Cook, who died in 2008, became one of Britain’s most recognisable artists during the 1970s. Largely self-taught, she developed a visual language that was immediately distinctive: colourful, boldly drawn characters caught in moments of pleasure, mischief and everyday life.

Her subjects were rarely grand. They ate, drank, danced, shopped, gardened and went out. Yet Cook had an instinct for finding something theatrical in the ordinary.

That quality makes the Bicester installation particularly effective.

Rather than asking visitors to stand in front of a painting and look in, the project places them inside Cook’s world. Her characters occupy benches, balconies, green spaces, signposts and other parts of the Village, creating unexpected encounters as visitors move through the site.

One of the most recognisable installations is a full-scale recreation of Breakfast at Elvira’s, Cook’s 1996 painting inspired by the neighbourhood café originally run by her son and daughter-in-law.

It is the kind of scene that lends itself naturally to photography — and to the playful interaction that has always been part of the appeal of Cook’s work.

Visitors can pose alongside the characters, while other details are easier to discover by simply wandering. Look closely and the installation extends beyond its human figures, with Cook’s characteristic animals appearing among the trees and planting.

The project also places Cook in conversation with artists working today.

A House of Voltaire pop-up features editions and merchandise alongside specially commissioned work by artists and designers including Ashish, Jeremy Deller, Patrizio di Massimo, Anthea Hamilton, Chantal Joffe, Ella Kruglyanskaya, Linder and France-Lise McGurn.

Works by Stanley Spencer and Louis Wain, two artists who influenced Cook, provide a further connection between her work and the wider history of British art.

It is an approach that reflects the renewed interest in Cook’s work in recent years. A 2024 Studio Voltaire exhibition, Beryl Cook / Tom of Finland, became the organisation’s most visited exhibition in its history, while a retrospective at The Box in Plymouth earlier this year drew record audiences.

The centenary project therefore arrives at a moment when Cook’s work is being reconsidered by a new generation.

There is a more lasting legacy to the Bicester project, too.

The collaboration marks the beginning of a three-year partnership between Bicester Village and Studio Voltaire, providing funding for the arts organisation’s Learning Programme. The programme works with schools, colleges and community groups, offering free artist-led workshops, drop-in activities and skills development.

That makes the installation more than a seasonal visual intervention. Alongside the commercial and cultural spectacle, the partnership is intended to create opportunities for people who might otherwise have limited access to creative activities.

For Cook’s family, meanwhile, there is an obvious personal resonance to seeing her characters populate the Village.

Her granddaughter Sophie Howe has described the project as a playful tribute to an artist who loved watching people enjoy themselves, laugh and dress up.

It is perhaps the simplest way to understand why Cook’s work continues to lend itself so readily to public spaces.

Her paintings were never really about perfection. They were about people — often imperfect, frequently outrageous and usually having a good time.

At Bicester Village, those people have stepped out of the paintings.

For visitors wandering between the shops and cafés this autumn, Cook’s characters are no longer confined to a canvas. They are waiting around the next corner, sitting in the garden, appearing above a doorway or sharing the pavement.

And, 100 years after Cook’s birth, they are still enjoying themselves.

The Beryl Cook and Friends installation runs from 10 September to 25 October 2026. Bicester Village is open Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 8.00pm, Saturday from 9.00am to 9.00pm and Sunday from 10.00am to 7.00pm.

Stage Watch brings together a curated selection of upcoming theatre, musicals, opera and live performance from London and across the broader Oxfordshire region – from returning West End favourites and bold Shakespearean reinventions to experimental theatre and major operatic productions.

This selection moves between the exuberance of musical theatre, the intimacy of a one-off theatrical experiment and the timeless drama of Shakespeare and Puccini. There are puppets and pop anthems, a forest transformed into a festival, and an opera bringing an international cast and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra to the New Theatre Oxford. Together, they offer five very different reasons to make a date with the stage this week.

1. Avenue Q

Shaftesbury Theatre, London. Booking until 3 January 2027.

Two decades after first making its mark in the West End, Avenue Q returns to the Shaftesbury Theatre with its gloriously irreverent mix of puppetry, musical comedy and distinctly adult humour.

Fresh out of college and uncertain about what comes next, Princeton arrives on New York’s rundown Avenue Q, where he encounters a colourful collection of neighbours grappling with work, relationships, money and the awkward business of becoming an adult. Beneath the jokes and infectious musical numbers is a surprisingly warm story about finding your place in the world.

The production reunites original Broadway director Jason Moore and original puppet designer Rick Lyon, bringing back the distinctive combination of human performers and puppets that helped make the show a theatrical phenomenon. With music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, Avenue Q remains knowingly mischievous while retaining an affection for its flawed, lovable characters.

Best for: Fans of musical comedy, unconventional theatre and shows that are decidedly not aimed at children.

Tips: This is adult-themed musical theatre despite the puppets, with strong language and mature content. The age recommendation is 13+ and running time is approximately 2 hours 15 minutes, including an interval.

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2. White Rabbit Red Rabbit

Duchess Theatre, London. Booking until 2 November 2026.

