The 25 best things to do in London in 2025, from theatre to films and bonkers events
Theatre, film, exhibitions, barmy events: here are the best 25 things to do in London in 2025
Another new year and, Dry January aside, there’s plenty to be excited for. Yes, our capital is stepping up to mark a quarter of a century since the millennium bug (feel old yet?) with oodles of brilliant new events to book. Here are just a few of the them.
We’ll fess up, there were too many for us to keep this list to 2025, so we’ve listed a couple of extra ones just for good luck. In our spirit of excess, we hope you find some incredible things to do in London this new year.
The best things to do in London in 2025: Hercules on stage, Peter Kay returns and the hottest new music
Theatre
Titanique
The songs of Celine Dion are the focal point in this barmy-sounding new musical about the Titanic. After huge success on Broadway, Titanique is threatening to be the most fun London theatre opening of the year. It might seem a little insensitive, but this off-the-wall story imagining a world in which the diva was on board the HMS when it capsized is sure to be a conversation starter. Playing now, until 2 March
Oliver!
It’s been 15 years since the Charles Dickens classic landed in the West End, the last production starring a comically sublime Rowan Atkinson as Fagin. Everyone loves Oliver!, and Lionel Bart’s adaptation returns with new production from dance supremo Matthew Bourne. Expect an experimental twist on the classic. Playing now, until 28 September
Inside No. 9 Stage/Fright
British Black comedy TV programme Inside Number 9 became a cult hit when it launched in 2014, and a decade on show creators Reese Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have devised a live theatrical version. It stars both men, who also wrote the original and this stage version. Expect more of the same format: the TV show introduced a new story and fresh characters in every episode, and the only link was that the story is related in some way to number 9. From 18 January
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Elektra
Brie Larson makes her West End debut in Elektra, a version of the Ancient Greek tragedy of Sophocles. The Oscar winner from Room and Captain Marvel is collaborating with director Daniel Fish, behind the Young Vic’s barnstorming version of Oklahoma! that stripped away pretty much everything bar the actors and a couple of musical instruments. 24 January
Unicorn
Perennially around TV and stage favourite Stephen Mangan returns to the London stage this year in Unicorn, a new play from visionary writer Mike Bartlett. One of the most lauded contemporary creatives, Bartlett’s work is often concerned with identity, and Unicorn – about a heteronormative married couple who decide to open their relationship – sounds like a typically Bartlett-esque examination of relationships and sexuality in the modern era. From 4 February
The Score
Succession’s Brian Cox can’t get enough of the London stage at the moment. Not long after his critically-acclaimed run in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, the 78-year-old returns in new play The Score, in which the acting titan plays German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. From 20 February
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The Seagull
Cate Blanchett returns again to the London stage this year in a new version of Chekhov’s existential play The Seagull. Blanchett has become one of the most celebrated working actors of her day, with multiple Oscars to her name, so to see her tackle such a seminal piece of 19th century literature is tremendously exciting. From 26 February
My Master Builder
It’s a significant year in terms of A-Listers eschewing the big screen to tread the boards. Ewan McGregor tackles Ibsen, returning to London theatre almost two decades since his last stage outing in a much less intense piece: a musical adaptation of Guys & Dolls. The Star Wars actor clearly fancies upping the stakes. From 17 April
Here We Are
The final Stephen Sondheim musical arrives in London this year after a critically-acclaimed run on Broadway. The legend behind shows like Sweeney Todd, Follies, Company and A Little Night Music has adapted two dark comedy books for this show that will feel like the composer’s emotional departure for many of his huge fanbase. From 8 May
London Road
Alecky Blythe and Adam Cork’s musical about the murders of prostitute workers in Ipswich redefined shock in contemporary theatre when it debuted at the National Theatre in 2011. People were asking whether a musical about the lives of people affected by murder was appropriate, and a verbatim one at that, meaning the actual words of the victims are translated into song on stage. Despite how it might sound, the end result is a surprisingly warm and soul-stirring feat. From 5 June
4.48 Psychosis
If you think London Road is provocative, try 4.48 Psychosis: when this play debuted in 1996 at the Royal Court, the Daily Mail’s critic at the time described the piece as a “disgusting feast of filth,” initiating new conversations about appropriateness on stage. The existential piece documents the mind of someone struggling with depression, and was written by the playwright Sarah Kane in the late-nineties shortly before her suicide. James Macdonald, one of Britain’s most revered directors, is on board. From 12 June
