Moulin Rouge! The Musical Tickets in London at the Piccadilly Theatre
Walk into the Piccadilly Theatre and you are immediately transported to bohemian Paris. Before the show even starts, dancers are swallowing swords, performers are moving through the audience, and the whole building has been turned into the Moulin Rouge itself, with a windmill on one side and a giant blue elephant on the other. Then the can-can begins. Moulin Rouge! The Musical is the most decadent night out in the West End, built from Baz Luhrmann's film and more than 70 pop songs you already know.
From £302 hours 35 minutes, with an intervalRecommended 12+ (no under-5s admitted)
A musical at the Piccadilly Theatre, near Piccadilly CircusBooking to 3 April 2027
Real people on the phone
020 7193 9050 · Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm, Sunday 10am to 8pm
Help choosing your seat
Who Is Moulin Rouge! The Musical Best For?
- Anyone who wants opulence and spectacle above all: this is the loudest, brightest, most visual show in the West End, and it is unapologetic about it.
- Groups and date nights: it is a brilliant musical night out, which is exactly why it works for a birthday, a hen do or an anniversary.
- People who love the film: every song you remember is here, and many more.
- Pop fans who are not sure about musicals: the music contains everything from Lady Marmalade and Roxanne to Adele, Lady Gaga and Rihanna, so you will recognise most of it.
- Anyone who wants a unique experience: the Can Can tables put you at the front, at your own table, inside the action.
- Best for older teenagers and adults. The official guidance is 12 and over, and we would not bring younger children.
About Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre
Moulin Rouge! The Musical is the stage version of Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film, not a history of the Paris nightclub. It began performances at the Piccadilly Theatre on 13 November 2021, and it has played there ever since.
It won 10 Tony Awards on Broadway including Best Musical, and in London it received five Olivier nominations in 2022, winning Best Costume Design. The costumes and the sets are incredible, and they are what people remember. Baz Luhrmann is involved, though he did not write or create the stage adaptation, and you will notice many scenes and images from the film on stage. Full cast and creative team are in the Cast and Creatives tab.
The production has taken over the whole venue. The auditorium is lined in red velvet, the windmill turns above one side of the stage, the elephant sits over the other, and a catwalk pushes out into the Stalls.
Worth knowing before you book: the running time is 2 hours 35 minutes with one 20-minute interval, and the show contains flashing lights, strobe lighting, fog, loud bangs and the appearance of firearms onstage.
What's Moulin Rouge! The Musical About? A Short Summary
Christian is a young writer who arrives in Paris in 1899 with nothing but ambition, falls in with a group of bohemians, and is taken to the Moulin Rouge. There he meets Satine, the club's star performer, and they fall in love almost immediately.
The complication is money. The club is close to collapse, and its owner Harold Zidler needs a wealthy backer, the Duke of Monroth, who wants Satine as part of the arrangement. What follows is a love triangle, and it does not end happily. The story is easy to follow, the songs and the incredible energy are what carry it.
Performance Schedule
Moulin Rouge! The Musical plays eight performances a week, with no Sunday performance. Matinees are on Thursday and Saturday.
| Day | Matinee | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | - | 7:30pm |
| Tuesday | - | 7:30pm |
| Wednesday | - | 7:30pm |
| Thursday | 2:30pm | 7:30pm |
| Friday | - | 7:30pm |
| Saturday | 2:30pm | 7:30pm |
| Sunday | - | - |
An evening performance finishes a little after 10pm, and a matinee a little after 5pm.
From Monday 11 January 2027 the times change. Monday and Tuesday evenings move to 7pm, while Wednesday to Saturday evenings stay at 7:30pm. Thursday and Saturday matinees are unchanged at 2:30pm. Check your ticket if you are booking into 2027.
Booking runs on a rolling basis with roughly six months of performances on sale at any time, and a fresh week released each Monday. There is no closing date, rather a booking until date, so if your dates are further out, keep checking rather than assuming they have gone.
Best Seats for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Three levels: Stalls, Royal Circle and Grand Circle. For this show we would put most people in the Stalls, because the set wraps around you and the closer you sit, the more you feel part of it.
- The Can Can tables are the signature seats: 13 tables at stage level, most of them for two,, right inside the action. They are the most fun seats in the building (and perhaps the whole West End).
- The value call is the sides. Side seats in the Stalls and Royal Circle cost a good deal less than central ones and you give up very little.
