Every month, MustSeeTheatre.com partners with The Edinburgh Reporter, in print and online, to bring you my Must See Theatre picks for the month ahead along with a Theatre Break recommendation further afield.
The two-page spread launched in February 2024 and, as 2026 nears, it is time to present our 2025 Annual.
The Edinburgh Reporter newspaper is published on the first of each month with a distribution of 6,000 free copies throughout the city. Online, more than 250,000 people visit theedinburghreporter.co.uk website each month, with many more reading the digital version of the newspaper via the PressReader app and on issue.com.
On Social Media, The Edinburgh Reporter has in the region of 64k followers on X (formerly Twitter), 15k followers on Facebook and 4.1k followers on Instagram. As well as Liam Rudden’s Must See Theatre, The Edinburgh Reporter also carries links to all Edinburgh Must See Theatre reviews on mustseetheatre.com.
Now how many of these shows did you see in 2025?
Liam Rudden – Edinburgh Reporter Must See Theatre Annual 2025
January Featured: Bat Out Of Hell, Edinburgh Playhouse | Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show, Edinburgh Playhouse | The Merchant of Venice, Royal Lyceum | I Ran With The Gang Dinner Theatre, Dine | Firebird, King’s Head Theatre, London. Online here.
February Featured: Lionel Bart’s Oliver!, Gielgud Theatre, London | Heaven, The Traverse | Now That’s What I Call A Musical, Edinburgh Playhouse | Kinky Boot, Edinburgh Playhouse | Chicago, Edinburgh Playhouse. Online here.
March Featured: Wild Rose, Royal Lyceum | Testament of Gideon Mack, The Traverse | Death Of A Salesman, Festival Theatre | Ghost Stories, Festival Theatre | Nessie, The Studio | Much Ado About Nothing, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London. Online here.
April Featured: Jodie Cromer in Prima Facie, The Royal Lyceum | Moulin Rouge, Edinburgh Playhouse | Calamity Jane and Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake at Festival Theatre | Looking For Me Friend: The Music Of Victoria Wood at The Traverse. Online here.
May Featured: Moulin Rouge The Musical, Edinburgh Playhouse | The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, Festival Theatre | Keli, Royal Lyceum | The Mountaintop, Royal Lyceum | Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, various venues. Online here.
June Featured: Moulin Rouge, Edinburgh Playhouse | The Mountaintop, Royal Lyceum | Lear, The Traverse | Quadrophenia, A Mod Ballet, Festival Theatre | The Croft, Festival Theatre | Stereophonic, Duke of York’s Theatre, London. Online here.
July Featured: Dear Evan Hansen, Edinburgh Playhouse | London Theatre Week | The Dinosaur That Pooped, Edinburgh Playhouse | Porno, Leith Theatre. Online here.
August Featured: The Edinburgh Fringe Top Picks 2025. Online here.
September Featured: The Talented Mr Ripley, Festival Theatre | The Lightening Thief, Festival Theatre | Top Hat, Edinburgh Playhouse | Lord of the Flies, Chichester Theatre. Online here.
October Featured: London Round Up – My Neighbour Totoro, Born With Teeth, Clarkston, Witness For The Prosecution, Cabaret with Reeve Carney and MUSIK | War Horse, Miss Saigon | Miss Saigon, Edinburgh Playhouse | Black Hole Sign, Traverse Theatre | The Seagull, Royal Lyceum | To Kill A Mockingbird, Festival Theatre. Online here.
November Featured: Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, Edinburgh Playhouse / Arlington, The Traverse / Inside No 9, Edinburgh Playhouse / The Glass Menagerie, Royal Lyceum / Othello, Theatre Royal, Haymarket / Cinderella, Royal Lyceum. Online here.
December Featured: Jack And The Beanstalk, Festival Theatre / Mamma Mia!, Edinburgh Playhouse / Cinderella, Royal Lyceum / Snowy, The Studio / My Neighbour Totoro, Gillian Lynne Theatre. Online here.
