There are few theatrical worlds quite like those created by Cirque du Soleil. For KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities, the company turns its attention to a fantastical mechanical universe of inventors, acrobats and impossible contraptions, bringing the production to London’s Royal Albert Hall for a limited run in early 2027.

The production arrives at the historic venue from 13 January to 28 February 2027, with seven weeks of performances forming part of Cirque du Soleil’s 30th anniversary celebrations at the Royal Albert Hall.

At the centre of KURIOS is a Seeker, an inventor working inside an elaborate mechanical laboratory. He is convinced that another world exists beyond the one visible to us — a hidden universe where imagination takes precedence over the familiar rules of reality.

His search leads him to a collection of peculiar characters who emerge from his cabinet of curiosities. As the mechanical world around him begins to transform, the boundary between invention and reality becomes increasingly blurred.

The premise provides the framework for what is, above all, a visual and physical spectacle. Cirque du Soleil combines acrobatics, contortion and theatrical performance with elaborate sets and a steampunk-inspired aesthetic, creating a world of oversized machinery, curious inventions and characters that appear to have stepped out of another era.

Rather than relying on a conventional narrative, KURIOS uses movement, music, visual design and physical skill to tell its story. The result is a production in which the performers and the machinery share the stage, with the human body becoming another part of the show’s fantastical mechanical landscape.

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A world of curiosities

The production is set in an alternative version of the past, drawing on the visual language of early industrial machinery and Victorian-era invention while deliberately pushing it into the realm of fantasy.

The Seeker’s laboratory becomes the gateway into this world. Once the hidden universe is revealed, a succession of eccentric characters and performers appear, each bringing a different form of physical artistry to the stage.

Acrobatics sit at the heart of the production, alongside acts of contortion and other displays of strength, balance and precision. The theatrical design is equally important, with the stage populated by mechanical-looking creations that help establish the show’s distinctive visual identity.

The central idea is that the extraordinary can exist alongside the everyday — provided the imagination is allowed to look beyond what is immediately visible.

From Montreal to London

KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities first premiered in Montreal in 2014. Since then, the production has travelled internationally, attracting more than seven million spectators across 50 cities and playing more than 3,500 performances.

Its London engagement brings the production back to the Royal Albert Hall, a venue with a long association with Cirque du Soleil.

The 2027 season also marks 30 years of Cirque du Soleil productions at the Royal Albert Hall, giving the return of KURIOS an additional significance within the company’s history at the venue.

The Royal Albert Hall’s distinctive circular auditorium also provides a particularly different setting for a production built around spectacle. With the audience surrounding the performance space, the scale and visual detail of the production become part of the experience rather than simply providing a backdrop to the action.

An early 2027 spectacle

For audiences looking for something outside London’s traditional theatre season, KURIOS offers a different kind of theatrical experience. There is no conventional play to follow and no straightforward distinction between circus and theatre. Instead, the production builds its world through physical performance, design and visual storytelling.

The show runs for approximately two hours and 20 minutes, including an interval, making it an evening-length production rather than a conventional circus performance.

Alongside standard tickets, a number of premium experiences are available, including VIP boxes, a VIP Gallery package, cast meet-and-greet opportunities and dining at Coda restaurant at the Royal Albert Hall.

With its combination of circus artistry, theatrical design and an imagined mechanical world, KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities brings one of Cirque du Soleil’s established productions to London for a strictly limited engagement at the beginning of 2027.

Cirque du Soleil Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities

Venue: Royal Albert Hall, London
Dates: 13 January–28 February 2027
Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes, including interval
Tickets: On sale now. Buy tickets
Production: Cirque du Soleil

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Stage Watch brings together a curated selection of upcoming theatre, musicals and live performances from London and across the broader Oxfordshire region – from major West End productions to inventive new writing and ambitious revivals.

This week’s selection looks firmly towards London, bringing together celebrated musical theatre, landmark plays and contemporary new writing. From Peter Shaffer’s battle between genius and envy to the rock energy of Jesus Christ Superstar, the return of Miss Saigon and the exuberant comedy of Legally Blonde, these productions span very different theatrical worlds while sharing a sense of scale, ambition and strong creative identity.

