Mamma Mia! Tickets in London at the Novello Theatre
Mamma Mia! is the ABBA musical that has been filling theatres in the West End since 1999, calling the Novello Theatre home since 2012. A mum, a daughter, three possible dads and more than 20 ABBA songs on a Greek island: it is one of the easiest nights for us to recommend in London, and it is booking to 2 October 2027.
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Who's Mamma Mia! For?
- ABBA fans, obviously, but the story stands on its own two feet even if you only half-know the songs.
- Mums and daughters, hen parties, birthday groups: this is the West End's happiest group booking.
- Young and old. It's an easy show for families to enjoy.
- First-time theatregoers who want a sure thing rather than a gamble.
- Anyone who loved the films and wants the show that started it all, on stage where it began.
- Families with children from about 5 up; there are some cheeky jokes in there, but nothing crude.
About Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre
Mamma Mia! opened at the Prince Edward Theatre on 6 April 1999 and has not left the West End since: over 10 million people have seen it in London alone, across three theatres, and it passed its 10,000th London performance in July 2024. It stands as the 3rd longest-running musical in West End history. The songs are ABBA's, written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, the book is by Catherine Johnson, and Phyllida Lloyd directs, the same all-women lead team that later made the 2008 film.
The Novello Theatre has been its home since September 2012, and the fit is a good one: a mid-sized theatre where even the cheaper higher levels still feel close to the stage.
Worth knowing before you book: the running time is 2 hours 35 minutes with one interval of around 15 to 20 minutes, the age guidance is 5+ (under 16s sit with an adult).
One thing not to mix up: Mamma Mia! The Party is a separate dinner-party experience at The O2, with food, a smaller venue and a very different ticket price. ABBA Voyage is different again, a concert by digital hologram versions of ABBA at their own purpose-built arena in East London. We sell tickets for all three, but this page is the West End musical at the Novello. If you want the show, you are in the right place.
What's Mamma Mia! About?
Sophie is 20, about to get married on the Greek island where she grew up, and she has never known who her father is. Then she reads her mum's old diary and finds three candidates. So she invites all three men to the wedding without telling her mum, Donna, who once fronted a girl group and now runs the island taverna alone.
What follows is a very funny, very warm tangle of old flames, best friends and last-minute wedding nerves, told through ABBA's back catalogue: Dancing Queen, Super Trouper, Money Money Money, The Winner Takes It All and many more. The songs are not bolted on; the story was written around them.
Performance Schedule
Mamma Mia! plays Monday to Saturday evenings at 7:30pm, with matinees on Thursday and Saturday at 3pm. There are no Sunday performances.
| Day | Matinee | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | - | 7:30pm |
| Tuesday | - | 7:30pm |
| Wednesday | - | 7:30pm |
| Thursday | 3pm | 7:30pm |
| Friday | - | 7:30pm |
| Saturday | 3pm | 7:30pm |
| Sunday | - | - |
The run is currently booking to 2 October 2027, and extra Tuesday 3pm matinees are scheduled for 27 October 2026 and 16 February 2027. Holiday weeks can vary from the standard pattern, so check the calendar for December dates when you book.
Best Seats for Mamma Mia!
The Novello is tall and narrow, so which level you pick matters more here than which row. The quick version:
- Central Stalls, rows F to K: the classic pick, and our favourite, close enough to feel part of the party.
- Dress Circle, rows A to D: the wide view of the whole stage. Stay in front of row E, for reasons explained under Best Seats.
- Best value: the rear Stalls, which hold up here better than they would at most theatres of this age.
- Think twice about the slips: the Grand Circle ones are the cheapest tickets in the building and you will see roughly half the stage from them.
Prices start from around £17.50 for restricted-view seats, with clear-view seats from around £37.50, up to around £100 for standard top-price and premium seats up to around £195. With us, the price you see is the price you pay, with nothing added at checkout. For the full level-by-level detail, see the Tickets & Best Seats tab, or call us on 020 7193 9050 for a steer on your budget.
Who Is In It
Sara Poyzer leads as Donna, a part she has now played for more than twelve years. Emma Odell takes it at certain performances. Full company, with credits, is under Cast and Creatives.
This company took over in October 2025; Mamma Mia! traditionally changes its cast each autumn. The creative team is the original one: Catherine Johnson (book), Phyllida Lloyd (director), Anthony Van Laast (choreographer) and ABBA's own Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus on music and lyrics. The full company is in the Cast & Creatives tab.
Book Your Mamma Mia! Tickets
Book your Mamma Mia! tickets directly with us at Hit The Theatre. Our prices are all-in, so the price on the seating map is exactly what you pay at checkout. Choose your own seats online, or call us on 020 7193 9050 and a real person will help you find the right seats for your night and your budget. After 27 years, the show still fills the Novello night after night; Saturday evenings and the central Stalls go first. Making a full ABBA trip of it? We sell ABBA Voyage tickets too, so one call can sort both nights.
