News – Page 7 – The Theatre Playbook

Hampstead Theatre unveils eight new productions for 2023/24

Hampstead Theatre has announced its 2023/24 season with a run of eight new productions set to start this September.

The season includes three world premieres on the main stage: Anthropology by Lauren Gunderson, directed by Anna Ledwich; To Have and To Hold by Richard Bean, directed Richard Wilson; and Double Feature by John Logan, directed by Jonathan Kent.

A further three world premieres and a UK premiere will play in Hampstead Downstairs: Octopolis by Marek Horn, directed by Ed Madden; Nineteen Gardens by Magdalena Miecznicka, directed by Alice Hamilton; This Much I Know by Jonathan Spector, directed by Chelsea Walker and Out of Season by Neil D’Souza, also directed by Alice Hamilton.

Completing the season is Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘n’ Roll, directed by Nina Raine.

Tickets are now on sale.

The programme for autumn 2023 marks a new future for Hampstead Theatre following Arts Council England’s decision to cut its NPO grant by 100 per cent. Hampstead’s future and renewed commitment to present ambitious original work will be driven by ticket sales, commercial income and philanthropic support.

Here’s more about the new season:

HAMPSTEAD THEATRE MAIN STAGE

Anthropology
By Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Anna Ledwich
September 7 – October 14, 2023

Merril is one of Silicon Valley’s leading software engineers, but her life disintegrates when her younger sister Angie vanishes on her way home from college. A year later, when the police have long abandoned their search, Merril assembles all the digital material Angie has left behind and sets about building herself a digital simulation of her sister. The resultant ‘virtual Angie’ offers her some solace – until, that is, it starts to reveal new details about the real Angie’s disappearance.

To Have and To Hold
By Richard Bean
Directed by Richard Wilson
October 20 – November 25

After sixty years of marriage, happily settled into their retirement village in Yorkshire, Jack and Florence have elevated bickering almost to the status of high art. That said, they’re otherwise getting along fine with the support of a cousin and the hilarious interventions of the man known locally as ‘Rhubarb Eddie’. But will their anxious son, shuttling between London and LA, and their errant daughter, contemplating a move to Australia, leave them to live out their days in peace?

Rock ‘n’ Roll
By Tom Stoppard
Directed by Nina Raine
December 6 – January 27

1968: Russian tanks have rolled into Czechoslovakia, and Syd Barrett has been dumped by Pink Floyd. Jan, a visiting postgrad at Cambridge, breaks with his old professor Max, a Marxist philosopher, and heads home to Prague with his suitcase full of “socially negative music”. Rock ’n’ Roll covers the ensuing 21 years in the lives of three generations of Max’s family while Jan is caught in the spiral of dissidence in a Communist police state. But it’s a love story too – and then there’s the music…

Double Feature
By John Logan
Directed by Jonathan Kent
February 8 – March 16

1964/1967. In a rented cottage in Suffolk, a brilliant young film director, deep in making his magnum opus, confronts the ageing star that the studio has imposed on him. Vincent Price is about to walk out on the film, and Michael Reeves’ career hangs by a thread. Across the world, in a strange simulacrum of a Suffolk cottage created on a Hollywood lot, a great director and his star are engaged in a very different sort of power-game, as Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren take time off from making Marnie for one final confrontation.

HAMPSTEAD DOWNSTAIRS

Octopolis
By Marek Horn
Directed by Ed Madden
September 15 – October 28

Professor George Grey is a brilliant behavioural biologist who, alongside her recently deceased husband, became world-renowned for her pioneering research into octopus intelligence. Mainly the intelligence of one particular octopus, in fact: Frances, who still resides in a large, purpose-built tank in George’s campus accommodation.

Into this house of grief walks Harry – an ambitious anthropologist, despatched by the university with permission to test his breath-taking new theory on Frances. The nature of his assignment is shocking to George, and threatens to tear her world apart in more ways than one.

Nineteen Gardens
By Magdalena Miecznicka
Directed by Alice Hamilton
November 3 – December 9

Nearly two years after the end of their affair, John and Aga meet once more. Each has filled the void left by the other: he has withdrawn into his world of wealth and privilege; she has found herself working as a chambermaid to support her family. Both recognise that the spark between them is still there. Will they rekindle what they had, or is an altogether darker game about to be played out?