Amadeus

Noël Coward Theatre, London.
Booking from 17 April to 7 August 2027.

Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus returns to the West End in the first major revival of the play in more than a decade, placing Michael Sheen’s Salieri opposite Callum Scott Howells as Mozart. Set in Vienna in 1820, the drama looks back on the composer’s encounter with a young musician whose extraordinary talent becomes both an object of wonder and an unbearable source of envy.

Salieri has achieved the status, recognition and success he believes he deserves. Mozart, by contrast, is vulgar, immature and seemingly incapable of conforming to the conventions of polite society – yet possesses a musical gift that Salieri regards as almost divine. His admiration gradually curdles into an obsession with destroying the man whose genius he cannot match.

Directed by Jeremy Herrin, the revival brings together two Welsh actors in roles that sit at the heart of one of modern theatre’s most enduring explorations of ambition, faith and artistic jealousy.

Best for: Admirers of classic drama, literary theatre and psychologically complex stories about artistic ambition.

Good to know: Expect a substantial drama centred on music, power, envy and faith, with Mozart’s compositions forming an essential part of the theatrical experience. Age guidance and running time are currently to be confirmed.

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Jesus Christ Superstar

Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London.
Booking from 16 October 2026 to 09 January 2027.

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar returns to the West End following the acclaimed Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production, with Sam Ryder making his West End debut as Jesus. The musical retells the final days of Christ’s life through the perspective of Judas, combining its biblical subject matter with the rock-inflected sound that made it a defining work of musical theatre.

The production is directed by Tim Sheader, who previously helmed the Regent’s Park staging, with Olivier Award-winning choreographer Drew McOnie and Tony and Olivier Award-winning designer Tom Scutt. The score includes some of the musical’s most recognisable numbers, including “I Don’t Know How to Love Him”, “Gethsemane” and “Superstar”.

With Desmonda Cathabel as Mary Magdalene and David Thaxton as Pontius Pilate, the production brings a contemporary theatrical energy to a musical whose themes of devotion, betrayal and public spectacle have remained remarkably durable.

Best for: Fans of rock musicals, large-scale choreography and landmark productions of the musical theatre canon.

Good to know: The production combines a powerful rock score with intense subject matter surrounding faith, betrayal and death. Running time is currently to be confirmed.

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Legally Blonde

London Coliseum, London.
Booking from 22 March to 22 May 2027.

The pink-hued world of Legally Blonde returns to the West End in a new production at the London Coliseum, bringing the much-loved musical comedy back to the stage. Based on the film starring Reese Witherspoon, it follows Elle Woods as she swaps fashion and social expectations for Harvard Law School in an attempt to win back her former boyfriend – and discovers a considerably more important reason to succeed along the way.

What begins as a romantic mission becomes a story about ambition, self-belief and challenging assumptions. Elle’s transformation from fashion merchandising student to aspiring lawyer provides the musical with plenty of comic momentum, while its central message is that outward appearances reveal considerably less than people might assume.

The production is directed by Nikolai Foster, whose previous work includes the acclaimed Kinky Boots, and features a score packed with upbeat musical-theatre numbers including “Omigod You Guys”, “So Much Better”, “Whipped Into Shape” and “Bend and Snap”.

Best for: Musical comedy fans, feel-good theatre and audiences looking for a high-energy West End night out.

Good to know: Expect a bright, exuberant production with comedy, romance, choreography and a large musical-theatre ensemble. Running time and cast information are currently to be confirmed.

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Miss Saigon

Prince Edward Theatre, London.
Booking from 13 May to 1 August 2027.

Boublil and Schönberg’s Miss Saigon arrives at the Prince Edward Theatre in 2027 following its 2026 UK tour. Set during the final days of the Vietnam War, the musical follows Kim, a 17-year-old Vietnamese woman forced to work in a Saigon bar, and her relationship with American GI Chris as the fall of Saigon separates them.

Kim’s subsequent journey is one of survival, separation and motherhood as she attempts to find her way back to Chris, who is unaware that he has fathered her son. At the centre of the story is also The Engineer, the bar owner whose ambitions and survival instincts place him at the heart of the production’s darker portrait of displacement and exploitation.