Dates & tickets
FAQs
Whatever the price on the seating map, that is exactly what you pay with us, fees included. The bands themselves, and the reason the day of the week changes them, are under Tickets and Best Seats.
There is no dress code at the Novello: come as you are, jeans to party wear. We've seen everything at the Novello over the years. Don't be afraid to dress up, as there will definitely be others who also have. Most importantly, wear something you are comfortable in. You'll sit down for a long time.
2 hours 35 minutes, including one interval of around 15 to 20 minutes. Evening shows start at 7:30pm and finish just after 10pm; the 3pm matinees finish around 5:35pm.
Yes, from about age 5. The guidance is 5+, with under 16s accompanied by an adult seated next to them. There is some cheeky innuendo aimed over younger heads, but nothing stronger.
No. The show plays Monday to Saturday, with evening shows at 7:30pm and matinees on Thursday and Saturday at 3pm. Plan a Sunday visit around a different show, or come Saturday instead.
Drinks bought at the theatre's bars can be taken to your seat in plastic cups. Hot food is not allowed and neither is food brought in from outside. The main bar is Ivor's Bar, at the back of the Stalls, which is reached down two steps, through the auditorium and down three more, so give yourself a moment at the interval.
Not during the show itself; the theatre asks you to hold off so everyone can hear (they didn't pay to hear you sing!). At the finale megamix, though, the whole audience is up dancing and singing...you can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life.
The stage show came first, in 1999, and the 2008 film was based on it. The story and most of the songs are the same; the show has no Meryl Streep but a live band, and the finale is a party the film cannot match.
This page is the West End musical at the Novello Theatre. Mamma Mia! The Party is a separate evening at The O2: a Greek taverna experience with a four-course meal around you. ABBA Voyage is a concert by digital hologram versions of ABBA with a live band, at the ABBA Arena by Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. We sell tickets for all three; call us and we will point you to the right one.
Sara Poyzer, who has played Donna on and off for more than 12 years, most recently at the Novello from 2017 to 2019 before returning in October 2025. Emma Odell plays the role at certain performances.
No. It opened at the Prince Edward Theatre in 1999, moved to the Prince of Wales in 2004, and has played at the Novello since September 2012.
Tell us your budget and we will point you to the best view for the money across the four levels. Call us on 020 7193 9050, or book online from the seating map.
An audio described performance is scheduled for Saturday 23 January 2027 at 3pm, and the venue has Auracast assistive listening. Access bookings are handled by the venue's own access team via the theatre's official site.
Yes, and Mamma Mia! is one of the West End's great group nights. Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we will find seats together at the best all-in price for your party.
Best Seats for Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre
Mamma Mia! is a big, bright, floor-level show: the action stays at stage height, which makes the Novello an easier theatre to buy for than most. Our picks, level by level:
- Central Stalls, rows F to K: the classic premium pick, right in the middle of the party. Our top pick for Mamma Mia. One quirk worth knowing: the front row of the Stalls is Row C, and it is always priced below the rest of the Stalls, so it can be a clever buy if you like being close, you'll be so close you'll feel like you're in the party!
- Rear Stalls: better than the price suggests, and there is a structural reason for it. The Dress Circle at the Novello sits unusually high, so it clears the Stalls rather than pressing down on them. The overhang only starts to register around row S, and even then it clips the very top of the set rather than anything you came to watch.
- Dress Circle, rows A to D: the balanced view, and the best place in the theatre for the big ensemble routines. Behind row E it changes: the Grand Circle above begins taking the top of the stage, and the further back you sit the more of it goes.
- Balcony: high but honest, and the sensible budget route.
If the seating plan looks like it has holes in it, it does. The sound and light desk takes the middle out of Stalls rows W and X, and Balcony row F has no centre seats either, that one simply being where the back wall arrives.
Seats to think twice about:
- Grand Circle slips: the cheapest seats in the theatre and heavily restricted. You will hear everything and see some of it; great fun as long as you know what you are buying.
- The back rows of the Balcony: restricted too. If the budget stretches to the next band up, stretch it.
Both of those are midweek prices, for the reason set out below.
Top Tip: often, tickets for Mamma Mia are cheaper if you buy them two or three months in advance. Nearer the show time, the prices tend to skew upwards, so we'd always recommend buying as early in advance as possible.
The day of the week matters here more than the seat does, if your budget is tight. Standard seats run from around £17.50 to about £100, with premium up to around £195, but the two lowest bands, £17.50 and £27.50, are midweek only. At the weekend they come off sale altogether, so the cheapest ticket in the theatre roughly doubles to about £37.50 while the top of the range barely moves. Buying cheap? Book midweek. Buying the best seats? The day hardly matters.
With us the price you see is the price you pay, all fees included, and it is always worth calling to ask about discounts on your date. Not sure which level suits your night? Call us on 020 7193 9050 and a real person will match seats to your group and your budget.
Seating plan
Dates & tickets
Booking now
Getting to the Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is at 5 Aldwych, London WC2B 4LD, on the corner where the Aldwych meets Catherine Street, a few minutes from Covent Garden.
