The Best West End Shows For All The Family 2022
Image Credit: Kilyan Sockalingum
Do you want to go to the theatre in London’s iconic West End, with your kids, but don’t know which shows are suitable for them to see?
Fear not, for here is our guide to what’s on in the West End that is suitable for families with children. These musicals and plays are the ones that all the family will enjoy. From Disney spectaculars to rip-roaring comedies, here is the best of the West End for all the family.
There also are some exciting new shows which will be in the west end for strictly limited runs this summer.
A couple of things that you will need to note: Most West End theatre shows will not allow children under 5 years old into the performances, and as a general rule children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult who must sit next to them in the auditorium. I recommend that you check the theatre’s admission policy before booking.
Let’s dim the lights, switch our mobiles to silent and get on with the show….
The Best West End Shows For Kids
- The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
- Beauty and the Beast
- Grease
- Frozen the Musical
- Back To The Future
- Mary Poppins
- Matilda
- The Lion King
- Wicked
- The Play That Goes Wrong
- Mamma Mia
- My Neighbour Totoro
***Just Announced!**
A major new production of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is going into the Gillian Lynne Theatre from 18 July 2022 - 8 January 2023 which stars Samantha Womack (Eastenders) as the White Witch.
Step through the wardrobe into the magical kingdom of Narnia for the most mystical of adventures in a faraway land. Join Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter as they wave goodbye to wartime Britain and say hello to a talking Faun, an unforgettable Lion and the coldest, cruellest White Witch.
Disney's Beauty and the Beast is returning to the West End for summer 2022!
25 years after its Olivier Award-winning West End debut, members of the original creative team have reunited on this new production featuring all the songs you love written by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice including Belle, Gaston, Be Our Guest and, of course, the iconic Beauty and the Beast.
Beauty and the Beast is playing at the magnificent London Palladium for a strictly limited season until 17th September.
The world's favourite musical is back in the West End this summer! Full to the brim with sing-a-long songs that will have you humming and toe-tapping for days to come- the perfect show to inspire some Summer Lovin’ this year!
Starring Dan Partridge (MAMMA MIA!, West End) and Olivia Moore (Waitress, West End) in the roles of Danny and Sandy respectively, with Peter Andre as Vince Fontaine.
Suitable for ages 7+
Fans of Disney's smash hit musical animated movie Frozen will be most excited to see this new musical based on the film. For the first time in forever, the magical world of Arendelle comes to life with all of your favourite characters and songs to tell a story of love, hope and knowing yourself.
Showing at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, tickets are onsale and currently booking until October 2022.
Marty McFly is a typical rock ‘n’ roll teenager. Typical, that is until he is accidentally transported back to 1955 by his friend Dr Emmett Brown’s time-travelling DeLorean in Back to the Future the Musical.
Before he can make his way back to 1985, where he belongs, Marty needs to guarantee that his high-school-aged parents fall in love, or he might not have a future to go back to.
Based in the hugely popular 1980's movie, it is showing at the Adelphi Theatre London after its 2020 world premiere in Manchester. Booking until October 2022.
Mary Poppins is practically perfect! Everyone's original favourite nanny arrives at the Banks household just in time to set things straight with wisdom, a bit of magic, and a song or two. Join Mary, Jane and Michael as they feed the birds and fly kites.
You'll hear many of your favourite songs from the 1964 film, including 'Chim Chim Cher-ee’, ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’, fan-favourite ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’, and ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite'.
Fans of Roald Dahl will have Matilda at the top of their must-see list. Tim Minchin’s inspired musical version of the story of the girl who loves books has been described as a musical masterpiece. Created by the Royal Shakespeare Company it is a show that that revels in the anarchy of childhood, the power of imagination and the inspiring story of a girl who dares to change her destiny.
Matilda has played to packed houses and been given standing ovations since it opened, and has multiple awards around the world. Showing at the Cambridge Theatre until the end of 2022.
The Lion King has been running in the West End for nearly 20 years and is still massively popular with audiences. The show is not just a musical telling the story of Simba the lion cub; it is an experience which uses the whole of the theatre with music, dance, puppets and uniquely inventive props.
Of course it includes all the songs that your kids will know and love from the film, including I Just Can't Wait to Be King and The Circle of Life and includes comedy, tragedy and is everything that great theatre should be.
Wicked has pretty much become a classic musical now. Written as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz it tells the story of how Glinda The Good and Elpheba, the Wicked Witch of the West first met.
Already one of the longest running shows in London theatre history, this spectacular show includes the hit song “Defying Gravity” and has won over 100 theatre awards.
You can’t beat a bit of classic slapstick comedy, and The Play That Goes Wrong will have you breathless with laughter from start to finish
The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society are putting on a 1920s murder mystery, but everything that can go wrong... does! Will the accident-prone actors battle against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call? You’ll have to find out!
Booking until October 2022.
If you have seen the 2008 film or its recent sequel, you will know that Mamma Mia, with its string of ABBA hits is another of the West End’s most popular and long-running musicals. You probably know the plot; Sophie is about to get married, and wants to discover the father she’s never known. To find the answer she brings her mother face to face with three men from her distant romantic past on the eve of a wedding they’ll never forget!
With more ABBA songs than you can shake a stick at, this is an evening of fun and magical 70’s music that will leave everyone with a smile on their face and a tear in their eye.
**Exciting News For Autumn 2022!**
Based on the award-winning cult classic Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro, this moving new production comes to London’s Barbican for a strictly limited 15-week run opening in September 2022.
My Neighbour Totoro tells the story of sisters Satsuki and Mei and one remarkable summer in their lives. Whilst exploring, Mei comes across magical creatures and also crosses paths with the ancient protector of the forest, who she calls Totoro. Satsuki is slow to believe her little sister but before long they are swept up together in exhilarating new adventures.
Suitable for age 4 and above.
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About eParenting: eParenting was started by Jacqui O'Brien in 2004. At the time her kids were 1 and 4 and kept her nice and busy. Now they are teenagers and still keeping her pretty busy!
