Perfect theatre for Mother’s Day can be a challenging pick but worry not – we’re here to help! Since we can’t be together just yet, booking a West End show is the ideal plan for a summer get-together. We all need something to look forward to! So which is the best West End show to choose? Obviously mums come in every shape and size – from round and cuddly like Edna Turnblad in Hairspray to über-cool party mums like Donna in Mamma Mia. Not only is Mother’s Day fast approaching, most shows re-open in May and June! So, let us help you pick the perfect post-lockdown theatre treat. That could be for your mum, your step-mum or anyone who means the world to you.
How to pick perfect theatre for every type of Mum!
Let’s be honest – picking perfect theatre for Mother’s Day is never easy. But getting it right doesn’t have to be daunting. There are many types of mum and we have the perfect show for every one!
Sweet as Honey Mummy
West End favourite Matilda doesn’t have perfect family, but she does have an amazing teacher: Miss Honey. This sweet-as-honey-if-not-a-mummy is the perfect role model; without a doubt you’ll find yourself wishing she was Matilda’s mum. Matilda’s own parents take no interest in her education, and her headmistress, Miss Trunchbull is even worse – sending children to the ‘Chokey’ for punishment even when they’re not being revolting. Fortunately, Matilda has amazing powers, and an ally in her equally amazing teacher, Miss Honey. This is the perfect show for your Mum, your Aunt, or even your teacher! Take anyone that loves Roald Dahl’s deliciously dark humour, Tim Minchin’s hilarious lyrics and rip-roaring multiple Olivier Award-winning musicals!
Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre booking until 9 January 2022
Find Matilda tickets from £24.00
Retro Mom!
If vintage is your thing, time-hop back to the 1950s & 60s and grab two of the hottest tickets of 2021. Returning to the West End is the perennially popular 1960s classic Tony® and Olivier Award-winning Jersey Boys. This rags to riches story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons features all their biggest hits including Beggin’, Sherry, Walk Like A Man, December, 1963 (Oh What a Night), Big Girls Don’t Cry, My Eyes Adored You, Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got), Bye Bye Baby, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Working My Way Back to You.
Jersey Boys at the Trafalgar Theatre booking until 31 October 2021
Find Jersey Boys tickets from £23.40
Then, rewind the clock to 1955 for a brand new musical version of the movie that made a star of Michael J Fox: Back To The Future. This epic musical thrill-ride, based on the 1985 blockbuster, features Olly Dobson – rising star of the West End stage – as Marty McFly. Without a doubt it’s a pop culture phenomenon and perfect theatre for Mother’s Day. Back To The Future The Musical is adapted for the stage by the movie’s co-writers, Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis – and it’s going to set the West End on fire!
Back to the Future: The Musical at the Adelphi Theatre booking until 13 February 2022
Find Back to the Future tickets from £22.48
International Jetset Mum
For the trendy globetrotter, there’s no better way to arrive from New York than aboard a gorgeous transatlantic ocean liner! And if you think that sounds deliciously camp, grab your gucci tote bag because it’s about to get a whole lot camper! It’s all aboard the S.S. American for Cole Porter’s classic musical comedy, Anything Goes. Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) stars as nightclub-singer-turned-evangelist Reno Sweeney alongside Robert Lyndsay (My Family), Felicity Kendall (The Good Life) and West End Legend Gary Wilmot. As if that wasn’t enough, the whole show is set aboard a luxury liner! And so your mum will feel like a globetrotting megastar!
Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre booking until 22 August 2021
Find Anything Goes tickets from £30.00
Ballroom Mum
If your mum just can’t live without Strictly Come Dancing, she’ll be over the moon to know that there are two shows in town coming to town featuring the Strictly Pros. Double Champion Oti Mabuse waltzed off with the glitter ball in 2019 with partner Kelvin Fletcher and again in 2020 with Bill Bailey. Now she’s bringing her very own show to the London Coliseum for a night of electrifying choreography featuring some of the world’s finest dancers, singers and musicians. Definitely one not to miss!
Oti Mabuse – I Am Here at the London Coliseum 14 June 2021
Find Oti Mabuse tickets from £24.00
If you’re planning even further ahead, the gorgeous Aljaž Skorjanec and Janette Manrara will be in London in 2022 at the Peacock Theatre and we’re already ridiculously excited about it! Besides, we love Strictly Movie Week so this is like all our Christmases came at once!
Aljaž Skorjanc & Janette Manrara – Remembering the Oscars at the Peacock Theatre from May 2022
Find Aljaz & Janette Remembering The Oscars tickets from £20.70
Yummy Mummy
Absolutely guaranteed to win with your mum, you’ll strike gold with a trip to the London Palladium! Want to know why? Firstly, this world famous venue has hosted every star you can imagine, from Frank Sinatra to Judy Garland. Secondly, this summer sees the return of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat! Thirdly, the show sold out in 2019 and tickets were like gold-dust, so don’t miss the boat this time! Even better than a Nile Cruise!
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium from 1 July 2021.
Find Joseph tickets from £18.00
Non-stop Party Mom!
Unlike our Egyptian Yummy Mummy who loves a bit of luxury, some mums prefer to party. In which case, you’ll need a show that lets her burn off all that excess energy! So, we’ve got two of the funnest shows in town lined up – one you’ll know along with one that’s more of a surprise.
Mamma Mia is the sunniest of all musicals – perfect for the Party Mom! As Daily Telegraph critic Charles Spencer wrote, “Catherine Johnson’s witty and ingenious script weaves the famous ABBA songs around characters you care about. At the end the whole audience is on its feet and swaying blissfully along to the hits. What a pleasure to see that girl, watch that scene and dig the Dancing Queen. SHEER HEAVEN!’” Without doubt, the perfect theatre for Mother’s Day!
Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre booking until 2 October 2021
Find Mamma Mia tickets from £18.00
On the other hand, there’s the spectacular and ever-so-slightly naughty Magic Mike Live! Without a doubt, the perfect fusion of action, acrobatics and the hottest male dancers from every corner of the globe. Definitely the steamiest show in town – just keep an eye on your mum in case she disappears backstage!
Magic Mike Live at the Hippodrome Casino from 21 May 2021
Find Magic Mike Live tickets from £46.80
Chill-out Mum
Never get stressed about choosing a show. Especially if you’re taking a Chill-out Mum along. Undoubtedly the most easy-going of any of our mums, the Chill-out Mum was probably at Woodstock, Glastonbury and every peace march going! Obviously you’re going to have fun whatever show you see, nonetheless you’ll get extra brownie points for a show that’s as mellow as your mum.
Get Up, Stand Up! takes us from the hills of rural Jamaica to the heart of the West End with the story of the greatest musical prophet of the 20th Century, Bob Marley. Famed for his musical message of peace, love and unity, you’ll lose yourself to the rhythm of ‘Exodus’, ‘No Woman No Cry’, ‘Waiting in Vain’, ‘Three Little Birds’, ‘I Shot the Sheriff’, ‘Could You Be Loved’, ‘Redemption Song’ and that makes it perfect theatre for Mother’s Day.
Get Up, Stand Up! at the Lyric Theatre from 1 October 2021
Find Get Up, Stand Up! tickets from £18.00
And if your mum loves to chill out with a 1970s vibe, treat her to Tubular Bells in Concert – a progressive journey through classical, jazz, folk, prog rock and electronica. Absolutely the best thing about the decade, Mike Oldfield’s stunning soundtrack featured in The Exorcist, becoming world famous in the process. Along with that epic reputation, ten performers from Circa Contemporary Circus now present Oldfield’s work in a stunningly imagined physical form. In addition to Oldfield’s fabulous score, their heart-stopping acrobatics intricately weave a theatrical experience your Mum will never forget.
Tubular Bells Live in Concert at the Royal Festival Hall from 7 August 2021
Find Tubular Bells Live in Concert tickets from £35.40
Smart Cookie Mum
Alternatively, if your mum is the intellectual type, you’re spoilt for choice! Three stunning productions are heading to the West End, all based on literary classics. Firstly, To Kill A Mockingbird. Harper Lee’s Pulitzer prizewinning masterpiece tells a tale of racial injustice and innocent youth. Furthermore, it became the most successful play in Broadway history and now this stunning production flies in to the Gielgud Theatre.
To Kill A Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre booking until 6 November 2021
Find To Kill A Mockingbird tickets from £25.00
Secondly, if great drama floats your boat, check out the Life of Pi which roars into the Wyndham’s Theatre this summer. Along with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Royal Bengal tiger, sixteen year-old boy named Pi is adrift on a lifeboat in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean. Not only a winner of the Man Booker Prize, this is also an epic journey of endurance, belief and hope.
Life of Pi at the Wyndam’s Theatre from 26 September 2021
Find Life of Pi tickets from £30.00
Thirdly, the National Theatre’s stunning production of The Ocean At The End of the Lane transfers to the Duke of York’s Theatre. Neil Gaiman’s novel transports a man to the old Sussex farmhouse where he used to play as a child. Suddenly, he’s 12 years old again and back in time when his friend Lettie claimed it wasn’t a pond, but an ocean… This magical tale of survival and imagination is adapted for the stage by Joel Horwood and directed by Katy Rudd.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the Duke of York’s Theatre from 26 October 2021
Find The Ocean at the End of the Lane tickets from £21.60
Simply The Best Mum
Let’s be honest – whatever type of mum you have, yours is without a doubt the best there is! So let’s celebrate those amazing warriors who make our lives better just by being there, with tickets for the perfect show for Mother’s Day. Whichever show you choose, you’ll be showing you care. Our list just wouldn’t be complete without these two final shows. Both feature incredible women who made all our lives better, just by being a part of them.
Tina Turner has won an incredible 11 Grammy Awards and performed in front of millions live in concert. In fact, she’s sold more tickets than any other solar artist in history.
Rock legend Tina Turner has won 11 Grammy Awards. Additionally, her live concerts have been seen by millions. In fact, she’s sold more concert tickets than any other solo performer in music history. TINA, The Tina Turner Musical follows this incredible performer from humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, to global celebrity and megastar status. Tina Turner didn’t just break the rules, she rewrote them.
TINA – The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre booking until 26 June 2022
Find TINA – The Tina Turner Musical tickets from £12.00
Finally, The Drifter’s Girl charts the trailblazing story of the world’s first African American, female music manager who refused to give up on the group she loved. Beverley Knight plays Faye Treadwell as the amazing powerhouse who turned Atlantic Records’ hottest vocal group into a global phenomenon. Furthermore, with songs including Save the Last Dance for Me, Under the Boardwalk, Stand By Me and Saturday Night at the Movies, this is a musical your mum will never forget!
The Drifters Girl at the Garrick Theatre from 4 November 2021
Find The Drifters Girl tickets from £24.00
Spread a little happiness!
Perfect theatre for Mother’s Day is absolutely guaranteed to bring joy! Indeed, choosing is easier than you think – just follow our tips. The very best seats for West End shows are available now, especially for the Mum in your life. While you’re bagging a cheeky bargain, check out these Feelgood Musical Theatre songs – guaranteed to brighten everyone’s day!
Of these- can only watch Matilda in its Original Movie and own both Mamma Mia movies. It has been a while since Matilda toured the US.
Miss Honey reminds me of one of my characters