The Choir of Man is back in London for Christmas, eleven months after leaving the Arts Theatre, with its entire touring company moving into a new pub at The Arts at Marble Arch. Here is everything you need to know before you book.
Few shows have turned a pub into a theatre, or a theatre into a pub, quite as persistently as The Choir of Man. Its West End run at the Arts Theatre began in October 2021 and lasted until January 2026, passing 1,000 performances and collecting an Olivier Award nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play along the way. After a year on the road it comes back for a Christmas season at The Arts at Marble Arch, a new house for a show that has always carried its own bar with it.
Who is starring in The Choir of Man?
The company that has spent 2026 touring the UK and Ireland transfers intact, as we reported when the London cast was confirmed. Gustav Melbardis plays Maestro, Oluwalonimi (Nimi) Owoyemi is Poet and Levi Tyrell Johnson is Hard Man. Around them at the bar are Ben Mabberley as Joker, Rob Godfrey as Beast, Adam Hilton as Handyman, Joshua Lloyd as Barman, Sam Walter as Romantic and Aaron Pottenger as Bore.
Four swings stand ready to cover the nine regulars: Sam Ebenezer, Jared Leathwood, Niall Woodson and Lewis Dragisic.
Spotlight on Adam Hilton
Nobody in this line-up has lived with the show for longer than Adam Hilton. He first joined the company in 2021 and has played it since in the West End, across the United States and at sea, which is a fair measure of how far this particular pub has travelled. In 2022 he took on a second job as the production's associate choreographer and movement director, so the routines his colleagues dance around the bar are ones he has been responsible for keeping in shape for four years. In a show where nine performers share one small set, and where the movement does much of the storytelling, that is no minor credit. For London he returns to Handyman, the part he knows best; tickets for the season are on our The Choir of Man page.
What is The Choir of Man about?
There is no plot in the conventional sense. The setting is The Jungle, a local pub, and the evening plays out as a lock-in at which nine regulars, each known only by a type, sing, dance, tap and talk their way through a night at the bar. Between the numbers come spoken monologues written by Ben Norris, which supply what a book would in a more conventional musical.
The music comes from the pop and rock charts rather than the musical-theatre catalogue, arranged for close harmony: songs by Queen, Luther Vandross, Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns N' Roses, Avicii and Katy Perry, among others. The bar on stage is a working one and the audience is offered free beer; by the end of the tour the company will have poured 6,048 free pints.
Who is behind the production?
The show was created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay, and Doodson directs. Jack Blume is music supervisor, vocal arranger and orchestrator, and Freddie Huddleston provides movement direction and choreography. Scenic design is by Oli Townsend, with costume and co-scenic design by Verity Sadler, lighting by Richard Dinnen, sound design by Sten Severson and casting by Debbie O'Brien.
The London season is produced by HH Productions, Nic Doodson, Andrew Kay, Global Creative and Kenny Wax. Doodson has framed the move with care: "It may be a new pub and a new chapter, but the feeling at the heart of the show remains exactly the same."
When and where can I see it?
The Choir of Man runs at The Arts at Marble Arch from Thursday 10 December 2026 to Sunday 14 February 2027, with press night on Wednesday 16 December 2026. There are eight performances a week, Tuesday to Sunday, and the show runs 2 hours 5 minutes including an interval. It is recommended for ages 10 and over.
The company arrives straight from the tour, which opened at the New Wimbledon Theatre in March, has called at more than 30 towns and cities and finishes in December, just before London. The season itself was announced in August. Tickets currently start at £31 on our The Choir of Man page.
What else should I book if I like it?
If it is the singalong that appeals, Mamma Mia! The Party sets dinner, drink and a catalogue of familiar songs in a Greek taverna and gives the whole thing to ABBA. SIX is the West End's other pop concert in musical form, brisk and built for an audience that wants to join in. For music with a longer memory, Buena Vista Social Club is built around the songs of the celebrated Cuban album, and for something unashamedly seasonal, Potted Panto squeezes a stack of pantomimes into a single evening at the Apollo Theatre.