The new production is produced by Michael Harrison in association with Cameron Mackintosh and directed by Jean-Pierre van der Spuy, with choreography by Chrissie Cartwright and Carrie-Anne Ingrouille. The familiar score includes “The Movie in My Mind”, “Last Night of the World” and “The American Dream”, alongside new orchestrations by Stephen Metcalfe and additional lyrics by Michael Mahler.

Best for: Fans of epic musical theatre, emotionally driven storytelling and classic West End scores.

Good to know: The production deals with war, exploitation, separation, death and displacement. It runs for 2 hours 40 minutes including an interval. Cast information is currently to be confirmed.

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Double Bill: Tell Me Straight & Aggy

King’s Head Theatre, London.
Booking from 15 October to 14 November 2026.

Paul Bradshaw brings two of his plays together for a double bill examining sexuality, relationships, identity and the pressures placed on people to reshape themselves. Following a critically acclaimed run at the Park Theatre, Tell Me Straight & Aggy moves to the King’s Head for a limited London engagement.

In tell me straight, Him’s pattern of relationships with straight men prompts his best friend Dani to suggest a radical intervention: a 30-day detox from alcohol, fast food and men. What follows is a comic and candid examination of desire, self-knowledge and the difficulty of recognising what may already be directly in front of you.

aggy follows Lawrence and Mahlik as they consider moving in together, only for a professional setback to prompt an increasingly complicated proposition. Mahlik suggests that Lawrence adopt an alter ego to gain access to opportunities, raising questions about privilege, race, gender and the compromises people make in pursuit of creative success.

Written and co-directed by Bradshaw, the two plays offer contrasting but connected perspectives on contemporary queer life, combining humour with more uncomfortable questions about relationships, identity and who gets to define the terms on which other people live and work.

Best for: Audiences looking for contemporary queer theatre, sharp comedy and plays that explore identity and relationships without easy answers.

Good to know: Recommended for ages 16+. The double bill runs for 2 hours 10 minutes including a 20-minute interval and contains strong language, sexual content, depictions of violence, discussions of racism, gender and discrimination, flashing lights and haze.

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Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical Hadestown is coming to New Theatre Oxford in October 2027 as part of its first UK and Ireland tour, bringing Anaïs Mitchell and Rachel Chavkin’s acclaimed reimagining of Greek mythology to the city for five performances.

The production will run from Tuesday 19 to Saturday 23 October 2027, with the Oxford dates forming part of a major tour that will visit theatres across the UK and Ireland from February next year.

At the heart of Hadestown are two ancient love stories. Orpheus and Eurydice are young dreamers drawn together in a world where winter is closing in, while the relationship between King Hades and his wife Persephone provides a darker, more established counterpoint.

Their stories unfold against a musical landscape that draws on American folk traditions, blues, pop and New Orleans-inspired jazz.

The musical was created by singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, who first developed Hadestown as an independent theatre project and album. It was subsequently transformed for the stage with director Rachel Chavkin, whose work helped shape the production’s distinctive visual and musical world.

Since arriving on Broadway, Hadestown has become one of the most decorated musicals of recent years, winning eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, alongside a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album.

Its original Broadway cast recording has also become one of the most streamed cast albums, with the production’s producers reporting nearly one billion streams to date.

The show has had a long-running presence in London, following a sold-out engagement at the National Theatre in 2018 before transferring to the West End, where its run at the Lyric Theatre continues.

The 2027 UK and Ireland tour will now bring the production beyond London, with Oxford among the newly announced venues.

For Oxford audiences, the production offers five performances at New Theatre Oxford from Tuesday 19 to Saturday 23 October 2027, bringing the touring production to the city as it makes its way around the UK and Ireland.

An audio-described performance will take place on Thursday 21 October, while casting and the full creative team for the tour are still to be announced.

The tour is produced by Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold and Tom Kirdahy, continuing the production’s journey from its origins as Mitchell’s independent theatre project to an award-winning musical now travelling beyond its London home.

Tickets for the Oxford performances go on general sale from Friday 02 October at 11.00am.