By now, we’re sure you know what you’re getting when you book to see Wicked for £20, Mamma Mia! for £30, or Les Misérables for £40. But what about some of the lesser known shows in the New Year Sale?

For the adventurous among you, we’re here to highlight a few hidden gems in case that are taking part in the New Year Sale, so you can try something new for 2026.

Ballet Shoes

What’s it about? Three adopted sisters get taken into the house of an Edwardian explorer and paleontologist. Under the guidance of his niece and childhood nanny, the three girls grow and fight to pursue their differing passions in a world not built for women with ambition.

Why should I see it? The National Theatre’s adaptation of this 1930s novel was loved by children and adults alike when it premiered in November 2024 – so much so they brought it back a year later.

The three girls are full of fire and charisma; you can’t help be charmed by their never-say-die attitude. The set is like a madcap box of wonders that’s a delight to look at and the show will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.

What’s the offer? Tickets for £20, £30, £40, £50, £60 for Tue – Thu performances in Jan and Mon – Thu performances in Feb until 20 Feb.

Evening All Afternoon

What’s it about? Jennifer is about to become Delilah’s stepmother. She wants to connect but they couldn’t be further apart.

Why should I see it? The Donmar Warehouse is a great venue – with only three rows on each side of the stage, you’re always close to the atmosphere which is perfect for these kind of intimate two-handers. Anna Ziegler’s last play, Photograph 51, won Evening Standard and WhatsOnStage Awards, with an Olivier Award nomination for Nciole Kidman in the lead role. This could be another award winner in the making.

What’s the offer? Tickets for £40 or £50 on all performances (19 Feb – 11 Apr).

Gerry & Sewell

What’s it about? Two Geordie best friends Gerry & Sewell haven’t got a lot going from them – with no jobs, Gerry’s family falling apart and Sewell’s dad in ill-health – so they set their sights on their ultimate dream: A season ticket to Newcastle United.

Why should I see it? It’s an underdog story that celebrates the unexpected hero in all of us, as well as the importance of friendship and shared passions. Like the story, the play itself is an underdog, having started at Laurel’s – a small social club in the North East – and earned its way up to a two-week run in the West End.

What’s the offer? Top price tickets for £40, £50 or £60 all performances – must end 24 January.

High Noon

What’s it about? In the the days of the Wild West, small town marshall Will Kane prepares to leave town after marrying Amy Fowler. But word arrives that Frank Miller, a vicious outlaw, has been released from prison and will arrive by the noon train. Torn between the honour of his new wife and the duty of his old job, Will must make a choice by noon.

Why should I see it? The 1952 Gary Cooper / Grace Kelly Western film, on which the play is based, is in the conversation for greatest movie ever made. While this play stays true to the source material, the production has changed its inspiration from McCarthyism to current world events to remain as timely as ever. Plus it unites two great acting talents in Tony Award winner Billy Crudup (The Morning Show) and Olivier Award winner Denise Gough (People, Places And Things and Andor)

What’s the offer? Tickets for £30, £40, or £50 for Mon – Fri performances for weeks beginning 26 Jan and 2 & 9 Feb.

Mrs. President

What’s it about? Already having todeal with the grief of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, his widow, Mary Lincoln has to contend with social attacks from an envious elite. She engages the help of the world’s first celebrity photographer, Mathew Brady, who helped her husband win the presidency. But their partnership soon unravels in a battle for creative control.

Why should I see it? The play is written by playwright and historian (and artist) John Ransom Phillips so promises to be an accurate and thought-provoking account of power, female agency and representation. Of course, if you’re less concerned with historical accuracy and more concerned with a barrel of laughs, Mary Lincoln is also the lead character in outrageous camp comedy Oh, Mary! at the Trafalgar Theatre – also taking part in the New Year Sale.

What’s the offer? Tickets for £10, £20, £30 or £40 for all performances (23 Jan – 8 Mar).

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

What’s it about? Set in the murky world of the Cold War, British intelligence officer Alec Leamas is ready to retire and ‘come in from the cold’. But following the killing of his most reliable source, Leamas is tempted into one dangerous, deceptive and personal final mission.

Why should I see it? This is the first stage adaptation of a novel by John le Carré, the master of the modern spy thriller. Performed in Sohoplace’s intimate in-the-round space with period costume, this a tense, sophisticated and provocative look at the political era that shaped the modern world. Must end 21 February.

What’s the offer? Tickets for £60 (£20 off) for performances on 21, 26, 27 & 28 Jan and 2 & 3 Feb. Last few tickets remaining.

