The Traitors and hotel packages from London Theatre Breaks
Theatre: Gillian Lynne Theatre, Drury Lane (Holborn or Covent Garden Tube)
Dates: 11 May to 31 July 2027 (opening night 8 June)
Running time: to be confirmed
Age guidance: 8+; under 16s must be with an adult
Theatre breaks: Book your Traitors break
Next summer you can watch The Traitors unfold live in the West End. The Traitors – Acts of Betrayal leaves the Highlands for London’s Gillian Lynne Theatre with Nick Mohammed, a finalist in the first Celebrity Traitors, starring as The Host. It is booking only until 31 July, and theatre and hotel packages are on sale now, so if you fancy a summer break built around the nation’s favourite game of deceit, it is best to book early.
What if?
The Traitors has become the biggest thing on British television. The 2025 series averaged more than nine million viewers, and the first Celebrity Traitors did better still. So can it possibly be as gripping on stage? Its makers have come up with a clever answer. Rather than simply restaging the game, the theatre version asks the one question television can never answer: what would have happened if someone else had been handed the cloak?
There are five plays, and each is a complete, fully scripted drama. They all begin in the same way, with the same group of players arriving to play the game, but the Traitors are chosen differently each time, and everything that follows changes with them. A player murdered on the first night of one version may walk away the winner in another. See one and you have a full evening of theatre; come back for a second and you begin to see how the whole cycle fits together.
The choice is yours
From 9 June a different play is performed on each weekday, Monday to Friday. Saturdays are where it gets really interesting: the audience votes on who will become a Traitor, and that vote decides which version is played out there and then. The afternoon and evening audiences may choose quite differently, so two performances on the same day can end in entirely different places. The audience-choice Saturdays begin on 29 May, during the previews.
The team behind it
The plays are written by John Finnemore, the comedy writer behind Cabin Pressure, and directed by Robert Hastie ( Operation Mincemeat). Studio Lambert, which makes the television series, is producing with Neal Street Productions, so the stage version comes from the people who created the game.
The Cast
Nick Mohammed, who was a finalist in the first series of Celebrity The Traitors plays The Host. The rest of the cast is still to be announced: I will keep you posted.
Planning your break
The Gillian Lynne Theatre stands on Drury Lane, between Covent Garden and Holborn, so restaurants, bars and a wide choice of hotels are all close by. There are several Thistle hotels within walking distance, including Thistle Holborn, but I would plump for the newly refurbished voco London Bloomsbury: a four-star hotel about half a mile from the theatre, with a pleasant stroll back through Bloomsbury after the show. It is also offering some great deals.
Before you book
Do I need to see all five plays?
No. Each play is a complete story in its own right, so one visit makes a full night out. Having said that, seeing two or more lets you watch the same characters meet very different fates. I can easily see a situation where you might want to see all five!
Which version will I see?
From 9 June each weekday has its own play, and on Saturdays the audience vote decides. During the previews, from 11 May to 7 June, the pattern is different, and there are no audience-vote performances before Saturday 29 May, so check the schedule if seeing a particular version matters to you.
Is it suitable for children?
It is recommended for ages 8 and over. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over who sits with them, and children under four are not admitted.
How do I get there by train?
From King’s Cross St Pancras, the Piccadilly line runs direct to Holborn, about five minutes’ walk from the theatre. From Euston, take the Northern line (Charing Cross branch) to Tottenham Court Road and walk about ten minutes, or change to the Central line for one stop to Holborn.