Best new musicals, London 2018

Wasted, Southwark Playhouse

A rock musical about the Brontë siblings. Still with us? Good, because Wasted is coming to the Southwark Playhouse this autumn, telling the outrageous, unbelievable and ultimately tragic story of the four Brontës: Charlotte, Emily, Anne and their lesser-known brother Branwell.

Hadestown, National Theatre

Greek mythology meets American folk music and classic Orleans Jazz in genre-defying new musical Hadestown.Director Rachel Chavkin and singer/songwriter Anaïs Mitchell transform the story of Orpheus and Eurdice into a bold, drastically different folk opera. Hadestown opened to record-breaking success in its development stages and early runs at New York Theatre Workshop and Canada's Citadel Theatre. Now the show comes to London's National Theatre ahead of a 2019 Broadway run.

Twelfth Night, Young Vic Theatre

The gender-swapping, identity-adopting chaos of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night inspires this jubilant new musical. The Young Vic's Kwei-Armah takes inspiration from that famous opening line – 'If music be the food of love' – to rework the verse into contemporary RnB-inspired songs. With Beyoncé riffs and brass bands, the music makes the humour and emotion in Shakespeare's text instantly accessible.

Debris Stevenson's Poet in da Corner, Royal Court Theatre

Musical conventions will be broken down at the Royal Court as grime star Debris Stevenson presents a new show merging spoken word, lyrics, music and movement. Taking the audience through a teenage bedroom, a house party and a pirate radio station, Poet in da Corner is an exploration of one woman growing up, finding her voice and becoming a poet against the odds.

Bring It On the musical, Southwark Playhouse

They're sexy, they're cute, they're popular to boot.

They are cheerleaders, and they are coming to London for a peppy new musical by Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Caroline, Or Change, Hampstead Theatre

Following a sell-out run and a stream of jubilant reviews at Chichester Festival Theatre, a hit revival of Caroline, Or Change comes to Hampstead Theatre.

Company, Gielgud Theatre

Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's 1970 musical, Company, gets a fresh re-working as lead character Bobby becomes a female. Musical theatre powerhouse Roasalie Craig plays Bobbi.

Little Shop of Horrors, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

Comedy rock musical Little Shop of Horrors comes to London this summer. And, in the words of one of the best known songs, the show will be revived 'Somewhere that's Green' – on the Open Air Theatre stage in Regent's Park.

Waitress, Adelphi Theatre, Spring 2019

London gets a slice of the action as hit all-female musical Waitress brings a sweet story of pie-baking and self-discovery from Broadway to the West End.

Fiddler on the Roof, Menier Chocolate Factory

Trevor Nunn directs a revival of much-loved musical Fiddler on the Roof for the Menier Chocolate Factory.

Fun Home, Young Vic Theatre review ★★★★★

A truly brilliant musical needs a plot that fully absorbs you, and songs that enrich its story while still soaring beyond it to become stand-alone anthems. Fun Home has both, in abundance, plus a mischievous strand of mordant humour and a vital, startlingly original subject-matter. We predict a West End transfer.