Summerfolk

What’s it about? During the hot and beautiful Russian summer of 1905, Russia’s elite holiday in the countryside to enjoy the best things in life. But as the party continues, how long can they ignore the storm on the horizon?

Why should I see it? Maxim Gorky was one of Russia’s most successful authors of the age, with five Nobel Prize nominations, although he was also imprisoned for his work as he dared to criticise the status quo. This exciting new version by siblings Nina and Moses Raine (descended from Dr Zhivago author Boris Pasternak) promises to be a razor-sharp portrait of class, privilege and denial.

What’s the offer? Tickets for £20, £30, £40, £50 for most performances from 12 Mar – 29 Apr.

That’s because Christmas in British theatre means pantomime season. With so many theatres in London, there’s plenty of pantos on throughout the capital and we’ve listed the best of them for you below.

What Pantomimes can you see in London for Christmas 2025?

Cinderella at the Rose Theatre, Kingston-upon-Thames

Nestled in the leafy, market town of Kingston-upon-Thames, this year the Rose Theatre offers a magical fairytale that’s not quite the story you know. With direction by Olivier Award winner Chris Bush (Standing At The Sky’s Edge), this show also features brand new songs. 

Cinderella retells the fairy story of a girl forced to spend Christmas with her wicked new step-mum and horrid twin step-sisters. When she’s whisked away into a magical world of castles and princes, will she find her happy ending?

26 November 2025 – 4 January 2026

Dick Whittington And His Catford Cat at the Broadway Theatre, Catford

Proving you don’t need to fly to New York to visit Broadway, Catford’s own Broadway Theatre presents a modern and local version of Dick Whittington, who was the actual Lord Mayor of London in the 14^th and 15 centuries.

In this version, Dick Whittington sets sail from the West Indies on the Empire Windrush to seek his fortune on London’s streets of gold. Accompanied by who else but the Catford Cat, join Dick as he takes on the Queen Rat, meet an eccentric fairy and fall head over paws in love.

9  – 31 December 2025

Jack And The Beanstalk at the Lyric Hammersmith

After the success of last year’s smash sell-out Aladdin, the panto team of Sonia Jalaly and Nicholai La Barrie are back at the Lyric Hammersmith. In this reinvention of the fairy story, Jack and Jill have joined the strictest school in Hammersmith, where the headteacher sends naughty kids off to the giant – whatever that means.

With musical bangers, jaw-dropping magic and whip-smart comedy, join Jack and Jill on the climb of a lifetime to find the Fairy Godmother and bring joy back to West London

15 November 2025 – 4 January 2026

Beauty And The Beast: A Horny Love Story at the Charing Cross Theatre

For the third year running, Charing Cross Theatre hosts the big gay panto that is strictly for adults only. Expect plenty of outrageous outfits, colourful contouring and saucy word play as you’re transported to the Scottish village of Lickmanochers where a naïve mummy’s boy is taken prisoner by an aristocratic brute.

21 November 2025 – 11 January 2026

Potted Panto at Wilton’s Music Hall

If you can’t decide which panto is for you, then why make that choice? In this madcap show, you can experience seven classic pantomimes in 80 hilarious minutes all within the confines of Wilton’s, one of London’s oldest surviving music halls. What better venue for a pantomime than the music hall, one of they key influences on pantomime?

3 December 2025 – 3 January 2026

This week, we hear from George Takei, who is currently playing Sam Kimura/ Ojii-chan in George Takei’s Allegiance.

Find out more about George and his career so far below:

1. My route into theatre was…

Truly, it was born within me. My mother always knew she was always saddled with a ham. But as for the specific way in, I fell in love with the theatre seeing plays at the Biltmore Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

2. My West End idol is…

… Angela Lansbury. I was impressed with how she was always working on a new project well into her 90’s. I loved working with her on Murder She Wrote. And I think I’d make a terrific Mrs Potts one day, no? My tail’s as old as time these days.

3. My colleagues would describe me as…

A nice and supportive friend. I have no idea why. But seriously, I have been blessed with colleagues that have been supportive of me, and I am always happy to reciprocate.

4. My favourite show (that isn’t one I star/work in) is…

Les Miserables is my favorite musical. Perhaps it’s the turntable, I can’t ever unexperience that magic! And Death of a Salesman is my favorite play. I was very taken with the recent production from the Young Vic on Broadway.

5. The career moment I’m most proud of is…

When I did Year of the Dragon on Broadway and the subsequent television version. It was written by Frank Chin…

6. The hardest part about my role is…

My last scene in Allegiance is very emotional and requires a lot of vulnerability. To get there every night consistently has taken a good deal of discipline and focus, but it’s been worth it.

