Musical Today Run
Les Misérables in London
The run opened at the Barbican on 8 October 1985, moved to the Palace Theatre that December, moved again to this theatre in 2004, and has never closed. Tickets are on sale to 13 March 2027 and the date moves forward as it approaches — there is no announced ending to book ahead of.
Sold by Delfont Mackintosh Theatres. The booking is completed on their site.
- Dates
- Playing since 8 October 1985
- Theatre
- Sondheim Theatre
- Running time
- 2 hours 50 minutes, including a 15-minute interval
- Language
- English
- Tickets from
- £25, the standard bottom of the range; individual performances price separately
- Sold by
- Delfont Mackintosh Theatres
- Last checked
- 8 September 2026
The production, the theatre and the run
This is the third theatre and the second production. Les Misérables opened at the Barbican in October 1985 to reviews that would have closed most shows, moved to the Palace Theatre that December, and moved again in 2004 to the house on Shaftesbury Avenue that has since been renamed for Stephen Sondheim. It has not had a break in any of those moves.
The staging changed in 2019. The original Trevor Nunn and John Caird production, with the revolve that made the barricade turn, was replaced by the staging built for the show’s twenty-fifth anniversary tour — no revolve, projections drawn from Victor Hugo’s own paintings, a different set of stage pictures for the same score. A reader who last saw it in the nineties has not seen this one.
The Sondheim seats 1,074, which is small for a show of this scale and part of why the sound in it works the way it does. It is a Delfont Mackintosh house, and Cameron Mackintosh produces the show, so the theatre and the production are the same company — which is why the tickets are sold direct with no booking fee.
Sondheim Theatre
Sondheim Theatre — 51 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 6BA
Half of a matched pair on Shaftesbury Avenue: W. G. R. Sprague drew this and the Gielgud next door as one composition in 1907, and for its first century this was the Queen's. It has been the Sondheim since 2019, and Les Misérables has been the tenant since 2004.
Getting there. Piccadilly Circus is the nearest tube; Charing Cross is the nearest railway station, and the 14, 19 and 38 stop on Shaftesbury Avenue.
Before you book
What are the performance times?
Evenings at 7.30pm Monday to Saturday, with matinees at 2.30pm on Thursday and Saturday. There are no Sunday performances.
How far ahead can I book?
To 13 March 2027, as the production's own ticket page had it on 8 September 2026. The show is open-ended, so that horizon is extended rather than reached.
Is there anything in it I should know about first?
The production uses gunfire, smoke and flashing light effects, and latecomers may not be let in until a suitable break.