The Notebook, the Broadway musical adapted from Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling novel, begins previews in the West End on 10 March 2027 as the first show at the Judi Dench Theatre, the new name for the Shaftesbury Theatre. Tickets went on sale on 23 October.
The Notebook is coming to the West End. Previews begin on Wednesday 10 March 2027, opening night is Tuesday 13 April, and the run is currently booking until 11 December 2027. Tickets went on sale at 10am on Friday 23 October, priced from £20, with standing places at £15 and 50,000 seats across the run at £50 or less.
This will be the show’s UK premiere, and the first production at the Judi Dench Theatre, 210 Shaftesbury Avenue. The venue is still the Shaftesbury Theatre for now, ahead of taking its new name. The London opening also lands in the 30th anniversary year of the novel, which was Sparks’ first.
The story follows Allie and Noah, two people from very different backgrounds who are pulled apart and keep finding their way back to each other over a lifetime. It draws on the Sparks novel and the much-loved film it inspired. Singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson wrote the music and lyrics, and Bekah Brunstetter, a writer on NBC’s This Is Us, wrote the book.
The first trailer for the London production gives a taste of what is to come:
Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, Next to Normal) and Schele Williams (The Wiz, Aida) direct, with choreography by Katie Spelman. Carmel Dean is music supervisor and arranger; she shares the orchestrations with John Clancy and the co-vocal arrangements with Ingrid Michaelson. Sets are by David Zinn and Brett J. Banakis, costumes by Paloma Young, lighting by Ben Stanton, sound by Nevin Steinberg and hair and wigs by Mia Neal. Jim Henson is music director and Jill Green Casting is handling casting. Kevin McCollum, Kurt Deutsch and Jamie Wilson Productions produce.
Announcing the London run, Nicholas Sparks said: “I couldn’t have predicted when I published The Notebook 30 years ago that this story would have such a lasting impact around the globe. The worldwide response has been incredible, and I’m thrilled to share this latest evolution of the story with audiences in London.”
Ingrid Michaelson added: “Getting to revisit and revitalise the piece with Bekah, Michael, Schele and the rest of the team for this new production in London is such an honour, and for our musical to be the first at the newly named Judi Dench Theatre is beyond thrilling.”
Casting is still to come, and the producers say it will be announced shortly. The musical started at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2022 and opened on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in March 2024. Its original Broadway cast recording was nominated for a Grammy.
Once the show has opened, evening performances start at 7pm from Monday to Wednesday and at 7.30pm from Thursday to Saturday, with matinees at 2pm on Wednesdays and 2.30pm on Saturdays. Three access performances are already scheduled for September 2027: captioned on Thursday 9 September at 7.30pm, audio-described on Saturday 18 September at 2.30pm, and signed on Thursday 23 September at 7.30pm.
Dates, prices and booking for The Notebook at the Judi Dench Theatre are on our show page.
