THE LITTLE BIG THINGS Leads our Top Ten London Shows for September

The nights are getting shorter, the swimming trunks are being packed away and you probably have bought some new pens and pencils. September is here and promises some amazing theatre to come.

From an exciting new musical, Andrew Scott's return to the stage, to an immersive production set on a London double-decker bus, we have a selection of some brilliant shows coming to the capital.

Check out our top ten recommendations for theatre in London this month below and don't forget to come back to read all our reviews, news and features.

1. The Little Big Things @sohoplace

Created by an exciting young team, with music by Nick Butcher, lyrics by Nick Butcher and Tom Ling, a book by Joe White and directed by Luke Sheppard, The Little Big Things is a new British musical with an explosive theatrical pop soundtrack in a world premiere production.

Based on the Sunday Times best-selling autobiography by Henry Fraser, an avid sportsman and academy player with a premiership Rugby club, his life changed forever when in 2009 he had a diving accident. This uplifting new musical is a life-affirming reminder about the transformative power of family, and how sometimes it really is the little things which matter the most. You can also stream the soundtrack now.

The Little Big Things is @sohoplace from 2 September - 25 November. Book tickets here.

2. VANYA, Duke of York's Theatre

Andrew Scott is returning to the West End to play every single role in Anton Chekhov’s play Uncle Vanya, reuniting playwright Simon Stephens to play at the Duke of York’s Theatre for one month only.

This London production will see Scott tackle not just the title role of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, but all the characters. That includes the family living on a rural estate, plus the professor and his attractive young wife who come to visit and cause chaos. Intriguing and sure to be a sell-out.

VANYA is at the Duke of York's Theatre from 15 September - 21 October. Book tickets here.

3. That Face, Orange Tree Theatre

When Mia is expelled from boarding school, her mother Martha isn’t interested. Martha prefers to hang out with her son Henry. And now her estranged husband Hugh, who’s run off to Hong Kong with his new girlfriend, is charging back threatening to sort things out. What is there to sort out? Everything is fine.

The brilliant Niamh Cusack leads the first major London revival of Polly Stenham’s 2007 debut play that won won the Evening Standard Charles Wintour Award, the TMA Best New Play Award, and the Critics’ Circle Award.

That Face is at the Orange Tree Theatre from 9 September - 10 October. Book tickets here.

4. God Of Carnage, Lyric Hammersmith

Lyric Associate Director Nicholai La Barrie directs Yasmina Reza’s Olivier and Tony Award-winning play, translated by Christopher Hampton.

The other day in the park, 11 year old Ferdinand knocked 11 year old Bruno’s two front teeth out. Their parents meet up to have a civil conversation about the misdemeanours of their children in a suitably calm and rational way… what can go wrong? As night falls chaos ensues with explosive tantrums, name-calling and tears.

God Of Carnage is at the Lyric Hammersmith from 1 - 30 September. Book tickets here.

5. The Architect, Secret South East London Location

As part of the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, travel aboard a double decker bus and be transported across South-East London in this new immersive production that commemorates the 30th anniversary year of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence. Along the way participants will encounter storytelling, characters, musicians, steel pan and runners from Stephen's athletics club - the Cambridge Harriers. 

The project brings together a collective of Black theatre-makers to explore and celebrate Black lives and the dreams that accompany them - whilst imagining the blueprint of what a future city could and should be. Conceived by Mojisola Adebayo, Roy Williams and Matthew Xia, the project is made in support of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation. 

The Architect is at a Secret South East London Location from 6 - 10 September. Book tickets here.

6. Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool, Wyndham's Theatre

Comedian Mike Birbiglia plays a strictly limited run in the West End this Autumn with his hit show The Old Man And The Pool, direct from his sold-out Broadway run.

Chronicling his coming-of-middle-age story, Mike asks the big questions: Why are we here? What’s next? What happens when the items at the doctor’s office that you thought were decorative become functional? This tale of life, death, and a highly chlorinated YMCA pool resonates with audiences ages 12 to 112, and won rave reviews whilst playing to sold-out houses in the US. This strictly limited run plays at Wyndham’s Theatre for just four weeks.

Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool is at Wyndham's Theatre from 12 September - 7 October. Book tickets here.

7. UNBELIEVABLE, Criterion Theatre

Brought to you by the writing and directing team behind internationally acclaimed psychological illusionist Derren Brown’s stage productions, comes a new theatre show that reimagines live magic.   

As ever, not a huge amount of information is available about the show, but it promises to feature a live band and a magic company of multi-talented performers with extraordinary gifts who will present an evening of trickery that will leave you amazed.  

From the moment you set foot in the theatre, the audience will become an essential element of the show – indeed the beating heart of the production. No two performances will be the same.  Derren Brown will not be appearing on stage, but any production that involves him is always spellbinding.

UNBELIEVABLE is at the Criterion Theatre from 19 September - 7 April 2024. Book tickets here.

8. untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play, Young Vic

Kimber Lee’s award-winning satire untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play jumps through time – wriggling inside of and then exploding lifetimes of repeating Asian stereotypes, wrestling history for the right to control your own narrative in a world that thinks it can tell you who you are.

Winner of the inaugural Bruntwood Prize for Playwrighting 2019, International Award, this powerful production is directed by Roy Alexander Weise for the Royal Exchange Theatre as part of Manchester International Festival.

untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play is at Young Vic from 18 September - 4 November. Book tickets here.

9. Das Rheingold, Royal Opera House

Director Barrie Kosky joins forces with legendary conductor Antonio Pappano in a bold new imagining of the first chapter of Wagner's Ring cycle, which marks the start of a new ring cycle for The Royal Opera.

A rite of passage for any opera lover and boasting some of the greatest music ever written for the opera stage, Das Rheingold is a massive undertaking for any opera house, with an outstanding cast including Christopher Maltman as Wotan and Christopher Purves as Alberich. A must-see.

Das Rheingold is at the Royal Opera House from 11 – 29 September. Book tickets here.

10. Pygmalion, The Old Vic

After a chance meeting with Professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering, flower seller Eliza Doolittle finds herself the subject of a rash bet to pass her off as a lady amongst the great and the good of London society.

A mouthwatering theatrical prospect; Olivier-winner Richard Jones directs the Olivier Award-winning duo of Bertie Carvel and Patsy Ferran in George Bernard Shaw’s explosively funny, biting and subversive satire on class.

Pygmalion is at The Old Vic from 6 September - 28 October. Book tickets here.