Leicester Square Christmas Market ★★ FREE


If you can't get to Winter Wonderland or one of the larger winter festivals, this site will give you some idea of how London tries to make the best of winter. A quick wander through and then visits to the lights of Seven Dials, Covent Garden, or maybe Regent Street will help get you in the spirit.

 Reviewed by J.C.

  Our Score:  ☆☆ 

 WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Last Reviewed: November  2020

Leicester Square
Nearest tube: Leicester Square
http://www.christmasinleicestersquare.com
Map & Location: Leicester Square, London, UK

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St. Martin in-the-fields: Lunchtime Concerts ★★★★ FREE

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Hedda ★★★★ Orange Tree Theatre | Oct 18 - Nov 22, 2025

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In her adaptation of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler , Tanika Gupta largely follows the original narrative while introducing a new element: Hedda is portrayed as an Anglo-Indian film star who must conceal her origins due to pervasive racism in society and the movie industry. This reimagined aspect draws on the career of Merle Oberon, a film icon of the late 1930s and early 1940s who was only later revealed to be of mixed-race parentage. To succeed in Hollywood, Oberon claimed to be from Tasmania and often asserted Armenian heritage. In Gupta's version, Hedda remains Ibsen's bored, desperate woman who capriciously inflicts pain on those around her, but her motivations are expanded. She struggles not only with the constraints imposed on women by society, but also with the prejudice of a world that would never accept a mixed-race film star. The play is filled with the characters' casual racist remarks and an unmistakable colonial condescension, creating an atmosphere that illuminates...
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Crocodile Fever ★★★★★ Arcola Theatre | Oct 17 - 22 Nov, 2025

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Mr Jones ★★★★ Finborough Theatre | Oct 28 - Nov 22, 2025

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On 21 October 1966, the small Welsh village of Aberfan became the site of a heartbreaking disaster that captured the world’s attention. When 150,000 tonnes of mining waste cascaded down a hillside, engulfing the local school and killing 144 people, including 116 children, the world mourned the senseless loss. The sheer scale of such horrors can make them seem almost abstract, and their incomprehensible nature often leaves us numbed. In this powerful two-hander, playwright Liam Holmes brings the Aberfan tragedy vividly to life by focusing on one young couple caught in its shadow. Stephen Jones is a carefree teenager whose ambitions reach no further than becoming the village rugby star and courting his childhood sweetheart, Angharad. Content with his simple dreams, he believes himself to be winning at the game of life. Holmes, as Stephen, and Mabli Gwynne, as Angharad, both deliver deeply moving performances. Their innocent affection and flirtatious banter feel as authentic as their late...
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The Maids ★★★ Donmar Warehouse | Oct 13 - Nov 29, 2025

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Playwright and novelist Jean Genet was the quintessential outsider in post-war France. A criminal and a homosexual, he nonetheless attracted the admiration of luminaries such as Jean Cocteau and Jean-Paul Sartre. His daring literary experiments and provocative imagery in works like Our Lady of the Flowers fascinated both writers, while the layered symbolism of his plays, particularly The Maids , invites multiple interpretations. In this drama, the servants Claire (Lydia Wilson) and Solange (Phia Sabin) engage in ritualistic power games as they assume the identity of their mistress (Yerin Ha) in scenes that can be read on political, religious, existential, or erotic levels. In Kip Williams’ current staging of Genet’s best-known work, the director seems to adopt a role toward the play similar to that of the maids towards their employer, both reverent and mocking. The production moves between homage and parody, overflowing with theatrical excess. An initial curtain separating audience an...
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Agatha Christie is a name to conjure with. Her books have sold in the billions, making her perhaps the most widely read author on the planet. The Mousetrap remains the longest-running play in history, while Witness for the Prosecution has enjoyed a London run since 2017. Death on the Nile , one of her most popular novels, has been adapted twice for film, twice for television, and was turned into a stage play by Christie herself in 1944. Can this latest adaptation by Ken Ludwig live up to that remarkable heritage? The sets by Mike Britton cleverly evoke both a cruise ship and The British Museum, and Sarah Holland’s costumes are eye-catching and stylish. The show has a pleasing art deco feel, and despite some initial hesitancy and rather stilted performances at the beginning, the cast eventually achieves the right balance of naturalism and stylised mannerism, which allows us to believe in Christie’s world of suspects. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Mark Hadfield’s Poirot. Wh...
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The Assembled Parties ★★★ Hampstead Theatre | Oct 17 - Nov 22, 2025

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The Line of Beauty ★★★★ Almeida Theatre | Oct 21 - Nov 29, 2025

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Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) ★★★★★ Criterion Theatre | Apr 4 - Aug 31, 2024

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She's a rather cynical, world weary New Yorker. He's a naïve, overly enthusiastic Brit. They are brought together by his father's wedding to her sister, and they have nothing in common except the capacity for some extremely amusing barbs and banter. We all know how this is going to end, but the fun is in the emotional journey and its satisfyingly comfortable conclusion. Not surprisingly, it turns out that his relentless optimism and her wary skepticism both mask disappointments and losses which they will come to terms with as they carry their shared burden across the Big Apple and come to know each other. This is a delightful two-hander that is intended as a romcom for millennials, but like all representatives of the genre it ultimately depends on the chemistry of its principals. Both Sam Tutty as Dougal and Dujonna Gift as Robin bring their A-game to these performances. They are immediately likeable, and we are instantly rooting for them. Tutty exudes a puppy-like charm an...
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