- Be careful at the back of any level. The overhangs count for more here than at most theatres, because this show uses the full height of the stage.
Row-by-row detail, including exactly where each overhang starts and which row has the extra legroom, is in the Tickets and Best Seats tab. Step-free seating and wheelchair spaces are covered in Venue and Travel.
Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we will talk you through the seat map.
Cast and Creative Team
Karis Anderson plays Satine and Alistair Brammer plays Christian. Craig Ryder is Harold Zidler and Ben Richards is the Duke of Monroth, with James Doherty and Daniel Fraser taking over those two roles from 12 October 2026. Richard Lloyd King plays Toulouse-Lautrec, with Ivan De Freitas as Santiago and Lindsey Tierney as Nini.
Satine is played by Angela Marie Hurst at Monday performances. As with every West End show, no particular performer can be guaranteed at any given performance.
The creative team is Alex Timbers (director), John Logan (book), Sonya Tayeh (choreography), Justin Levine (music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements), Derek McLane (set design) and Catherine Zuber (costume design).
Book Your Moulin Rouge! The Musical Tickets
Moulin Rouge! The Musical plays at the Piccadilly Theatre Monday to Saturday, with matinees on Thursday and Saturday, and there is no closing date announced.
Every price you see with us is all-in. The price on the seating map is the price you pay, with nothing added at checkout.
Book tickets • Call us on 020 7193 9050
Moulin Rouge! The Musical FAQs
2 hours 35 minutes including one 20-minute interval. An evening performance starts at 7:30pm and finishes a little after 10pm. Some listings still say 2 hours 45 minutes, which is out of date.
Tickets start from around £25, most seats cost from around £65 up to around £100, and premium seats start from around £120. The show uses dynamic pricing, so prices move with demand. Weekend performances are usually a little more. We sell at all-in prices, so the price you see is the price you pay.
Thirteen tables at the very front, most of them for two, some actually within the stage, with the show happening all around you. They cost more than a standard seat, and for the right person they are the best seats in the West End. You look up at the stage and cannot leave your seat until the interval.
They are sold in two ways. A batch is released each Friday at noon for the following week's performances, and they are also available further ahead, which usually costs more. They sell in pairs, so you book the whole table.
Yes and no. It follows Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film closely, with the same characters and story, but the stage version adds a great deal more music. If you love the film you will recognise most of it and get a lot more besides.
No. The show stands completely on its own and explains everything you need. Seeing the film first simply gives you a different perspective and a guide to the storyline, but plenty of people come without knowing the story at all.
It is French for "red windmill", which is why there is a windmill above the stage and one on the roof of the Paris club the story is set in. It is said "moo-lan roozh". The show's own shorthand for itself is the same one the film used: truth, beauty, freedom and love.
It is set at the real Moulin Rouge, which is still open in Paris today, though the story itself was written for Baz Luhrmann's film. The two are quite different nights out: Paris is a cabaret floor show with dinner, this is a musical with a story. Worth knowing if you have been to one and are picturing the other.
More than seventy, mostly pop songs you will know, often woven together into medleys. Lady Marmalade, Roxanne, Come What May and the Elephant Love Medley all survive from the film, and the stage version adds many more, from Adele and Lady Gaga to Rihanna and Katy Perry. Backstage Romance, which folds Lady Gaga into Britney Spears, is a stage addition and one of the biggest numbers of the night.
Almost none, by design: the score is built from existing pop songs. The exception is Come What May, written by David Baerwald and Kevin Gilbert. It was composed for Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, went unused, and became the love theme here instead. It is the one song in the show that was not borrowed from somewhere else.
The official guidance is 12 and over, and no under-5s are admitted at all. It is a night out aimed at older teenagers and adults. There is no strong language to speak of, but the subject matter and the tone suit an older audience.
Yes. The production contains flashing lights, strobe lighting, fog, loud bangs and the appearance of firearms onstage. It is also a loud show, because it is built on pop songs.
Arrive 30 minutes before, which is earlier than we would say for most theatres. The queue to get in is longer here than at most venues, and the pre-show starts about 15 to 20 minutes before the advertised time. Travel light to get through faster.
There is no dress code, and jeans and trainers are completely fine. That said, more people dress up for this show than for almost anything else in the West End, and if you want an excuse to, this is the one.
