1. Sigourney Weaver’s West End debut in Jamie Lloyd’s The Tempest

Weaver who starred in the original Alien movies but not this year’s fine newcomer to the franchise Alien: Romulus makes her West End debut as Prospero in this Jamie Lloyd (Romeo and Juliet, Duke Of York’s Theatre) version of The Tempest which we’ve previously seen starring Simon Russell Beale at the Barbican in 2017. Will it be ‘such stuff as dreams are made?’ Runs at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane 7 December through 1 February 2025. Tickets Our review

• Read on for reasons including the Palladium pantomime, Welly’s biggest London show and Oliver!

2. Marisha Wallace and Charlie Stemp in the Palladium pantomime

Wallace won our 2023 Best Theatre Actress (Guys And Dolls, Bridge Theatre) and Stemp our Best Theatre Actor (Crazy For You, Gillian Lynn Theatre) monstas and here play Sheriff of Nottingham and Alan-o-Dale respectively in the Palladium’s traditional pantomime starring Julian Clary (Peter Pan last year) as well as Jane McDonald. Our Palladium panto reviews since 2016 include Cinderella, Dick Whittington, Snow White, Goldilocks, and Pantoland at the Palladium, in both 2020 and 2021, and Jack And The Beanstalk. Runs 7 December through 12 January Tickets Our review

3. Welly’s biggest London gig so far

Their song Shopping was longlisted for Best Song of the year and Cul De Sac was a song of the month for us in September. A Humdrum Mum said of their Southampton gig on their National Service Part 1 Tour in September: ‘Still continuing in the style of The Kinks, The Jam and Blur with their playful, suburban observations, the newer songs seem more meaty and less frivolous.’ We catch up with the band at their biggest London show so far at The MOTH Club in December. Tickets Vote for Cul De Sac to win Best Song of 2024. New single Big In The Suburbs is our song of the week and the title track of the band’s debut album out 21 March 2025. Our review

4. Oliver! The Musical in London’s West End

Matthew Bourne (Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends) directs this Chichester Festival Theatre production starring Simon Lipkin (The Lorax, Old Vic) of the Lionel Bart classic at the Gielgud Theatre 14 December through 28 September 2025. Tickets

5. The Merchant Of Venice starring Tracy-Ann Oberman

Strong word of mouth has seen this 1936 east London-set version of the Shakespeare play starring Oberman (Stepping Out, Vaudeville Theatre) transfer to the West End at Trafalgar Studios 28 December 2024 through 25 January 2025. Tickets

6. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof starring Daisy Edgar-Jones

Normal People‘s Edgar-Jones stars opposite Kingsley Ben-Adir in Tennessee Williams’ story of Maggie and Brick’s marriage plagued with secrets as questions of legacy are raised at the Almeida Theatre 10 December through 1 February 2025. Tickets

7. Culture Club play The 02

Boy George and co celebrate their 1st 2 albums – Kissing To Be Clever and Colour By Numbers – and he says: ‘I am calling this ‘The Zero Arguments Tour’ because we are performing our first two albums exactly as they were made and in exact order. I love the idea of this because some of these songs are fan favourites and have never been performed. I think it will be really special for the fans.’ The band is joined by Tony Hadley from Spandau Ballet and Heaven 17. Tour dates run through 21 June 2025. Tickets

8. My Life Story at Dingwalls

We saw Jake Shillingford and co at every venue we could in London, Exeter, Portsmouth and Brighton around the release of the joyous orchestral pop of 12 Reasons Why I Love Her and we join them at Dingwalls in London this month for a pre-Christmas celebration with other gigs expected in Liverpool, Sheffied and Southend. Tickets

9. Little Foxes at the Young Vic starring Anne-Marie Duff

Lyndsey Turner (The Witches, National Theatre) directs Duff (Sweet Charity, Donmar and Apple’s Bad Sisters) in this modern classic about greed, ambition and a family on the edge. Runs at the Young Vic 2 December through 8 February 2025. Tickets

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy Theatre Royal Drury Lane and Jamie Lloyd Company Tickets
• Have you seen an Jamie Lloyd show before and what did you think of this 1? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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