Side by Side by Sondheim returns for its 50th year at Upstairs at the Gatehouse

Upstairs at the Gatehouse in Highgate Village, North London, will stage a 50th anniversary production of Side by Side by Sondheim from 10 December 2026 until 17 January 2027. The revue, a show built from songs by the American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, first opened in the West End in 1976. WhatsOnStage confirmed the cast and creative team this week.

Amanda Noar will direct and choreograph the production. Isaac Bernier-Doyle is associate director and dramaturg, the role that shapes a show's text and research. Harry Style is musical director.

The show has no traditional plot. A small group of performers sings and plays through a run of Sondheim songs, and the theatre says this staging will draw on hits and rarities from Company, Follies, West Side Story and more. The four performers are Oliver Sidney, Katherine Strohmaier, Emily Ooi and Adam Christian David. Sidney and Strohmaier are returning to the Gatehouse. The theatre describes the cast as all-singing, all-dancing and all-piano-playing.

Ruby Boswell-Green designs the set, Simon Jackson the lighting and Hannah Danson the costumes. The production is produced by Annlouise Butt, working by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe), the company that licenses the show's rights.

The press night, the first performance attended by critics, is set for 16 December. The running time is two hours, including an interval. The theatre bills the show as "A Musical Entertainment."

Upstairs at the Gatehouse calls itself an award-winning Off West End theatre, a term for smaller venues outside the West End's main commercial houses. Its auditorium sits above a pub in Highgate, and the run is set to cover the Christmas and New Year period. Ticket prices have not been published, so readers should check the theatre's website for prices and booking fees.