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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