Mamma Mia! at a glance

Show
Mamma Mia!
Venue
Novello Theatre, West End
Address
Aldwych, London WC2B 4LD
Nearest station
Covent Garden (6 min walk); Temple (7 min walk); Charing Cross (8 min walk)
Genre
Jukebox Musical (ABBA / feel-good comedy)
Running time
2 hours 35 minutes, including one 15-minute interval
Age guidance
5+ (under 3s not admitted; under 16s must be accompanied by an adult)
Dates
Currently booking until 13 March 2027
Schedule
Mon–Sat evenings 7:30pm; matinees Thu and Sat 3pm
Price range
From £30 (typically £30–£180)
Music & lyrics
Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus (ABBA)
Book
Catherine Johnson
Director
Phyllida Lloyd
Choreography
Anthony Van Laast

Expert Review: Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre

4.6
★★★★★

LTH Expert Rating

Reviewed by the London Theatre Hub editorial team. Last updated: 1 May 2026.

The Verdict

Mamma Mia! has been running in London for 27 years and there is a very simple reason: it works. Catherine Johnson's book is genuinely funny, Phyllida Lloyd's production is relentlessly sunny, and ABBA's songs remain among the most joyfully indestructible pop compositions ever written. The Novello Theatre erupts during Dancing Queen and The Winner Takes It All in a way that few other shows can match. This is not a production that asks very much of its audience — and that is entirely the point. It gives back in direct proportion to the energy you bring, and the energy you bring increases automatically the moment the opening bars kick in.

Sara Poyzer brings enormous warmth and vocal authority to Donna — a role she has played for over 12 years across various productions, and her familiarity with the material shows in the best possible way. The current company, which joined in October 2025, has the well-worn ease of a cast that knows exactly what the show needs to be and delivers it night after night. Mamma Mia! is not the most challenging evening the West End has to offer. It is one of the most reliably joyful, and after 27 years, it shows no sign of diminishing returns.

What Makes It Special

  • The ABBA songbook. Over 20 songs, all of them familiar, all of them designed to be sung loudly by large groups of people. The show's musical architecture builds inexorably towards Dancing Queen and the encore, at which point the Novello becomes something closer to a concert than a theatre. The standing ovation is more or less guaranteed.
  • 27 years and counting. Mamma Mia! is the third longest-running musical in West End history, a record that speaks to something more than commercial durability. The show has a cross-generational appeal that very few productions achieve — it was seen by people who are now bringing their own children and grandchildren.
  • Genuinely family-friendly. The age guidance of 5+ makes Mamma Mia! one of the most genuinely inclusive shows in the West End. The themes — family, identity, love — are accessible to children and resonate differently for adults. It is one of the safest recommendations for a mixed-age group.
  • Sara Poyzer's return. Poyzer played Donna for over 12 years and her return to the role at the Novello brings a performer who has lived with the character longer than most. The confidence and ease she brings to the role translate directly into an audience that trusts the show completely from the first scene.
  • The encore. Mamma Mia!'s curtain call is one of the great theatrical spectacles the West End produces regularly. The entire cast in 1970s ABBA costumes, the audience on their feet, the songs continuing well beyond the formal end of the show. It is the reason people book their second and third visits.

You'll love Mamma Mia! if you...

  • Love ABBA — or just love singalong pop anthems performed live by a brilliant cast
  • Want the West End's most reliably joyful and feel-good evening
  • Are celebrating a birthday, hen party, anniversary, or any occasion at all
  • Are bringing family — it is genuinely suitable for all ages from 5 upwards
  • Want a show where the audience participation and atmosphere is part of the experience

It might not be for you if you...

  • Prefer original scores to jukebox musicals
  • Want something darker, more complex, or more intellectually demanding
  • Dislike ABBA's music — the show lives and dies on your relationship with the songs
  • Are looking for cutting-edge theatre — this is a beloved classic, not a boundary-pusher

Best for

  • Families (5+)
  • ABBA fans
  • Hen parties & celebrations
  • Date night
  • Tourists
  • Groups of all ages

Not the strongest fit for those who prefer original musical scores or more challenging theatrical experiences.

Critical Reception

Mamma Mia! opened in London in 1999 and won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 2000. Critics have revisited the show at various cast changes over its 27-year run, with the consensus settling firmly on four stars — acknowledging the show's irresistible populism while noting that its pleasures are those of pure entertainment rather than artistic ambition. Verified star ratings from major UK publications:

  • The Guardian ★★★★
  • The Times ★★★★
  • Evening Standard ★★★★
  • Time Out ★★★★
  • WhatsOnStage ★★★★

Sources: published reviews of the West End production at various points during its run. The production's staging and design are unchanged from the original 1999 production.

Everything You Need to Know

What happens in Mamma Mia!?

Sophie Sheridan is about to get married to Sky on the Greek island where her mother Donna runs a small taverna. Sophie wants her father to give her away — but her mother has never told her who her father is. Reading Donna's old diary, Sophie identifies three possible candidates: Sam Carmichael, an American architect; Harry Bright, a British banker; and Bill Austin, an Australian adventurer. Against all sensible advice, Sophie secretly invites all three men to the wedding.

The chaos unfolds

All three men arrive on the island, each convinced he must be Sophie's father, each carrying feelings for Donna from a summer twenty years ago. Donna, blindsided by the arrival of her past, enlists her two best friends — Rosie and Tanya — for support. The island is small, the wedding is tomorrow, and all the old complications are back at full volume. The songs arrive naturally from the drama — Honey Honey when Sophie reads the diary, Mamma Mia when Donna sees Sam, SOS as she confronts what she's feeling — and each one extends the emotional stakes while keeping the comedy running.

What it's really about

Underneath the comedy, Mamma Mia! is a story about a daughter trying to understand her mother — and a mother coming to understand that her past doesn't define her daughter's future. Sophie begins the show thinking she needs to find her father to feel complete. By the end, she has understood something more unexpected: that the family you have is more complicated and more valuable than the one you imagined. The final act delivers this with enough emotional directness to bring most of the audience to tears, which is the correct preparation for the encore.

The encore

Mamma Mia!'s curtain call is the event the rest of the show has been building towards. The entire cast returns in glittering 1970s ABBA costumes and performs a sequence of additional songs — including Voulez-Vous and Waterloo — with the audience on their feet, singing along, dancing in the aisles, and generally behaving in ways they would never do at home. It is one of the great collective theatrical experiences the West End produces regularly, and it is why people come back.