What’s closing in London theatres this month (June 2024)

Posted on May 24, 2024 | By Sian McBride

Summer officially begins next month, and with it a host of exciting new experiences await. Where will we leave our sunglasses this year? How many burnt sausages will we consume at the family BBQ? Will jelly shoes finally make a comeback?

Some things remain a mystery for now, whilst other fates are written in black and white. Like the shows that will sadly be bidding us adieu (adieune?) next month.

From critically acclaimed West End transfers, brand new dramas from award-winning playwrights, and even a 400-year-old play. There’s something for everyone, if you’re quick enough.

Machinal (1 June)

‘One of the great theatre nights of the decade (WhatsOnStage) must come to an end this month. Following a critically acclaimed sold out run at Theatre Royal Bath, the West End transfer at the Old Vic has taken the capital by storm. The ‘mesmerising’ (Daily Mail) and ‘astonishing’ (Time Out) production has received a host of 5-star reviews, with its star, Rosie Sheehy, being hailed as an ‘astounding stage talent’ (The Guardian)

Directed by five-time Olivier Award winner, Richard Jones, Sophie Treadwell’s extraordinary epic masterpiece has a bold transformation. With bright yellow lights, and unnerving choreography, the play really is hypnotising.

Based on the true crime story of Ruth Snyder in 1928 that shook a nation, Machinal is a pulse-pounding journey of someone pushed to breaking point by the relentless machinery of life, expectation, and convention.

🎫 Book Machinal tickets now!

Long Day’s Journey into Night (8 June)

Emmy, Golden Globe, and Olivier award-winning actor, Brian Cox stars in this ‘magnificent’ (Financial Times) and ‘thrilling’ (The Guardian) new adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

Often regarded as the greatest American play of the 20th Century, the tense drama depicts a single summers day in the life of the Tyrones. Deeply moving and uplifting in equal measure, it’s a compelling story of love, hate, betrayal and addiction and the impossible fragility of family bonds.

Multi award-winner, Jeremy Herrin (Best of Enemies) directs the all-star cast, in the ‘riveting and heart rending’ (Daily Telegraph) production. ‘Full of pathos and grandeur’ (Evening Standard) don’t miss your chance to see this theatrical event of the year.

🎫 Book Long Day’s Journey into Night tickets now!

What’s closing in London theatres this month (June 2024)

The Hills of California (15 June)

Legends of stage and screen, Jez Butterworth (Jerusalem) and Sam Mendes (The Lehman Trilogy), have teamed up once again to create another epic piece of theatre. With countless 5-star reviews The Hills of California is the hottest ticket in town, which is only apt for a show set in the sweltering heatwave of 70s Britian…

The ‘rich, funny, brilliantly layered drama surfs time, place and mood’ (Financial Times) as we untangle the complicated relationships of the four Webb sisters. Billed as ‘devastatingly moving, bitterly funny, tender, cruel and wise’ by The Stage, this thrilling family drama is everything you would hope for in a Butterworth and Mendes collaboration.

Featuring a tour de force performance from Laura Donnelly (The Ferryman) as the ferocious matriarch Veronica, alongside her stage sisters Leanne Best (Sweat), Ophelia Lovibond (The Libertine) and Helena Wilson (Jack Absolute Flies Again), this is one family reunion you’re not going to want to miss.

🎫 Book The Hills of California tickets now!

Player Kings – Henry IV Part I and II (22 June)

Adapted by the award-winning writer and director Robert Icke, Shakespeare’s two great history plays (Henry IV, parts 1 and 2) are combined to create the event of the season. A three-and-a-half-hour epic starring Sir Ian McKellen, this is a ‘must-see masterclass in acting’ (Sunday Times).

A divided country, leadership crumbling, corruption in the air. Sound familiar? This urgent and intelligent retelling of Henry IV parts I and II transports this 400-year-old play to modern times.

Co-starring Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso, Romeo & Juliet) and Richard Coyle (To Kill a Mockingbird, Macbeth) Hal wasn’t born to be king. Only now, it seems, he will be. His father longs for him to leave behind his friends in the taverns of Eastcheap, most notably the infamous John Falstaff. War is on the horizon. But will Hal ever come good? Find out at the Noël Coward Theatre.

🎫 Book Player Kings – Henry IV Part I and II tickets now!