New musicals to have on your radar

They say to never judge a book by its cover, but sometimes a title and some artwork is all we have!

Nevertheless, it’s enough to get us excited for some upcoming productions while we await further updates. Here are just some of the new musicals we’re keeping a close eye on, and we think you should add to your radar.

Anne Boleyn the Musical

We’ve heard Boleyn’s tale of events post-Henry VIII in Six, but consider this a prequel. The new musical will look at her early life and rise to the English court in the 16th century, tracking her departure from her family and her time at the royal courts of Flanders and France. Adding to that, it’ll be staged at the former monarch’s childhood home, Hever Castle, which will transform into a theatre, so we’re looking forward to seeing how the staging will work with the summer nights.

Plays at Hever Castle throughout August

Club NVRLND

This is for anyone who’s been dubbed as part of the “Peter Pan” generation! When Wendy spends one last night with Peter in Club NVRLND just before her wedding, everything changes. Jack Holden‘s new musical is set to feature noughties club hits from Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, and more, playing out in an immersive setting. With the recent success of New York’s Cats – The Jellicle Ball, it’ll be interesting to see the audience’s involvement in the show. In this club, we’re all fans.

Plays at Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Assembly Checkpoint from 30 July to 24 August

Coven

Billing itself as a “scorching” new musical based on England’s notorious witch trials, Rebecca Brewer and Daisy Chute have penned the tale of Jennet, who, aged nine, accuses her own family of witchcraft. When she finds herself imprisoned 21 years later, she listens to the stories of the women around her. Coven has been programmed excellently, with its first performance on Halloween. We can’t wait to see who has been cast!

Coven plays at the Kiln Theatre from 31 October to 13 December

Hot Mess

The creative minds behind 42 Balloons, are back, so we’re immediately interested! Hot Mess reimagines the climate crisis as a rom-com between Earth and Humanity (who will be played by Danielle Steers and Tobias Turley). We’re expecting it to be anything but its namesake, with big laughs with a lot of heart.

Premiering at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer

The Illusionist

The last update we had from Andrew Lloyd Webber was that he was “inching forwards” with his new musical. Steven Millhauser’s short story about a magician shaking up the social order in the turn-of-the-century Austrian Empire is the inspiration, and we’ve seen what Webber can do with biblical tales, poems about cats, and dreams about trains, so we’re looking forward to how The Illusionist will turn out, especially with visionary director Jamie Lloyd at the helm. In the meantime, you can watch the 2006 film starring Edward Norton.

One Day

David Nicholls’ best-selling novel has made it to the big screen (with Anne Hathaway and Tim Sturgess) and the smaller screen (on Netflix with Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall), now it’s headed for the stage. The big question is who’s going to be playing the central duo? Aptly, the new musical will receive its world premiere in Edinburgh, the city where Emma and Dexter meet on the night of their graduation in 1988.

This one has already revealed some of the team behind it: The Royal Lyceum Theatre’s former artistic director, David Greig, has adapted the piece, Johnnyswim band members Abner and Amanda Ramirez will be providing the score, with additional material by Freya Catrin Smith, and it will be directed by Max Webster.

One Day is scheduled to run at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh from 26 February to 5 April 2026

Pride

It’s another familiar title, and one that people have been eagerly awaiting to hit the stage! Helmed by Matthew Warchus, who directed the original film (pictured above), and writer Stephen Beresford, the two return to the true story of a group of lesbian and gay activists who lend their support to the striking mining communities during the strike of 1984. As mentioned, this has been in the works for a while and has a lot of ready-made fans to impress, and with both the National Theatre and the Sherman Theatre attached, we don’t think we’ll be disappointed.

Speaking of film adaptations, we can’t resist including Lucie Jones taking on another iconic Jenna in 13 Going on 30 or body-swap comedy Freaky Friday – both in Manchester later this year. Surely we can Razzle up some casting news soon…

Pride will play in both London at the National Theatre and at Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre, with dates to be revealed

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