Starlight Express at a glance

Show
Starlight Express
London status
Revival closed at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre on 3 May 2026
Revival run
8 June 2024 – 3 May 2026 (almost two years, 7 extensions)
Future
World tour begins spring 2027 (dates TBA)
Original West End run
27 March 1984 – 12 January 2002 at Apollo Victoria Theatre (18 years)
Genre
Musical (immersive, roller-skating)
Running time
Approximately 2 hours 20 minutes, including a 15-minute interval
Age guidance
3+ (all children under 16 must have a ticket and be accompanied; under 3s not admitted)
Cast size
40 performers on roller skates
Music
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics
Richard Stilgoe
Director
Luke Sheppard (& Juliet, The Little Big Things)
Set design
Tim Hatley (Back to the Future)
Costume design
Gabriella Slade (Six)
Choreography
Ashley Nottingham; Arlene Phillips returning as creative dramaturg
Awards
Olivier Award for Best Costume Design (Gabriella Slade, 2025); WhatsOnStage Award for Best Musical Revival
Audience
Over 30 million people worldwide across all productions since 1984

World Tour 2027 — register for updates

Andrew Lloyd Webber's producers have confirmed that a world tour of the new Starlight Express production begins in spring 2027, following the London revival's closure on 3 May 2026. Specific tour venues, dates and casting have not yet been announced.

  • World tour confirmed for spring 2027
  • Same Luke Sheppard production
  • Olivier-winning Gabriella Slade costumes retained
  • Tim Hatley immersive set design adapted for touring
  • Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical supervisor Matthew Brind
  • 40-strong cast on roller skates
  • Venues, dates and casting to be announced
  • Sign up via Andrew Lloyd Webber's newsletter for alerts

Tour dates have not yet been announced. For current London shows, see our shows index.

Looking back: Starlight Express at the Starlight Auditorium

4.7
★★★★½

LTH Retrospective Rating

Retrospective by the London Theatre Hub editorial team. Last updated: 13 May 2026.

The Verdict

The Wembley Park revival of Starlight Express achieved what musical revivals rarely manage: it genuinely improved on the original. The 1984 Apollo Victoria production was a phenomenon of its era — 18 years of West End performances, 7,400 shows, costumes that wrote a chapter of 1980s musical history — but it was also a product of its time, and the show's reputation faded once the long-running Germany production at the Bochum Starlighthalle became its most-visited home.

Luke Sheppard's 2024 revival changed that. By rebuilding the auditorium itself — Troubadour Wembley Park was completely reconfigured into the immersive Starlight Auditorium — the production turned the audience from spectators into participants. Skating tracks ran above, around and through the seating. Tim Hatley's set, Andrzej Goulding's video design, and Howard Hudson's lighting created a unified 360-degree environment. Gabriella Slade's costumes won the 2025 Olivier — making Starlight Express one of the very few productions in West End history to have won the Olivier for Best Costume Design twice across an original production and a revival (the original Christine Hartwell won in 1985).

What Made It Special

  • The purpose-built auditorium. Troubadour Wembley Park was completely transformed into the Starlight Auditorium with tracks running over, around and through the audience. The result was the most fully immersive West End musical of the 2020s.
  • Olivier-winning costumes. Gabriella Slade — already a Six Olivier-winner — designed forty distinct roller-skating costumes, each engineered for both performance and visibility. The 2025 Olivier confirmed it.
  • Luke Sheppard's direction. Sheppard (& Juliet, The Little Big Things) reworked the storytelling to clarify the original's plot — about underdog steam train Rusty competing against electric Greaseball and diesel Electra — without losing the spirit. The result was more accessible than the 1984 original.
  • Ashley Nottingham's new choreography. Arlene Phillips, who choreographed the 1984 production, returned as creative dramaturg; Ashley Nottingham reimagined the on-skate sequences for a new generation.
  • The longevity. Seven extensions in 23 months at a non-traditional venue is rare. The producers credit Andrew Lloyd Webber's score, which retains its catalogue of memorable songs — including AC/DC, Make Up My Heart, Light at the End of the Tunnel and the title song.

About the Production

What happens in Starlight Express?

The action takes place in the imagination of a young child whose toy train set comes magically to life. The trains compete in a cross-continental race to be crowned "Fastest Engine in the World" — and the production's premise of trains as characters is delivered literally, with 40 performers on roller skates representing the locomotives, carriages, and freight wagons.

The race

Three lead engines compete: Rusty, a humble steam train and the show's underdog protagonist; Greaseball, a brash American diesel; and Electra, a futuristic electric train. Each engine pairs with a coach — Pearl is the elegant observation car who must choose her racing partner, and her storyline drives the emotional arc. The races are staged as skate-chases through the auditorium, with sections of audience seated within the tracks themselves.

Rusty and the Starlight Express

Rusty has no chance against the modern engines and knows it. Defeated and broken, he hears about the legend of the Starlight Express — a mysterious force that watches over the railway and grants courage to those who believe. The act break leads into Rusty's transformation; he returns for the second-half final race with new self-belief, supported by Pearl. The closing race resolves Rusty's arc as the show's title song — "Starlight Express" — builds to its full anthem.

The setlist

The score includes "Rolling Stock," "AC/DC," "Make Up My Heart," "Light at the End of the Tunnel," "U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.," "Pumping Iron," "Crazy," and the title song "Starlight Express." For the 2024 revival, two new songs — "I Do" and "I Am Me" — were added; sheet music was officially published by Hal Leonard.