What’s closing in theatre’s this month (January 2024)

Posted on Dec 26, 2023 | By Sian McBride

Some New Years Resolutions are meant to be broken (learning Italian whilst running 5k every morning before 5am probably isn’t going to happen – no matter how many times that little green owl scowls at us for missing a session) Some, however, are a lot easier to accomplish, like watching all these wonderful West End shows before they close!

We bid a fond farewell to several productions in the new year, including toe-tapping musicals, award winning revivals, and right royal dramas. If you haven't had the chance to see these incredible pieces of theatre yet, then January is your last opportunity to do so. So, write these shows down in your brand new diary, and feel smug as you cross them off one by one. 2024? You already own this.

Sunset Boulevard (6 January)

Mr DeMille, I’m ready to close up. After an explosive limited run at the Savoy Theatre, Norma Desmond is preparing to retire from the limelight. Winner of two Evening Standard awards and nominated for a whopping nine WhatsOnStage Awards, Jamie Llyod’s dark adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ode to old Hollywood has been reinvented for a modern audience, without losing the intense beauty of the original.

Living in a suffocating world of dreams, memories, and regrets, faded Hollywood starlet, Norma (Nicole Scherzinger) capitalises on a chance encounter with up-and-coming screenwriter, Joe (Tom Francis). Hungry for the spotlight, Norma clings to her new companion as he starts to make waves in Hollywood. Can he save her from obscurity, or will she be cast adrift once more?

With multiple cameras on stage, projecting extreme close ups of the actors on to the backdrop, and innovative use of live feed projections from in, and outside, the Savoy Theatre, the audience are transported to the glamourous world of a Hollywood film set, in a uniquely modern way.

🎫 Book tickets to Sunset Boulevard now.

Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends (6 January)

Starring Emmy, Golden Globe and Grammy winner Bernadette Peters, opposite multi-Tony and Olivier award winner Lea Salonga. Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is the ultimate song and dance show! Celebrating the life of theatres most accomplished and well-loved composer and lyricists, Stephen Sondheim, Old Friends showcases his very best works including ‘No One is Alone’ from Into The Woods, ‘Send in the Clowns’ from A Little Night Music and ‘Getting Married Today’ from Company.

The tribute concert of the same name won the Best Theatre Event at the 2023 WhatsOnStage Awards, and sold out within just a few hours. The full-length stage show has received similar critical acclaim, with audience members returning to the theatre again and again.

With intricate lyrics and intelligent melodic and harmonic choices, the emotional depth of Sondheim’s music has endured longevity throughout the decades and has had an unprecedented influence on modern theatre. Don’t miss out on this celebration, book your tickets for Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends today!

🎫 Book tickets to Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends now.

Dear England (13 January)

Following a winning season at the National Theatre earlier this year, the England squad transferred to the Prince Edward Theatre to start their 2023/2024 bid, and now the team are looking forward to a well-earned rest when the football season ends this month. However, before they hang up their boots for good, can the national team finally end more than 50 years of hurt?

Despite rarely winning the sport, England famously gave the world the beautiful game more than 150 years ago, so why do England’s men fail to deliver at their own invention? The team has the world’s worst track record for penalties, and manager Gareth Southgate (who, in part, is responsible for that statistic) knows something must change.

Will the waistcoat wonder’s new approach change the well-known script and to take his team, and country, back to the promised land? Joesph Finnes (The Handmaid’s Tale) stars as the much-loved manager, alongside an award nominated starting eleven. Don’t miss the final kick off of the season, it’s only live once!

🎫 Book tickets to Dear England now.

Backstairs Billy (27 January)

Staring film and TV royalty, Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast, The Hobbit) and Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey, The Borrowers), Backstairs Billy is the perfect treat for fans of The Crown. However, just like the hit Netflix series, this show won’t be around for long!

Britain is facing seismic change, but will the royal family follow suit? Marcelo Dos Santos’ West End debut follows a pivotal night in the Queen Mother and William "Billy" Tallon’s 50-year friendship. As strikes bring the country to its knees, two worlds start to collide with dizzying consequences and reinforces the differences between the unlikely BFFs. Can their friendship endure past the gilded walls of the royal residency, or will the growing class divide create an unbreachable caesium between the pair?

Set during a time of political and social chaos, two contrasting worlds are on course for collision, a whirlwind of consequences are about to unfold... Book your royal appointment to see the hilarious new comedy featuring crowns, cabinet ministers and corgis now.

🎫 Book tickets to Backstairs Billy now.

Jersey Boys (28 January)

We know that Big Girls Don’t Cry, but forgive us if we shed a tear (or two) at the closure of the multi-award-winning West End smash, Jersey Boys!

After hitting the high note over a thousand times at the Trafalgar Theatre, the original Grammy, Tony, and Olivier award-winning sensation, Jersey Boys, will be taking their final bow (and perhaps a Halls lozenge) later this month. From the streets of New Jersey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the musical charts the rise and fall and rise of the world-famous quartet. However, while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story…

Featuring all the catchy Four Seasons hits including Beggin’, Sherry, Walk Like A Man, Bye Bye Baby, December, 1963 (Oh What a Night), My Eyes Adored You, Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got), Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Working My Way Back to You, Fallen Angel, Rag Doll and Who Loves You, Jersy Boys is the feel-good show that’ll have you shimmying in your seat and dancing the whole way home.

🎫 Book tickets to Jersey Boys now.