This Much I Know
By Jonathan Spector
Directed by Chelsea Walker
December 13 – January 27

A tenured professor of psychology, Lukesh enjoys a life as organised and logical as his mind. But then his wife vanishes, sending only a text message by way of explanation and leaving him to re-evaluate their relationship. He discovers she has embarked on an epic odyssey, crossing and recrossing Russia and delving deep into Soviet history on a quest to unravel a family mystery of which he was unaware – one in which Josef Stalin himself may be involved.

Out of Season
By Neil D’Souza
Directed by Alice Hamilton
February 16 – March 23

Yes – the band is back in town! Michael, Chris and Dev are returning to Ibiza and the hotel where it all began thirty years ago. But Michael’s stuck in London, Dev’s got a bad back and Chris…well, he’s just Chris. And it turns out that none of them are in their twenties anymore! As this middle-aged trip down memory lane is about to hurtle off the tracks, Holly and Amy arrive, so down-to-earth they might just save our feckless heroes from really humiliating themselves…

The Crucible cast in rehearsals for Gielgud Theatre launch

Here’s the cast of Lyndsey Turner’s National Theatre production of The Crucible in rehearsals as the show makes its West End transfer to the Gielgud Theatre.

With set designed by Es Devlin, this contemporary new staging of Arthur Miller’s gripping parable of power and its abuse will play at the Gielgud Theatre from June 7 until September 2.

A witch hunt is beginning in Salem. Raised to be seen but not heard, a group of young women suddenly find their words have a terrible power. As a climate of fear spreads through the community, private vendettas fuel public accusations and soon the truth itself is on trial.

Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) will play the role of Abigail Williams with Caitlin FitzGerald (Succession) playing the role of Elizabeth Proctor and Brian Gleeson (Bad Sisters) the role of John Proctor. Joining the previously announced cast is Karl Johnson as Giles Corey.

The ensemble also includes Christopher Birch, Lucy Brindle, Grace Farrell, Chyna-Rose Frederick, Miya James, Ebony Jonelle, Tama Phethean, Amy Snudden, Nia Towle and Samuel Townsend.

Returning to the production following its sold-out run at the National Theatre are Fisayo Akinade as Reverend Hale and Matthew Marsh as Danforth. Completing the cast are David Ahmad, Zoë Aldrich, Stephanie Beattie, Raphael Bushay, Henry Everett, Nick Fletcher, Colin Haigh, Nadine Higgin, Gracie McGonigal, Alastair Parker, Joy Tan and Tilly Tremayne.

Turner’s production of The Crucible originally ran at the National Theatre in autumn 2022.

Turner and Devlin are joined by costume designer Catherine Fay and lighting designer Tim Lutkin. Sound design is by Tingying Dong and Christopher Shutt. The composer and arranger is Caroline Shaw; and music director and arranger is Osnat Schmool; with casting by Alastair Coomer and Naomi Downham. They are joined by associate director Blythe Stewart; associate set designer Ellie Wintour; associate lighting designer Max Narula; fight director Bret Yount; lead intimacy directors Ita O’Brien and Louise Kempton; voice and dialect coach Kate Godfrey; dialect coaches Danièle Lydon and Hazel Holder; assistant music director Alice Grant and resident director Sophie Dillon Moniram.

English National Opera announces 2023/24 season

The English National Opera (ENO) will stage nine productions at the London Coliseum across its 2023/24 main stage season.

Titles will include the UK premiere of Marina Abramović’s 7 Deaths of Maria Callas; a semi-staged concert of Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, the first ENO performance of the work in 15 years, with Martyn Brabbins conducting; and the return of David Alden’s production of Britten’s Peter Grimes.

One of the ENO’s most successful ever productions, Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe, will return for its first revival; Peter Konwitschny’s Olivier Award winning production of Verdi’s most famous opera La Traviata also returns, and Annilese Miskimmon’s The Handmaid’s Tale will have its first revival.

The season also includes Jonathan Miller’s The Barber of Seville; Simon McBurney’s accessible family favourite The Magic Flute and David Alden’s production of Janáček’s Jenůfa.

ENO’s opera season comes on the back of a “difficult” six months for the company following the the Arts Council’s removal of its National Portfolio status and a delay in the confirmation of future funding.

Annilese Miskimmon, Artistic Director of the ENO, said: “This past season has been challenging following the Arts Council’s removal of the ENO’s NPO status but also incredibly rewarding with sell out, critically acclaimed productions across a huge breadth of repertoire.