We price all-in rather than running a code at checkout, so the price you see on the seating map is the number you pay. Genuine savings here come from where and when you sit: side seats, midweek dates and the further-ahead part of the booking window. If you are after a seat tonight or at short notice, call us rather than assuming it has gone, because returns and held seats come back into the system all the time. Call us and we will find the best-value seat for your date.
Brasserie Zédel is directly opposite the theatre, a huge Art Deco brasserie with a good-value pre-theatre set menu. Blacklock Soho on Great Windmill Street is a British chophouse about four minutes away. Our Piccadilly Theatre guide has the full list.
Yes. A separate touring production is visiting UK theatres alongside the London run. It played the Theatre Royal Plymouth over the summer and is at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton from 24 September to 24 October 2026. The tickets we sell here are for the London production at the Piccadilly Theatre, and tour dates are booked with those theatres directly.
No closing date has been announced. Booking runs on a rolling basis with about six months of performances on sale, and a new week is released every Monday.
Yes, captioned, British Sign Language and audio described performances are scheduled through the year. Dates are in the Venue and Travel tab, and all accessible bookings are handled by the venue's own access team rather than by us.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical Prices
Tickets start from around £25. Most seats cost from around £65 up to around £100, and premium seats start from around £120. Weekend performances sit a little higher across the board. Can Can table seats are around £99 on the weekly Friday release and more when booked further ahead.
All of our prices are all-in. The price you see on the seating map is the price you pay.
Where to Sit: the Piccadilly Theatre Seating Plan, Level by Level
Can Can tables
Thirteen tables, most with two seats, some of which are actually inside the stage, built specifically for this production and not found in any other West End theatre. You are right in the action, with runways around you and performers close enough to make eye contact. They sell in pairs, so you take the whole table.
The honest trade-offs: you are looking up at the stage rather than across it, you cannot leave your seat until the interval and re-entry is strict, and they are not wheelchair accessible. For the right person, none of that matters.
Stalls
Our first choice for most people. Around 520 seats, a gentle rake from Row A, and the set wraps around you.
- Front and middle Stalls give the best mix of immersion and a full view.
- The Royal Circle overhang starts becoming noticeable from about Row L. From Rows Q to R back you begin to lose the top of the stage, and because this show uses the full stage height, that costs you real content. We would not sit further back than Row R.
- The sides are the value play. A lot cheaper than central seats and you lose very little.
- Row P has extra legroom at the ends of the row.
- There is no centre aisle, so a central seat means climbing past people to reach it.
Royal Circle
Around 350 seats and the cleanest view of the whole stage picture, which matters on a show with this much choreography.
- The first five or six rows are strong all the way across.
- The Grand Circle overhangs from Row D, so the back of this level is less good.
- The very ends of the rows lose a sliver of the stage, though even those are fine and priced accordingly.
- There are no Boxes on sale for this show. The windmill and the elephant take up those spaces.
Grand Circle
Around 360 seats, and the cheapest way into the show.
- Sit forward and central. The front of this level gives a clear, if high, view.
- We would not sit further back than Row G, where it starts to feel a long way up.
- It is 70 steps up with no lift, and the rake is steep. If stairs are difficult, this is the level to avoid.
Call us on 020 7193 9050 for honest advice on any seat in the building.
Seating plan
Dates & tickets
Getting to the Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is at 16 Denman Street, London W1D 7DY, tucked just behind Piccadilly Circus.
Tube. Piccadilly Circus (Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines) is 2 to 3 minutes away. Leicester Square is about 7 minutes and is a useful alternative on the way out, when Piccadilly Circus is at its busiest.
Rail. Charing Cross is the nearest mainline station, 10 to 12 minutes on foot.
Bus. Routes 12, 88, 94, 139, 159 and 453 stop at Piccadilly Circus, 2 to 3 minutes from the theatre. Routes 6, 13, 14, 19, 22, 23 and 38 stop at adjacent Piccadilly Circus stands. Night buses N3, N15, N18, N19, N38, N109, N113, N118 and N136 serve the area after the show.
Driving. You are inside the Congestion Charge zone and the ULEZ, and on-street parking is minimal. The tube is faster and cheaper.
When to Arrive for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Arrive 30 minutes before. This is one of the few shows where we say more than the usual 15 to 20 minutes, and there are two reasons. Nearly everyone enters through the same door into a small foyer, so the queue is longer here than at most theatres and is at its worst about half an hour before. And the pre-show starts about 15 to 20 minutes before the advertised time, so turning up at the usual quarter of an hour means missing it.
