Best West End Shows for Mother's Day 2026

Mother's Day falls on Sunday 22 March 2026, and a West End show makes one of the best gifts you can give. Whether your mum loves a big musical, a gripping play or something more intimate, there are plenty of options booking for that weekend. Here are our picks for the best shows to take your mum to this Mothering Sunday. If your mum loves the Paddington films, the musical adaptation at the Savoy Theatre is a treat. With music by Tom Fletcher and a warm, funny script by Jessica Swale, it is charming, emotional and very well made. Running time is around 2 hours 45 minutes with an interval. It is suitable for all ages (recommended 6+), so if you are making it a multi-generational outing with grandchildren in tow, this is a strong choice. Read our guide to Paddington The Musical for more details. The ultimate feel-good musical and a reliable Mother's Day pick. Mamma Mia has been running in the West End for over two decades and shows no signs of slowing down. The ABBA songs are irresistible, the story is warm and the audience atmosphere, especially at weekend performances, is genuinely joyful. If your mum loves ABBA or simply wants a night of pure fun, this is hard to beat. The pop-concert musical retelling the stories of Henry VIII's six wives has been a phenomenon since it started as a student show in Edinburgh. The performances are electric, the songs are catchy and the whole thing runs at a brisk 80 minutes with no interval, making it easy to fit around a Mother's Day lunch or dinner. It is smart, funny and packed with energy. For something completely different, Agatha Christie's murder mystery has been running continuously since 1952, making it the longest-running play in the world. At around 2 hours 20 minutes, it is a compact, satisfying evening and a piece of theatre history. If your mum is a fan of whodunnits or has never been, this is a quintessentially London experience. Visit the St Martin's Theatre page on BritishTheatre.com for venue details. Wicked remains one of the most popular shows in the West End, especially following the success of the films. The staging is spectacular, the performances are consistently strong and the mother-daughter themes running through the story give it an extra layer of resonance for Mothering Sunday. The Apollo Victoria Theatre is near Victoria station. If your mum enjoys something with a bit more dramatic weight, Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre delivers a powerful combination of storytelling, music and performance. The hip-hop musical about America's founding fathers is one of the defining theatre productions of the past decade, and the London cast consistently delivers. The Lion King has been at the Lyceum Theatre since 1999 and continues to draw audiences with Julie Taymor's extraordinary puppetry and staging. It is one of those shows that works for every generation, and the emotional weight of the story lands just as well on a tenth viewing as a first. A strong choice for a family outing. Mother's Day performances will be popular, so book ahead. Sunday 22 March matinees across the West End are likely to sell quickly. You can search for availability and book through tickadoo, or browse show pages on BritishTheatre.com. If you would rather give the gift of choice, tickadoo gift vouchers let your mum pick her own show and date.