“This 2023/24 Season at the London Coliseum showcases some of the productions and repertoire that the company is most renowned for. We have curated this season to delight our ENO regulars and newcomers alike with the return of old and new favourites that highlight the drama, beauty and emotion of this fascinating art form.”

Here’s more information about each show:

7 Deaths of Maria Callas

November 3 – November 11, 2023

A UK premiere, performance artist Marina Abramović makes her ENO debut with her production of 7 Deaths of Maria Callas. Exploring the life, work and death of one of opera’s greatest stars, this staging marks 100 years since the American-born Greek soprano’s birth.

Callas – whose private life was never quite able to be separated from her performances – has fascinated Abramović for decades, and she has conceived this operatic project as a homage to the great prima donna. The production premiered in September 2020 at Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper and has since toured to co-production partners: the Greek National Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Opéra national de Paris, and the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli.

Immortalised through her place in popular culture, Callas (sometimes referred to as ‘La Divina’ – the divine one) is invoked on stage through a series of her most famous arias from La traviata, Tosca, Madam Butterfly, Carmen, Otello, Lucia di Lammermoor and Norma. These arias are woven together with new music by Serbian composer Marko Nikodijevic. Abramović is the director and set designer, and the conductor is Yoel Gamzou who has conducted this work across Europe.

Accompanying each of these aria performances are a series of short films starring Abramović and actor Willem Dafoe. Present on stage throughout the performance, Abramović plays the sleeping Callas, haunted by her greatest roles, in a set that recreates the Paris apartment where Callas died.

The cast of singers playing Callas in her greatest roles includes soprano Eri Nakamura in the role of Violetta; and former ENO Harewood Artist Nadine Benjamin as Desdemona. Karah Son sings Cio-Cio San’s Un bel di, and Sarah Tynan sings Lucia from Lucia di Lammermoor.

They are joined by the critically acclaimed mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina singing Carmen, a role that soprano Callas never played on stage, but whose arias she frequently performed in concert. Soprano Elbenita Kajtazi sings Tosca’s Vissi d’arte making her UK operatic debut, and soprano Sophie Bevan sings Norma.

Duke Bluebeard’s Castle

Closing the season at the London Coliseum is a new semi-staged concert of Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, the first ENO performance of the work in 15 years.

Martyn Brabbins (Gloriana) again leads the ENO Orchestra in this thrilling score. The one-act opera, based on Charles Perrault’s French folk-horror, sees the Duke introducing his new wife Judith to her foreboding new home where terrible secrets hide within.

Natalya Romaniw makes a role debut as Judith, reuniting with the ENO Orchestra following numerous roles with the ENO including Mimi in La bohème, the title role in Tosca, and Mary Kelly in Jack the Ripper: The Women of Whitechapel. Joining her on stage is renowned bass-baritone John Relyea as the fearsome Bluebeard, his second role with the company this season after The Magic Flute and 2023’s The Rhinegold.

Peter Grimes

September 21 – October 11, 2023

The opening of the ENO’s 2023/24 season is marked by the return of David Alden’s searing psychological drama, Peter Grimes. This production showcases the ENO Chorus, along with the ENO Orchestra, conducted by the ENO’s Music Director Martyn Brabbins.

Peter Grimes is the tale of an ostracised outsider turned upon by the community, set against the melodramatic and claustrophobic backdrop of a Suffolk fishing village. The opera received its premiere by the ENO (then Sadler’s Wells Opera) in 1945.

Gwyn Hughes Jones makes a role debut as Peter Grimes. Also making a long-awaited role debut is soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn as Ellen Orford. Returning to the ENO is bass-baritone Simon Bailey in the role of Balstrode.

Joining them are ENO favourites Christine Rice as Auntie, Clive Bayley as Swallow, David Soar Hobson, and former ENO Harewood Artist Alex Otterburn as Ned Keene.

Iolanthe

October 5 – October 25, 2023

One of the most popular productions in company history, Iolanthe was debuted by notable comedy director Cal McCrystal in 2018, and now gets its first revival.

Flying fairies, quarrelsome lords, and an ensemble of quirky characters gather in this hilarious satire on British government, law and society.

McCrystal returns to the director’s chair to lend his characteristic slapstick panache to the production, with Chris Hopkins conducting after his success with The Yeomen of the Guard, HMS Pinafore and The Mikado.

