Hosts of The Rest Is Entertainment podcast Richard Osman and Marina Hyde share the shows that you simply must see, from family favourites to iconic musical moments.
You will spend the entire first act telling yourself you're not going to cry about a puppet horse. You will be wrong. The Handspring Puppet Company's work here is extraordinary, technical wizardry in service of real emotional devastation.
Fairies, chaos, donkeys, and one of the funniest love quadrangles in literary history. The perfect entry point for anyone who thinks they don't like Shakespeare. Watching it at The Globe only makes it even more special.
This show refuses to talk down to anyone in the room. Matilda has the wit, the heart, and the spectacle but it's the streak of real, joyful rebellion running through it that makes it genuinely special.
Eighty minutes, six queens and a complete reinvention of how we think about Tudor history. Catherine of Aragon opens her mouth and the whole room is on its feet. Essentially a pop concert with excellent costumes and better historical jokes.
A visceral assault on the senses that successfully translates the grim, chaotic realities of Irvine Welsh's original book and the cult Danny Boyle film.
The show that turned a generation of theatre novices into obsessives. Worth the trip to see Defying Gravity alone but honestly, the whole thing is magical. This is what musical theatre looks like when it's firing on all cylinders.
Perfect for when you just need a good laugh, this show is utterly outrageous and not afraid to raise eyebrows with bold humour. Simultaneously the most offensive and most genuinely moving thing you'll see all year. The kind of show you describe to friends and make sound worse than it is, then drag them along anyway.
In a world that feels increasingly chaotic, there's something genuinely restorative about spending an evening with the world's most polite bear. Marmalade sandwiches, good manners, and the sort of warmth that reminds you that there’s good in the world.
Lin-Manuel Miranda took hip-hop, R&B and Broadway and created something that felt genuinely new with his take on the founding fathers story. The cast recording is probably already on your phone. Now see it live.
One of the greatest design achievements in the history of live theatre. The opening of Circle of Life will give you chills whether it's your first time or your fifteenth. Some things just don't get old.