Hercules
The big family musical of the year will be this new adaptation of Disney’s Hercules. Starring Luke Brady as the titular muscle man deriving from Greek legend, this story about the hero’s journey of self-discovery has music and lyrics by Alan Menken, behind the music in the original Disney film. From 24 June
Film
Bridget Jones
Britain’s OG singleton (well, perhaps that was Jane Austen, but nevermind) finally returns for a fourth instalment this Valentine’s Day, after the Hollywood strikes significantly impacted production. Hugh Grant returns as terrible a**hole Daniel Cleaver, although it’s not been revealed quite how scriptwriters shoehorned Bridget’s ex back into the picture. There’s no Colin Firth though – in his place, a much younger lover. Cue millions of articles about what modern feminism means today and how Bridget is either a) a toxic pin-up or b) the woman we should all aspire to be more like. 13 February
Mickey 17
New from Bong Joon Ho, the director of Parasite, is Mickey 17 starring Twilight’s Robert Pattinson. In this sci-fi comedy, he plays a clone who tries to beat his programming to continue living beyond his sell-by date. It doesn’t sound that funny to us, but given the cache around Joon Ho, this’ll be one the cinephiles purr over. 17 March
Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning
He famously does all his own stunts – but how much longer can 62-year-old Tom Cruise keep up the action man guise? Not much longer, Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning, suggests, given the title and all. Anyway, fans of the franchise will be pre-booking for this final outing an incredible 19 years after the first hit cinemas in 1996. 21 May
28 Years Later
The creatives that brought us the British zombie cult classic 28 Days Later are back with another bill. 28 Years Later sees the return of the original movie’s director Danny Boyle alongside a new cast including Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor Johnson, the actor hotly-tipped to be the new James Bond. 20 June
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The Naked Gun
Pamela Anderson has been distancing herself from the pin-up image of her 1990s Baywatch era. The Last Showgirl, about an ageing female performer, is released early this year, but later down the line Anderson stars in this reboot of the much-loved Leslie Nielsen spoof The Naked Gun. She plays a dangerous female who gets romantically involved with Frank Drebin Jr, the detective character played by Liam Neeson. 8 August
Happy Gilmore 2
Almost twenty years after the original, Netflix is putting out a follow-up to Adam Sandler classic Happy Gilmore, about an aspiring hockey player who joins a professional tour to try to raise money to save his grandma’s house. This one could go either way: but amid the trend for ’90s nostalgia, it’ll be an unmissable new addition to the canon. Summer 2025
Other unmissable things: the best things to do in London in 2025
Monster Trucks
Monster Trucks – yep, those giant vehicles that run over cars while people cheer – are coming to London this January. We’ve no idea either, but if you fancy an evening of completely OTT excess, and probably plenty of screaming Americans watching brightly coloured cars flatten smaller ones, this is surely the left-field ticket. 10 – 12 January
Peter Kay
The hugely talented comedian has evaded the limelight recently, cancelling his tour in 2017 for personal reasons. He made a comeback in 2022 to stage his first comedy tour in 12 years, and this year the man from Greater Manchester returns with a new show landing at the 02 on 25 January, 22 February, 20 March and 4 April.
Billie Eilish
Glastonbury headliner, Bond theme tune hitmaker and Gen Z favourite Billie Eilish also lands back in London this summer with a couple of nights at the 02. Now that Taylor Swift hysteria has stepped back, expect Eilish to fill some of that void with her moody, atmospheric pop from 10 – 17 July (not 12).
SXSW London
SXSW – South by Southwest – is an annual music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas, with live peformances as well as panel discussions and other events. This is the first time the festival has been held in the UK, so book out this weekend in your calendar to experience some of the world’s most exciting breaking new music talent. 2 – 7 June
The Guinness microbrewery opens
London famously ran out of Guinness shortly before Christmas – but hopefully that’ll be a thing of the past now that Guinness is opening their very own brewery here in the capital. The Old Brewer’s Yard destination will run tours and allow guests to generally get up closer and more personal with the nation’s favourite stout, and there’ll be plenty of tasting opportunities. No date yet
Ikea finally launches on Oxford Street
The huge Oxford Street retail unit that formerly housed Topshop and Topman has been shuttered since 2021, but the space is finally due to be put to use again this year as the central London branch of Ikea. Expect the famously cheap meatballs and probably plenty of sofas designed to fit into every type of weirdly shaped London apartment. Spring 2025