Returning to their ‘roles are mezzo-soprano Samantha Price as titular Iolanthe, with soprano Ellie Laugharne as Phyllis and baritone Marcus Farnsworth as Strephon. Bass-baritone John Savournin performs the role of the Lord Chancellor. Mezzo-soprano Catherine Wyn-Rogers makes a role debut as the Queen of the Fairies.

La traviata

October 23 – November 12, 2023

Returning to the London Coliseum is Peter Konwitschny’s production of La traviata. Romantic and tragic in equal parts, Verdi’s most famous opera tells of heart-breakingly beautiful Violetta’s doomed love for Alfredo, for which she would sacrifice everything.

Soprano Nicole Chevalier sings the doomed courtesan. Her lover Alfredo is sung by tenor Jose Simerilla Romero . Alfredo’s father Giorgio is sung by baritone Roland Wood.

The Handmaid’s Tale

February 1 – February 15, 2024

Following its premiere in 2022, this is the first revival of the ENO’s Artistic Director Annilese Miskimmon’s production of The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the novel by Margaret Atwood. Joana Carneiro returns to conduct.

Set in a totalitarian state in which women, stripped of their identities and rights, are subjected to the whims of a patriarchal republic, this thought-provoking work magnifies the issues of state control and the fragility of freedom as heroine Offred struggles against the nightmare she finds herself in.

Returning to lead the cast is mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey as Offred. Also returning to their roles are contralto Avery Amereau as Serena Joy, tenor John Findon as Luke and soprano Rhian Lois as Janine/Ofwarren. Joining the cast in role debuts are soprano Rachel Nicholls as Aunt Lydia, bass James Creswell as The Commander and soprano Nadine Benjamin as Moira.

The Barber of Seville

February 12 – February 29, 2024

Jonathan Miller’s production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, first staged in 1987 at the ENO, is back to entertain audiences in February 2024.

Set in 18th century Seville, Rossini’s comic masterpiece is the first in Beaumarchais’s ‘Figaro trilogy’, making it a prequel to the story of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. The opera sees dashing Count Almaviva attempt to win the beautiful Rosina from the clutches of her guardian Dr Bartolo, enlisting the help of his barber Figaro and a series of cunning disguises along the way.

Leading this revival is director Peter Relton. Conductor Roderick Cox makes his ENO and UK opera debut.

Baritone Charles Rice is in the role of Figaro. The role of Rosina is performed by soprano Anna Devin, making her ENO and role debut.

Current Harewood Artist and tenor Innocent Masuku is performing the role of Count Almaviva. Antagonist Dr Bartolo is bass-baritone Simon Bailey in his second role of the season.

The Magic Flute

February 28 – March 30, 2024

Simon McBurney’s The Magic Flute is staged at the London Coliseum in collaboration with pioneering theatre company Complicité.

This unique rendition of one of Mozart’s most enduring operas combines singers and actors to evoke a magical world of monsters and mystery. Armed with only a magic flute, Prince Tamino is given a fantastical quest to rescue the Queen of The Night’s daughter Pamina from the High Priest Sarastro. A contemporary setting, with live sound effects, drawing, animation and the ENO Orchestra raised to stage level make this an accessible operatic event. Making her ENO debut conducting the ENO Orchestra is Erina Yashima.

Tenor Norman Reinhardt makes his ENO debut as Tamino. Rainelle Krause is The Queen of the Night.

Soprano and former ENO Harewood Artist Soraya Mafi makes her role debut as Pamina, with baritone David Stout singing Papageno, bass-baritone John Relyea as Sarastro, and tenor Peter Hoare as Monostatos.

Jenůfa

March 13 – March 27, 2024

David Alden’s production of Janáček’s Jenůfa returns to the London Coliseum, maintaining the ENO’s strong connection with the composer’s work, which began with Charles Mackerras’ championing it in the 1950s.

Based on the original late nineteenth century play by Gabriela Preissová, Jenůfa explores honour, love and sacrifice against the backdrop of a small, claustrophobic community and tangled family relationships. Premiering in Brno in 1904, the work launched Janácek’s operatic career.

Alden updates the opera’s original setting from a traditional Moravian village to an isolated twentieth century industrial estate in the Eastern Bloc.

Founding conductor and music director of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, Keri-Lynn Wilson conducts.

