The record-breaking Hamilton and Disney musical Mary Poppins are the latest West End shows to announce their post-lockdown return.

Hamilton is a ground-breaking hip-hop musical about the first US treasury secretary and the birth of American democracy in the aftermath of the war for independence, while Mary Poppins is based on the classic Disney film of the same name, following the life of the fictional super-nanny as she looks after the Banks children.

Mary Poppins will throw open its doors on 7 August, while Hamilton will greet audiences again on 19 August.

Like hundreds of others across the country, both shows have seen their stages left dark and auditoriums empty as a result of the COVID-19-enforced closures.

The announcement comes after shows including Phantom Of The Opera and Les Miserables already revealed their return dates, as the industry looks to recoup some the losses made over the past year.

Musicals Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Six are slated to open (with social distancing) in late May, amid the hope that the prime minister‘s reopening roadmap stays on track.

As it stands, theatres can reopen from 17 May.

Hamilton’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda said: “For over a year the lights on the West End have been dark and our friends, family and colleagues on and off the stage have been out of work.

“It is with tremendous gratitude that we announce the return of Hamilton to London’s Victoria Palace Theatre this August. We will safely gather to tell this story again. We’ll be back.”

Theatre impresario Cameron Mackintosh, who produces both the shows added: “The last year has been unbelievably hard for everyone but particularly so for the theatre profession.

“I have been moved and inspired by the resilience and camaraderie of so many practitioners from all aspects of our industry who have taken on any job so that they and their families could survive.

“I am therefore delighted to announce that our wonderful [Hamilton] company will be back in The Room Where It Happens from 19 August at the Victoria Palace Theatre, now that the prime minister has told us that we are on track to reopen ‘cautiously but irreversibly’ this summer.”

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Mary Poppins, which is penned by Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes, has been a West End and Broadway stalwart for several years now, with the latest London production debuting at the Prince Edward Theatre in 2019.

Meanwhile, Hamilton is a relatively new show, first opening in London’s Victoria Palace Theatre in 2017.

The original 2015 Broadway production of the show, which features Miranda in the lead role, as well as stars such as Leslie Odom Jr, Renee Elise Goldberry and Daveed Diggs, can be watched in full on Disney+, after what was reportedly a multi-million dollar deal to bring the musical to the screen.