7. If I wasn’t an actor, I would be…

An author, of course! Which I am, in fact. I enjoy writing and have a few books out – including a NY TIMES bestseller They Called Us Enemy. See how I got that plug in?

8. Something people don’t know about me is…

That Brad brings me the paper every morning in bed after fixing me green tea. I am spoiled rotten by my beloved.

9. The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is…

Because of my family’s experience, we as citizens have a responsibility to be actively engaged in the democratic process. My father told me that, and it has stuck with me. I try to pass this advice along to every new generation—and there have been several since I first learned it!

10. The one thing I wish I could tell my younger self is…

Be yourself. Don’t only take advice from older people (I of course say this as an older person giving advice). You are going to be living in your time with unique challenges. Be true to yourself.

This week, we hear from Telly Leung, who is currently playing Young Sammy Kimura in George Takei’s Allegiance.

Find out more about Telly and his career so far below:

1. My route into theatre was…

The original Broadway production of Sondheim’s INTO THE WOODS (starring Bernadette Peters, Chip Zien, Joanna Gleason, etc). It was filmed live at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Al Hirschfeld) and broadcast on PBS. I was eight years old and I was hooked!

2. My West End idol is…

Imelda Staunton. I saw her play Mama Rose at the Savoy, and she was equally heart-breaking and appropriately terrifying in the role. It was a true tour-de-force performance.

3. My colleagues would describe me as…

“bubbly”. I’m told I’m an endless ball of energy. I have no idea if that’s accurate or not, as I certainly know I get tired. But, maybe that’s NOT what my colleagues experience.

4. My favourite show present or past (that isn’t one I star in) is…

It is so hard to pick a favourite- but the first show that pops in my mind is RENT. I saw the original production when I was a teenager and it was the show of my generation. It was the show that made me want to DO theatre. I had to pinch myself nightly when I joined the final company on Broadway because it was such a dream come true.

5. The career moment I’m most proud of is…

Getting the opportunity to create a role from scratch and originate it on Broadway. Sammy in Allegiance was that opportunity for me, and I am so grateful to get this chance to revisit the show again and be part of the UK premiere. I’m relishing every moment of being here. 

6. The hardest part about my role is…

The emotional arc Sammy has to go through. Not only does he experience the trauma of the Japanese-American  internment, but also the PTSD of serving in WW2 as well as the pain of that experience tearing his family apart. It is a heavy show to do every night. Luckily, Allegiance has always had a history of having a supportive and loving company that keeps the mood loving and light off-stage. (It’s a love fest backstage).

7. If I wasn’t an actor, I would be…

Working at the United Nations. I love languages and immersing myself in different cultures. One of my favourite parts of being in show business is getting to travel and perform all over the world. 

8. Something people don’t know about me is…

My absolute hatred of water chestnuts. I’m Chinese and it’s often used in Cantonese cooking, and I despise it. 

9. The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is…

Don’t try to be anyone else, but YOU. You can’t mess up being “YOU.”

10. The one thing I wish I could tell my younger self is…

… see #9!!!!

Millie is best known for her Olivier Award-nominated performance as Anne Boleyn in musical phenomenon Six. Her reign at the Arts Theatre as Henry VIII’s second wife will come to an end on 13 October. The production of Six achieved no less than five Olivier nominations this year, including Best Musical, and the Queens performed live on stage at this years ceremony.

Luke Bayer has been playing as alternate Jamie in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at the Apollo Theatre. He won the award for Best Performance By An Understudy/Alternate in Any Play or Musical for the role at the 2018 BroadwayWorld UK Awards.

They will be joined by Lewis Asquith, Christopher Coleman, Ewan Gillies, Tori Hargreaves, Natalie Harman, Michaela Stern, with an ensemble cast featuring Jade Bailey, Thomas Ball, Luke Byrne, Ben Darcy, Laura Fulgenzi, Danny Lane, Savannah Reed, Melissa Rose.

When skint student Robbie (Luke Bayer) falls into a romantic entanglement with an engaged candidate for London Mayor (Lewis Asquith) their worlds collide.

Celebrating the colourful district of Soho and the very British history of politics and sex-scandals, Soho Cinders is dragging the Cinderella story well and truly into the 21st Century.

The play enjoys music by George Stiles and lyrics by Anthony Drewe, the same duo behind Mary Poppins’ and Peter Pan’s scores.

With a book by Anthony Drewe and Elliot Davis, this musical shows the cheekier side of a very London Cinderella story, and is truly a love letter to London – seedy side and all.

The production will be directed by Will Keith and choreographed by Adam Haigh. The musical director will be Sarah Morrison. Soho Cinders will run from 24 October until 21 December.