Soprano Jennifer Davis makes a role debut as Jenůfa. Making welcome returns to the ENO are soprano Susan Bullock singing Kostelnička and mezzo-soprano Fiona Kimm as Grandmother. Tenor Richard Trey Smagur makes his UK debut as Laca, with tenor and current ENO Harewood Artist John Findon singing his second ENO role of the season as Števa.

Public booking opens on June 7.

Sheridan Smith hits 100 shows as Duke of York’s Shirley Valentine

Shirley Valentine, the West End production of Willy Russell’s comedy, has celebrated 100 performances at the Duke of York’s Theatre.

The milestone was marked tonight after a century of shows starring Sheridan Smith, all selling out (including standing room).

Shirley Valentine is the joyous, life-affirming story of the woman (Smith) who got lost in marriage and motherhood, the woman who wound up talking to the kitchen wall whilst cooking her husband’s chips and egg. But Shirley still has a secret dream. And in her bag, an airline ticket. One day she may just leave a note, saying: ‘Gone! Gone to Greece.’

The show’s producer, David Pugh, said: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think that in 100 performances every seat would be sold with every standing position filled. This is a phenomenal achievement for Sheridan Smith and Willy Russell and one as a producer I am so proud of.”

Shirley Valentine continues its run at the Duke of York’s Theatre until June 3, 2023, with limited seats available for the final weeks. Find tickets here.

SHIRLEY VALENTINE is written by Willy Russell, directed by Matthew Dunster, designed by Paul Wills, with lighting design by Lucy Carter, sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph and is produced by David Pugh.

James Graham’s Dear England kicks off rehearsals for National Theatre run

Rehearsals are underway on Dear England, a new play by James Graham coming to the National Theatre.

Telling the story of the England men’s football team under manager Gareth Southgate, the cast is headed by Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Southgate and Gina McKee (My Policeman) as Pippa Grange, sports psychologist and head of people and team development at the Football Association from 2017 to 2019.

The cast also includes Josh Barrow as Jordan Pickford, Gunnar Cauthery as Gary Lineker, Will Close as Harry Kane, Crystal Condie as Alex Scott, Will Fletcher as Jordan Henderson, Sean Gilder as Sam Allardyce, Darragh Hand as Marcus Rashford, John Hodgkinson as Greg Clarke, Adam Hugill as Harry Maguire, Albert Magashi as Jadon Sancho, Kel Matsena as Raheem Sterling, Abdul Sessay as Bukayo Saka, Lewis Shepherd as Dele Alli, Paul Thornley as Mike Webster, Tony Turner as Greg Dyke and Ryan Whittle as Eric Dier. Nick Barclay, Tashinga Bepete, Will Harrison-Wallace and Miranda Heath complete the company. The cast will also be playing additional roles as part of the ensemble.

Following Tammy Faye and Ink, writer Graham (Best of Enemies, Sherwood) reunites with director Rupert Goold (Spring Awakening, Judy) for what is described as a gripping examination of both nation and game.

Dear England boasts set design by Es Devlin, costume design by Evie Gurney, lighting design by Jon Clark, movement direction by Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf, sound design by Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons, video design by Ash J Woodward and casting by Bryony Jarvis-Taylor. The dialect coach is Richard Ryder and associate director is Elin Schofield.

Dear England will play in the Olivier theatre from June 10 – 11 August 11.

Richmond Theatre hosts Dame Patricia Routledge and Lesley Garrett

Two British stars of stage and screen will appear at Richmond Theatre in June.

Facing the Music: Dame Patricia Routledge in Conversation with Edward Seckerson, and A Diva and A Piano with Lesley Garrett, will both take place on Sunday, June 25.

In Facing the Music, Dame Patricia will recall special parts of her career with access to some rare and treasured recordings. The British actress, comedian and singer is best known for her Bafta TV Award-nominated role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, To Sir, with Love and Lock Up Your Daughters.

The Olivier Award-winning actress will also discuss her stage work – including a Tony Award-winning performance in Darling of the Day and her performance as Nettie in the National Theatre’s 1992 production of Carousel – with writer and broadcaster Seckerson.

Garrett will then present an evening of song, reminiscences and chat, giving audiences a unique insight into her life on the stage with behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes.

