We’re fast approaching the midpoint of 2024, but we like to think of the year as a glass half full. After all, there are plenty of grool shows popping up across theatre land to quench our thirst for new theatre!

Whether you fancy a tried and tested tipple, like the iconic Starlight Express or Tony winning Next to Normal, or fancy something with a bit of a kick, like the urgent new play Olivier Award winner Joe Penhall, the West End has something for everyone’s tastes. So, sit back, relax and drink in our list below.

Kiss Me, Kate (4 June)

Broadway legend, Stephanie J Block and Line of Duty icon, Adrian Dunbar will be making their West End debut in this summer’s hottest musical, Kiss Me, Kate! The pair will be joined by Olivier nominee Charlie Stemp (Crazy For You) and rising star Georgina Onuorah (The Wizard of Oz), alongside Nigel Lindsay (Shrek the Musical), Hammed Animashaun (Aladian the Musical) and Peter Davison (Doctor Who). 

Cole Porter’s classic was the first-ever winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical when the category was introduced in 1949. Now, 70 years, a film, and a handful of TV adaptations later, the rib-tickling revival is set to delight and dazzle audiences once more.

Love, jealousy, and mistaken identities, a theatre companies’ production of The Taming of the Shrew, is even more dramatic off stage as it is on! When divorcées, Fred and Lilli, are forced to play opposite each other in Shakespeare’s much-loved comedy, the quailing couple find it hard to stick to the script, and soon the green rooms resemble one of the Bard’s biggest tragedies!

Mean Girls (6 June)

Get in the Savoy Theatre, losers, we’re seeing Mean Girls the Musical! That’s right, the West End has just got fetch, as the hottest new musical makes its UK premiere this month. How grool.

Following the success of the Tony nominated Broadway run, and the movie musical starring Reneé Rapp, Mean Girls the Musical is finally going to sit with us in London.

Home-schooled in South Africa, Cady is plunged into the suburban jungle of Illinois. Here she is forced to learn the very peculiar mating rituals and pack mentality of the typical American High School. Soon she unwittingly finds herself inducted into the seemingly fabulous world of The Plastics, but she should know more than anyone that messing with the hierarchy can have devastating effects for the whole food chain…

Starlight Express (8 June)

Get your skates on, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s much-loved musical is pulling into the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre! Over 20 million people have already seen Starlight Express, and now you can add yourself to those numbers (as long as you have a valid train ticket, of course)

Rusty, a humble steam engine, dreams of becoming a racing champion, however he’s overshadowed by more modern competitors: the electric engine Electra and the diesel engine Greaseball. Despite facing doubts and setbacks, Rusty believes in the legendary Starlight Express, a figure representing hope and self-belief. With the help of his friends, including the passenger coach Pearl and the observation car Dustin, Rusty overcomes his insecurities. But can he clinch a win in the racing heats, or even the title?