Doors open around 90 minutes before, and the auditorium about 45 minutes before. Travelling light, ideally with no bag, gets you through security faster.
If you have Can Can table seats, the rules are stricter. You must be in your seat by 2:15pm for a matinee or 7:15pm for an evening performance. Latecomers to those seats will be asked to stand or sit elsewhere until the interval, or for the whole performance. Use the toilet before you sit down.
The Auditorium
Three levels, 1,232 seats: roughly 520 in the Stalls, 350 in the Royal Circle and 360 in the Grand Circle, plus the 13 Can Can tables at stage level.
The Stalls bar in the basement is small. If you want a drink at the interval, order it before the show so it is waiting for you. The Royal Circle bar is larger and more comfortable. The ladies' toilets get very busy at the interval, so go straight there if you want to beat the queue.
Accessible Performances
| Date | Time | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 December 2026 | 7:30pm | Captioned |
| Tue 8 December 2026 | 7:30pm | British Sign Language |
| Tue 15 December 2026 | 7:30pm | Audio Described |
There is step-free access via the Sherwood Street entrance and three wheelchair spaces at Stalls level. Accessible bookings and access enquiries are handled by the venue's own access team, not by us. Full detail is in our Piccadilly Theatre guide. Please note the Can Can tables are not wheelchair accessible.
For everything else about the building, including the full nearby list, see our Piccadilly Theatre guide.
Address
16 Denman Street, London W1D 7DY
Nearest Tube
Piccadilly Circus
Moulin Rouge! The Musical Cast and Casting
| Role | Performer |
|---|---|
| Satine | Karis Anderson |
| Christian | Alistair Brammer |
| Harold Zidler | Craig Ryder (James Doherty from 12 October 2026) |
| The Duke of Monroth | Ben Richards (Daniel Fraser from 12 October 2026) |
| Toulouse-Lautrec | Richard Lloyd King |
| Santiago | Ivan De Freitas |
| Nini | Lindsey Tierney |
Karis Anderson's credits include Tina, The Tina Turner Musical. Alistair Brammer has appeared in Miss Saigon, Craig Ryder in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Ben Richards in Emmerdale, and Richard Lloyd King in The Book of Mormon.
Alternate performances: Angela Marie Hurst takes the role every Monday. No production can guarantee the appearance of any particular performer at any given performance.
This is not a two-hander. Six or seven roles carry real weight, and the ensemble does an enormous amount of the work, so there is a lot to watch beyond the two leads.
Creative Team
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Director | Alex Timbers |
| Book | John Logan |
| Choreography | Sonya Tayeh |
| Music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements | Justin Levine |
| Set design | Derek McLane |
| Costume design | Catherine Zuber |
Based on the 2001 film directed by Baz Luhrmann.
What the Critics Say About Moulin Rouge! The Musical
The critics agreed on one thing and split hard on another. Everybody thought it looked extraordinary. They disagreed about whether the story underneath carries its weight.
In January 2022, The Telegraph, The Observer, The Independent, The Arts Desk and WhatsOnStage all gave it four stars, with The Independent calling it "ostentatious, absurd, and completely ravishing to look at" (4/5). The Guardian, The Times, the Evening Standard, the Financial Times and Time Out all landed on three, the Standard summing up the sceptical view as "razzle-dazzle style but precious little substance" (3/5). The Stage disagreed giving it only two.
The Telegraph returned to the show in October 2023, nearly two years into the run, and called it "still a magnifique crowd-pleaser" and "beguilingly transporting, all-enveloping theatre".
Audiences are considerably warmer than the critics, and we get it. Public ratings currently sit around nine out of ten, from several thousand people who have reported back. The gap between the critical reception and the audience reception is one of the widest of any show currently running in the West End, and it tells us a lot: a bit like We Will Rock You, it's not all about the reviews, it's about putting on a crowd-pleasing show!
One recurring criticism is worth knowing before you book, because it is a matter of taste rather than quality. The show packs in more than seventy songs, often as fragments and mash-ups, and a few critics found that exhausting rather than exhilarating. Most audiences find it the opposite.
Note on the reviews above: the press-night notices describe a cast that has since completely changed. The comments on the production, its design and its structure still hold. The comments on individual performances relate to performers who left the show years ago.
Read our full round-up in Moulin Rouge! The Musical Reviews: What the Critics Say.
Gallery
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Piccadilly Theatre