As well as performing on the opera and concert stage both in the UK and internationally, Lesley has recently returned to English National Opera for the world premiere production of Nico Muhly’s Marnie. She has also starred in Carousel and The Sound of Music as well as appeared on television shows including Strictly Come Dancing and Loose Women. Lesley has performed with artists as diverse as Michael Ball, Renee Fleming, Andrea Bocelli and Lily Savage.

Tickets are on sale now.

Orange Tree unveils That Face for 2023/24 programme

The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond has unveiled its first full year of programming under new artistic director Tom Littler, with world and European premieres and the first major London revival of Polly Stenham’s That Face.

Niamh Cusack will make her OT debut in the autumn with That Face. Mustapha Matura’s Meetings follows, with Kalungi Ssebandeke directing this first major UK revival.

This year ends with Tom Littler and Francesca Ellis directing the 250th anniversary production of Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer; alongside the OT’s annual family show, Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol, based on Charles Dickens’ novel, adapted and directed by Becca Chadder.

In January, Zoe Cooper (Jess and Joe Forever, Out of Water) returns to the Orange Tree with her new play Northanger Abbey, inspired by Jane Austen’s novel, directed by Tessa Walker – in a coproduction with the Octagon Theatre Bolton, the Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough and Theatre by the Lake.

The turn of the year will bring a production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn; the UK premiere of Kate Attwell’s Testmatch, directed by Diane Page, a coproduction with ETT (English Touring Theatre) and Octagon Theatre Bolton; a rediscovery of Noël Coward’s Suite in Three Keys, directed by Littler; and completing the season, the European premiere of Lucas Hnath’s Red Speedo, directed by Matthew Dunster and co-produced with David Adkin.

The new season opens this summer with Orange Tree’s inaugural Greenhouse Festival showcasing the theatre’s OT New Artists programme and marking a new collaboration between the OT and the drama school LAMDA, including the creation of a new Associate Director position.

Headlining the Greenhouse Festival will be four productions by graduating LAMDA students, directing modern classics with their fresh and exciting takes on Ross Willis’ Wolfie (directed by Martha Barnett), Enda Walsh’s The Small Things (directed by Robert Elwood), Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal (directed by Anna Hampton) and Eugène Ionesco’s The Chairs (directed by Saniya Saraf).

Polly Stenham’s THAT FACE
Directed by Josh Seymour, September 9 – October 7, 2023
When Mia is expelled from boarding school, her mother Martha isn’t interested. Martha prefers to hang out with her son Henry. And now her estranged husband Hugh, who’s runoff to Hong Kong with his new girlfriend, is charging back threatening to sort things out. What is there to sort out? Everything is fine.

Mustapha Matura’s MEETINGS
Directed by Kalungi Ssebandeke, October 14 – November 11, 2023
Suited, booted, and stuffed with American burgers and fries, Hugh walks out of a meeting and buys a mango on the street. To the bemusement of his high-flying wife Jean, Hugh becomes obsessed with the foods of his Trinidadian childhood and hires a cook, Elsa, to indulge his nostalgic passion. Mustapha Matura’s razor-sharp comedy is about identity, belonging and the cost of progress.

Oliver Goldsmith’s SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER
Directed by Tom Littler with Francesca Ellis, November 18, 2023 – January 6, 2024
Christmas at Hardcastle Hall, where guests are assured of a hearty welcome. The gramophone is playing a Charleston, cocktails are in the shaker, and romance is in the air. Kate Hardcastle can’t wait to meet her intended iancé, Charles Marlow – but when Marlow finally turns up, he’s not the shy and retiring man anyone was expecting. Wily Kate soon realises that faint heart never won fair husband…

Becca Chadder’s TINY TIM’S CHRISTMAS CAROL
An adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, adapted and directed by Becca Chadder, December 18, 2023 – January 6, 2024
When Bob Cratchit takes over the company from his old boss Ebenezer Scrooge, he discovers it’s tough at the top. In fact, he works so hard that this year he might cancel Christmas. So now it’s up to Tiny Tim to remind his father of the story of Scrooge and the true meaning of Christmas. Charles Dickens’ much-loved Christmas story is reinvented for families with children aged five to ten.

Zoe Cooper’s NORTHANGER ABBEY
From the novel by Jane Austen, directed by Tessa Walker, January 24 – February 24, 2024
Catherine Moreland knows little of the world, but who needs real-life experience when you have novels to guide you? Catherine seizes her chance to escape her claustrophobic family and join the smart set in Bath. Between balls and parties, she meets worldly, sophisticated Isabella Thorpe – Iz, to her friends – and so Cath’s very own adventure begins.