Few theatrical experiences begin with quite this much uncertainty. White Rabbit Red Rabbit, Nassim Soleimanpour’s celebrated theatrical experiment, returns to the West End for its 15th anniversary – and no performer knows exactly what awaits them.

Each performance begins with an unopened envelope containing a script the actor has never seen. There is no rehearsal and no director guiding the action. Instead, the performer encounters the work for the first time alongside the audience, creating a theatrical event that can never quite be repeated.

First performed in 2011 and subsequently translated into more than 30 languages, the play uses its unusual premise to explore obedience, choice, power and freedom of expression. Its origins in contemporary Iran give the experiment a deeper political and philosophical dimension. At the same time, its deliberately unpredictable structure makes the relationship between actor and audience part of the drama itself.

The rotating line-up adds another layer of intrigue, with performers including David Harewood, Mel Giedroyc, Adam Buxton, Christopher Eccleston, Riz Ahmed, Nish Kumar and John Bradley among those taking on the challenge.

Best for: Curious theatre-goers, lovers of experimental performance and anyone looking for something genuinely unpredictable.

Tips: Every performance is different, so the choice of performer can be part of the attraction. The production is recommended for ages 14+ and contains themes that may be unsettling. Running time is approximately 60–70 minutes, without an interval.

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3. I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical

Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, London. Booking until 27 September 2026. Save up to 59%.

The extraordinary career of Chaka Khan comes to the stage in I’m Every Woman, a new musical tracing the life, music and resilience of one of popular music’s defining voices.

With 22 albums, 25 chart hits, 70 million records sold and a career spanning five decades, Khan’s story provides plenty of material for a large-scale musical. Alexandra Burke takes on the central role, bringing her own formidable vocal credentials to a production built around songs including I Feel for You, Tell Me Something Good, Ain’t Nobody, Sweet Thing and Through the Fire.

But this is intended to be more than a concert with a narrative attached. The production explores the woman behind the superstar – from her rise to international fame to the personal battles and pressures that accompanied life in the spotlight. Figures including Prince, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell and Steve Winwood also feature in the story, placing Khan within the wider musical landscape she helped shape.

Directed by Racky Plews and choreographed by Ebony Clarke, the production promises a mixture of spectacle, biography and some of the most recognisable music of the past half-century.

Best for: Chaka Khan devotees, soul and R&B fans, and anyone who likes their musical biographies packed with big songs.

Tips: Alexandra Burke does not perform as Chaka Khan at Thursday evening performances, Saturday matinees or the Sunday 23 August performance, when Jordan Frazier takes the role. Running time is approximately 2 hours 40 minutes, including an interval.

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4. As You Like It

Globe Theatre, London. Booking until 25 October 2026. Tickets from £6.00. Save up to 44%.

Shakespeare’s Forest of Arden gets a distinctly contemporary makeover in this new As You Like It at the Globe, where the pastoral escape becomes something closer to a euphoric forest festival.

When Rosalind, Celia and their companions flee the restrictive world of the court, they find themselves in a place where conventional rules begin to loosen. In the Forest of Arden, identities shift, relationships flourish, and love becomes considerably less interested in social boundaries.

Co-directed by Sean Holmes and Charlie Josephine, this production promises an As You Like It driven by music, physicality and celebration. The Globe’s famously immediate relationship between actors and audience should lend particular energy to a comedy built around disguise, mistaken identity, desire and self-discovery.

The result is Shakespeare with its sense of playfulness firmly intact – a production that embraces the muddy, unruly spirit of the woods rather than treating Arden as simply a picturesque backdrop.

Best for: Shakespeare newcomers, seasoned Globe audiences and anyone drawn to lively, music-filled productions of the classics.

Tips: Expect a physical and celebratory interpretation rather than a traditional period piece. Running time is currently to be confirmed. Performances run until 25 October.

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5. Tosca

New Theatre Oxford. Thursday 24 and Saturday 26 September 2026.

Few operas arrive with a cast quite as formidable as this new production of Puccini’s Tosca, coming to Oxford for just two performances.

Presented by Oxford International Opera, the fully staged production brings together Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel as the ruthless Scarpia and award-winning soprano Carmen Giannattasio as Tosca, with lyric tenor Saimir Pirgu making his UK debut in the role of Cavaradossi.

Set against the political turmoil of Rome, Puccini’s opera combines passion, jealousy, power and betrayal in a drama that moves with almost cinematic intensity. P Burton-Morgan directs a new production designed by Anthony Lamble, bringing the classic story into a modern setting while retaining its emotional force.

The musical forces are equally significant. Marios Papadopoulos conducts the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, which becomes an integral voice in the drama alongside the Oxford Philharmonic Choir and an international cast of singers. For Oxford audiences, it represents an unusually ambitious operatic event on home ground – and Terfel’s appearance as Scarpia carries particular significance as his final staged production of Puccini’s Tosca.

Best for: Opera newcomers and devotees alike, particularly those wanting to experience a major international cast with a leading British orchestra.

Tips: With only two performances in Oxford, this is one for the diary rather than the spontaneous theatre trip. The New Theatre hosts the production on Thursday 24 and Saturday 26 September 2026.

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