London theatre 2023: From A Streetcar named Desire to the Lehman Trilogy, five of the best new shows

While a number of much loved shows are set to leave the West End this January, an abundance of exciting new productions are set to take their place.

From hit musicals to groundbreaking plays, London’s theatre scene is bursting with innovative new work.

From Paul Mescal in A Streetcar Named Desire to Aidan Turner and Jenna Coleman in Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, we’ve picked out five unmissable new shows to see this New Year.

A Streetcar Named Desire

Almeida Theatre, Almeida St, N1 1TA Till February 4 2023

Paul Mescal has taken on the role of the iconic Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams’s ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’.

Directed by Rebecca Frecknall (Cabaret), this hot new production is the play’s fifth major UK revival in the last 20 years.

Starring Patsy Ferran as Blanche DuBois and Anjana Vasan (Killing Eve) as Stella, this show is the hottest ticket in town this month.

Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons

Harold Pinter Theatre, Panton St, SW1Y 4DN January 18 to March 18 2023 Tickets: From £15

Starring Jenna Coleman (The Serpent) and Aidan Turner (Poldark), Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons is a tender and funny rom-com about what we say, how we say it, and what happens when we can’t say anything anymore.

This bold new play from Sam Steiner (Fingernails, You Stupid Darkness!) is directed by Josie Rourke (Mary Queen of Scots, As You Like It) and will run for a limited 9 week season.

The Lehman Trilogy

Gillian Lynne Theatre, 166 Drury Lane, WC2B 5PW January 24 to May 20 2023 Tickets: From £20

Hailed by the New York Times as a ‘genuinely epic production’, The Lehman Trilogy is the story of a family and a company that changed the world.

Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes the play tells the story of three brothers from Bavaria embarking on an American adventure.

163 years later, the firm they established – Lehman Brothers – spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, triggering the largest financial crisis in history.

Phaedra

National Theatre, Southbank, SE1 9PX February 1 to April 8 2023 Tickets: From £20

Writer-Director Simon Stone (Yerma, Young Vic) reimagines Seneca’s famous tragedy in this striking new play starring ‘Ozark’ star Janet McTeer as Phaedra.

After years of fierce focus on her political career, Phaedra turns her attention to her personal life.

The reappearance of her step-son shakes the foundations of her house and the beliefs that have underpinned her power.

As buried lust and loneliness surge to the surface, Phaedra’s actions threaten to destroy everything she has built.

Oklahoma

Wyndham’s Theatre, Charing Cross Rd, WC2H 0DA February 16 to September 2 2023 Tickets: From £25

Riding high from sell out runs on Broadway and the Young Vic, Daniel Fish’s bold interpretation of Oklahoma is making its debut on the West End.

75 years after Rodgers & Hammerstein reinvented the American musical, this visionary production is funny and sexy, provocative and probing, without changing a word of the text.