Little Dancer at a glance

Show
Little Dancer
Venue
Theatre Royal Haymarket, West End
Address
Haymarket, London SW1Y 4HT
Nearest station
Piccadilly Circus
Genre
New musical
Running time
About 2 hours 15 minutes
Age guidance
5+
Dates
15 February – 27 March 2027; press night 18 February
Price range
From £30 (typically £30–£216)
Book and lyrics
Lynn Ahrens
Music
Stephen Flaherty
Director and choreographer
Susan Stroman

Our Take: Little Dancer at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

4.3
★★★★★

LTH Anticipation Rating

Written by the London Theatre Hub editorial team. Last updated: 26 October 2026. This is an editorial anticipation rating — the production had not opened in London when we wrote this, and we will review it after it opens.

Why it's worth booking

Little Dancer has been a long time coming. Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty — the Olivier- and Tony-winning writers of Ragtime, Once on This Island and Anastasia — first saw it staged at the Kennedy Center in Washington in 2014, developed it further in Seattle in 2019, and brought it to London as a concert at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2025. This is its first fully staged West End production, and Susan Stroman, who has directed and choreographed it throughout, returns.

The subject suits a dance-led musical: Marie van Goethem was a poor fourteen-year-old ballet student in Belle Époque Paris when Degas made her the model for one of the most recognisable sculptures in the world, and then she disappeared from the historical record. Casting a New York City Ballet principal, Tiler Peck, as the young Marie signals how central the dancing will be. Our rating is an anticipation rating; the run is only six weeks, so it will not have long to build word of mouth.

What Makes It Special

  • A world-class writing team. Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty wrote Ragtime, Once on This Island and Anastasia.
  • Susan Stroman directs and choreographs. A five-time Tony winner and two-time Olivier winner, whose credits include The Producers and Crazy for You.
  • Tiler Peck's West End debut. The New York City Ballet principal dancer, an Emmy winner and Olivier nominee, plays the young Marie.
  • A strong London cast. Julian Ovenden plays Degas, with Laura Pitt-Pulford as the adult Marie and Josefina Gabrielle as Martine.
  • A Broadway-level design team. Sets by Beowulf Boritt, costumes by William Ivey Long, lighting by Ken Billington.

You'll love Little Dancer if you...

  • Love ballet and dance-led musicals
  • Are interested in art history and Degas
  • Enjoyed Ragtime or Anastasia
  • Want to see a new musical early in its life
  • Admire Susan Stroman's work

It might not be for you if you...

  • Prefer long-running, well-reviewed hits
  • Want a light comedy or jukebox show
  • Are booking for very young children
  • Dislike stories with a sad or bittersweet tone
  • Want reviews before committing

Best for

  • Ballet lovers
  • Musical theatre fans
  • Art lovers
  • Date night
  • Special occasions
  • New musicals

Less suited to audiences looking for a familiar jukebox show or a light comedy.

Critical Reception

The West End production begins previews on 15 February 2027, with press night on 18 February, and has not yet been reviewed. Earlier versions played the Kennedy Center in Washington and Seattle, and a concert presentation sold out at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2025. We will add verified ratings once reviews are published.

  • Kennedy Center, Washington 2014
  • Seattle 2019
  • Drury Lane concert 2025
  • West End reviews To follow

Source: official production announcements, October 2026.

Everything You Need to Know

What happens in Little Dancer?

Paris, in the Belle Époque. Marie van Goethem is fourteen, poor, and training at the Paris Opera Ballet school, where young dancers from struggling families compete for a future on stage.

Marie and Degas

The painter Edgar Degas, fascinated by the ballet, chooses Marie as the model for a sculpture. The musical follows the two of them — an ambitious girl with nothing and an artist determined to create something new — bound together by art and the desire to matter.

A story told across time

The production features both the young Marie and an adult Marie, played by different performers, looking back at the girl she was. It asks whether we shape our own destiny or are shaped by it, against a Paris where beauty and brutality existed side by side.