The best theatre shows opening in July: London, 2022

Anything Goes, Barbican Theatre

Following a critically-acclaimed, sell-out stint in 2021, Kathleen Marshall’s show-stopping revival of Anything Goes returns to the Barbican Theatre, boasting a shiny new cast of seafarers. Multi-award-winner Kerry Ellis (Wicked, We Will Rock You) plays as Reno Sweeney and Olivier award-winner Denis Lawson (Bleak House, Star Wars) stars as Moonface Martin. Joining them is Olivier-winner Simon Callow (Art, Death in Paradise) as Elisha Whitney and musical theatre favourite Bonnie Langford (EastEnders, 9 to 5: The Musical) as Evangeline Harcourt.

Hungry, Soho Upstairs

Hungry might be showing somewhat discreetly on the smaller, upstairs stage at Soho Theatre, but this pacy and poignant two-hander about the class, race and overall power dynamics between a chef and waitress who start dating has just the right balance of each ingredient to sing on stage. Written by the ever thought-provoking Chris Bush (Fantastically Great Women Who Change the World), produced by the brilliant Paines Plough and performed with emotional zeal by Eleanor Sutton and Melissa Lowe, this show is not to be missed (even if you skip dinner to see it!).

Closer, Lyric Hammersmith

Director Clare Lizzimore gives Patrick Marber's Olivier-winning play Closer a radical revival at the Lyric Hammersmith, starring Jack Farthing, Ella Hunt, Sam Troughton and Nina Toussaint-White.

101 Dalmatians, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

Dodie Smith's beloved story of 101 Dalmatians kidnapped by Cruella de Vil comes to life as a new musical at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, with direction from Zinnie Harris (How To Hold Your Breath) and a pack of puppies designed by puppet master Toby Olié (Animal Farm).

Patriots, Almeida Theatre

The critically and publicly revered Tom Hollander (The Night Manager) is set to grace the Almeida Theatre stage, starring in the world premiere of Peter Morgan's (The Crown) Patriots, about the fall of the Soviet Union. Rupert Goold directs.

Jack Absolute Flies Again, National Theatre

Richard Bean, writer of One Man, Two Guvnors, is back at the National Theatre with a historical comedy set during the Battle of Britain. Co-written with Oliver Chris, the new play is adapted from Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals and stars Caroline Quentin (Jonathan Creek), Laurie Davidson (Guilty Party), Natalie Simpson (Three Sisters) and Kelvin Fletcher (Emmerdale).

Sean Holmes’s The Tempest, Shakespeare’s Globe

Hot on the heels of his winter Hamlet in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, the Globe’s associate artistic director Sean Holmes brings his vision for The Tempest to the theatre’s main, open-air auditorium.

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Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific, Sadler’s Wells

Chichester Festival Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s 1949 musical South Pacific docks at Sadler’s Wells this summer. Steered by the theatre’s artistic director Daniel Evans (Me and My Girl, Fiddler on the Roof), the production has been praised for emphasising the anti-racist message of the Broadway hit, which concerns the American and French colonisation of the Pacific Islands.

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The Southbury Child, Bridge Theatre

Three-time Olivier award-winning actor Alex Jennings makes his Bridge Theatre debut to play a charming but often inebriated vicar in the world premiere of Stephen Beresford's dark comedy The Southbury Child. Nicholas Hytner, who has worked extensively with Jennings, directs.

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Much Ado About Nothing, National Theatre

With a rival production taking place further along the Thames at Shakespeare's Globe, the National Theatre offers its own take on the Bard's Sicilian comedy about a self-proclaimed bachelor and bachelorette, who verbally spar then fall head over heels in love with one another. Katherine Parkinson (Home, I'm Darling) and John Heffernan (Dracula) star, and Simon Godwin (Twelfth Night) directs.

Peaky Blinders: The Rise, Camden Garrison

If you binge-watched all six series and are now suffering from a Peaky Blinders withdrawal, then this is the show for you: Peaky Blinders: The Rise, from the team behind Doctor Who: Time Fracture, takes audiences into the moody, gun-wielding underworld of the Birmingham-set show, by way of an immersive experience based in London's Camden Market. Join the Shelby family as they conduct their business, moving between famous sites including The Garrison, the Small Heath betting shop and the bakery on the Regent’s Canal.

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Oh Mother, Soho Theatre

From the brilliantly political and provocative feminist theatre company RashDash comes Oh Mother, a show about the transformative (exhausting, rewarding…) experience of starting a family, made with their mothers.