Powered by Pride

Based on a gloriously true story, Kinky Boots is what theatre was made for: a Cyndi Lauper score, Johannes Radebe as the iconic Lola, and a giant middle finger to conformity in a size 12 stiletto. With a cast of queens (drag and non-drag) of all ages, this is proof that owning your pride never goes out of style.

The true story of two communities the world was trying to silence, and what happened when they found each other. The team behind the beloved 2014 film bring Pride to the National Theatre stage for its West End premiere as a musical, and right now, its story of solidarity, joy and collective defiance feels more urgent than ever.

Sitting on a brilliant idea for a decade, doing absolutely no research, and then winning a Tony for it, Cole Escola has lived the gay rite of passage to end all gay rites of passage. Oh, Mary! is the proof: a deliriously dark comedy about a drunk, ignored Mary Todd Lincoln and her gay, closeted husband that somehow became the most talked-about show on Broadway. Your idea is next. Get a ticket and get inspired.

There is no more perfect piece of casting in London right now than Jinkx Monsoon as Judy Garland. Two gay icons, one stage, one of the most intimate venues in the city. Peter Quilter's End of the Rainbow follows Garland through her final London shows with all the humour, the heartbreak, and the addictions she couldn't outrun.

Queerness has always meant navigating a world that wasn't built for you. The P Word understands that better than almost anything on stage right now. Waleed Akhtar's Olivier Award-winning play follows two gay Pakistani men, one seeking asylum, one just trying to exist, in a love story set inside systems designed to grind people down. Back at the Bush Theatre for a strictly limited run.

When Rob Madge was twelve, they staged a full Disney parade in their living room. Their dad missed every cue, their mum mistook Aladdin for Ursula, and Grandma had a nice time regardless. One of the most life-affirming shows on the West End, this is the joyous, autobiographical story of what it means to grow up gloriously, unabashedly yourself, and the family that lets you.

Jonathan Larson wrote Rent in memory of a generation the world was trying to forget. At its heart, a love letter to queer lives lost to the AIDS crisis and to the communities that refused to be erased. It quickly became one of the most important musicals in LGBTQIA+ culture, and now, 30 years on, Luke Sheppard's bold new West End production, starring Gaten Matarazzo, ensures that legacy endures.

There comes a rare moment in every budding diva's career where they transcend and become something more — a gay icon. Céline Dion didn't just reach that moment. She ran towards it. Titanique is the Olivier Award-winning love letter she deserves: camp, joyful, and powered by a voice and an allyship that has always made every single fan feel truly seen.

In case you didn't know this was happening, we're still holding space for the lyrics to Defying Gravity.

Before the stories were written for us, we found ourselves in them anyway: tucked into the subtext, woven into the myth, hidden in plain sight. Eight Tony Awards later, Hadestown sits at the Lyric Theatre as one of the most quietly, profoundly queer shows on the West End. Not because of who it's about, but because choosing love and art as resistance against a world run by fear is a story that has always hit a little harder for some of us.

There's a reason Cabaret has never stopped feeling relevant. Immersive, electric, and staged inside a fully transformed Kit Kat Club, Rebecca Frecknall's seven-time Olivier Award-winning production weaponises sequins and answers the same question this landmark musical has always asked: what do you do when the world outside gets darker? Shine brighter.

There is only one Liza Minnelli. There will only ever be one Liza Minnelli. In fact, Liza Minnelli will outlive us all and transcend the universe and time itself. Trevor Ashley celebrates 80 years of her at the Garrick Theatre with live band, special guests Jac Yarrow and Christina Bianco, and the kind of energy that makes you want to kick a chair across a stage. LIZA!