Hamilton

Hamilton is playing at the Victoria Palace Theatre on Friday 4 December, part of a run that's been going since December 2017 and is now extended to October 2027. It's the musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics and originally played the title role himself. The West End production opened here in December 2017, after the theatre had a substantial refurbishment, and went on to win seven Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical.

The story follows Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and helped shape the foundations of the United States. It's a through-composed score, meaning the whole thing is sung, and it blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B and traditional musical theatre. On stage, that's paired with turntable scenery and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler. Before it landed in London, the show premiered off-Broadway at New York's Public Theater in January 2015, transferred to Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre that August, and picked up 11 Tony Awards from 16 nominations, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Grammy.

The current cast features Stephenson Ardern-Sodje as Alexander Hamilton, Georgina Onuorah as Angelica Schuyler, Yeukayi Ushe as Aaron Burr, Bente Mulan as Eliza Hamilton, Jasmine Jia Yung Shen as Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds, and Daniel Boys as King George III. It's recommended for ages 10 and over.

Tickets start at £51, with premium seats between £120 and £240; there's also a lottery through TodayTix that offers £10 tickets. Performances run Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm, with matinees on Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm. The running time is about 2 hours 45 minutes, including a 15-minute interval.