- Nearest tube: Covent Garden (Piccadilly line), about a 5 to 7 minute walk. Temple (District and Circle) and Holborn (Central, Piccadilly) are both under 10 minutes.
- Rail: Charing Cross is around a 12-minute walk along the Strand; Waterloo is about 15 minutes across Waterloo Bridge.
- Buses: the 1, 26, 59, 68, 76, 172, 188, 243 and 341 stop at Aldwych / Drury Lane and Aldwych / Somerset House, one to two minutes from the door. The SL6 and the X68 also serve the Aldwych.
- Driving: not recommended. The Congestion Charge and ULEZ both apply and parking is scarce; the nearest car parks are around Drury Lane.
Arrive 15 to 20 minutes before the performance, no later, so you have time for the bag check and to find your seat. The Box Office opens 2 hours 30 minutes before curtain. Mamma Mia! is one of those shows where the queue outside is always longer than average.
The Auditorium at a Glance
The Novello is an Edwardian theatre of 1,085 seats over four levels: Stalls, Dress Circle, Grand Circle and Balcony. It is tall and fairly narrow, with the Stalls holding under half the house and everything else stacked above.
No level here has a central aisle. Rows run the full width, so the only way to a middle seat is past everyone already in it, and the same again at the interval. Ask for a seat nearer an end than the middle: in a theatre this narrow you give up very little of the view and save yourself the climb.
For more about the theatre itself, including step-free access via Catherine Street, see our Novello Theatre guide.
Address
5 Aldwych, London WC2B 4LD
Nearest Tube
Covent Garden (5-7 min walk)
Cast and Creative Team
The current company took over in October 2025, and many transferred in from the show's UK and international tours, so they arrived knowing these roles inside out. Mamma Mia! recasts roughly every autumn, so check nearer your date if a particular performer matters to your booking. From 12 October 2026 a new company takes over: Sara Poyzer stays as Donna, Richard Standing as Sam, Daniel Crowder as Harry and Foxy Valentine as Lisa, joined by Vivien Carter (Tanya), Laura Medforth (Rosie), Rakesh Boury (Bill), Ellie Gilbert-Grey (Sophie), Kyle Cox (Sky), Natorii Illidge (Ali), Edward Turner (Eddie) and Charlie Garton (Pepper). Emma Odell continues to play Donna at certain performances.
- Donna Sheridan: Sara Poyzer, who has played Donna for more than 12 years across the West End and touring productions. Her other credits include Captain Beverley Bass in the UK tour of Come From Away and Coronation Street on TV. Emma Odell plays Donna at certain performances.
- Sophie Sheridan: Ellie Kingdon, who played Sophie on the UK and international tour and was Marty in Grease at the Dominion Theatre.
- Sky: George Maddison, also from the tour, with credits including Heathers the Musical at The Other Palace.
- Tanya: Kate Graham, a long-standing member of the London company.
- Rosie: Nicky Swift, who played Rosie on the tours; her credits include the title role in the UK tour of Shirley Valentine and Les Miserables in the West End.
- Sam Carmichael: Richard Standing, who played Sam opposite Poyzer on the tour; on TV he was Danny Hargreaves in Coronation Street.
- Harry Bright: Daniel Crowder, Harry on the tours, whose credits also include the UK tour of Come From Away.
- Bill Austin: Tamlyn Henderson, whose credits include Earl in Waitress in the West End and the film The Salt Path.
- Ali: Chloe Gentles
- Lisa: Foxy Valentine
- Eddie: Joshua de La-Garde
- Pepper: Benjamin Dawson
A West End footnote: in 2023, ITV's casting show Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream, with Samantha Barks among the judges, cast two newcomers, Stevie Doc and Tobias Turley, as Sophie and Sky. Both have since moved on from the production.
The creative team:
- Music and lyrics: Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (ABBA)
- Book: Catherine Johnson
- Director: Phyllida Lloyd
- Choreographer: Anthony Van Laast
- Producer: Judy Craymer
Mamma Mia! Reviews and Reception
Few shows have a better claim to being audience-proof. When it opened in 1999 the press was split, and the audience made its own mind up: 27 years, three theatres and more than 10 million London theatregoers later, the verdict is in.
- Financial Times (1999): "one of the few good musicals on the London stage today"
- Sheridan Morley (1999): "After a shaky start, Mamma Mia soars"
- Evening Standard (1999), less convinced: "Thank you for the music...shame about the musical"
- Time Out (3/5), reviewing the current run: "it's impossible not to fall for 'Mamma Mia!'s twinkling charms"
- WhatsOnStage (5/5, revisiting the show): "Thank you for the musical!"
Audiences have never agreed with the reservation, and the run speaks for itself. The pattern has never changed: some critics shrug, audiences dance in the aisles. For every verdict since 1999 in one place, read our full round-up, What the Critics Say.
Mamma Mia!
Novello Theatre