Anton Chekhov’s UNCLE VANYA
Adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn, March 2 – April 13, 2024
Sonia and her Uncle Vanya lead an uneventful life on their country estate, animated only by visits from the dashing local doctor. But when Sonia’s famous father and his glamorous new wife unexpectedly turn up, old grudges return, and new desires ignite. In the heat of summer, tempers boil over and forbidden lusts threaten to end in catastrophe. 

Kate Attwell’s TESTMATCH
Directed by Diane Page, April 20 – May 18, 2024
Lord’s, present day. The Women’s Cricket World Cup: England versus India. There’s a rain delay. Stuck in the same locker room together, tensions mount, ambitions are laid bare and a whole new tactical game begins. Calcutta, 1800. Two British administrators encounter challenges on the field of play that threaten the entire regime. In this game of integrity and power, past and present collide.

Noël Coward’s SUITE IN THREE KEYS
Directed by Tom Littler, May 24 – July 6, 2024
In a luxury Swiss hotel suite, three separate stories unfold. In the full-length A Song at Twilight, an elderly writer faces blackmail at the hands of an ex-lover threatening to expose his secret past. Shadows of the Evening and Come into the Garden, Maud form a perfect double-bill, combining a late-life love triangle and a fizzing comedy about Americans abroad.

Lucas Hnath’s RED SPEEDO
Directed by Matthew Dunster, July 13 – Aug 10, 2024
Ray lives to swim. He is within touching distance of Olympic glory and a life-changing sponsorship deal. But everything changes when performance-enhancing drugs are discovered in the club’s refrigerator. As tensions run high, Ray’s brother wants them destroyed, his coach wants to call the authorities, his ex-girlfriend doesn’t want to know, and Ray wants the drugs back. A thriller played at the breakneck pace of an Olympic sprint, Red Speedo tackles the unforgiving weight of success in a world where the only crime is getting caught.

Pigs Might Fly lands cast ahead of UK tour

Megan Swaisland, Rachel Lea-Gray and Jazz Evans will head the cast of Pigs Might Fly, which is embarking on a UK tour that will take in Theatre Peckham and New Wimbledon Theatre.

The bold and energetic new musical follows the air-raising adventures of Pintsize (Swaisland), the youngest and most daring piglet on Mudpuddle Farm. Pintsize loves nothing more than playing with his neighbour and best friend Diana the sheep, until one day Pintsize wakes up to discover a tall fence built between their two farms.

Devastated by the loss of playtime with his best pal, Pintsize resolves that he will figure out how to fly over it instead. Can his determination and ingenuity defy the laws of physics? Will crotchety Farmer Rafferty (Evans) finally make peace with his neighbour, Farmer Brightwell (Lea-Gray)? Can Albertine the clever goose keep Pintsize from hurting himself as he tries to fly?

From DEM Productions and based on Michael Morpurgo’s Mudpuddle Farm, book, music and lyrics are by Caroline Wigmore and Jen Green. It is directed by Kate Golledge.

Pigs Might Fly has choreography by Chris Whittaker (Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Gatsby) and set and costume design by Stewart J Charlesworth (From Here To Eternity, The Dark).

The show will start its UK Tour on May 24, 2023 at Theatre Peckham before arriving at New Wimbledon Theatre on June 3-4.

Guy Masterson brings Under Milk Wood to Wilton’s Music Hall

Solo performer Guy Masterson will celebrate the 70th anniversary of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood with a week of shows at Wilton’s Music Hall.

Inspired by his uncle, Richard Burton, who led the first broadcast on the BBC World Service in January 1954, Olivier Award winner Masterson has brought the entirety of Thomas’ work to vivid life on stage, by himself, more than 2,000 times all over the world over the past 30 years.

All 69 of Thomas’ wonderfully quirky inhabitants of the fictional Welsh village Llareggub, from Blind Captain Cat, to Rosie Probert and the Reverend Eli Jenkins, are assiduously recreated in an amazing feat of memory and physical virtuosity.

Presented by Masterson and Theatre Tours International, the show is directed by Tony Boncza (with original direction by George Dillon), with original music and soundscape by Matt Clifford.

Under Milk Wood plays from May 9-13.

Lenny Henry celebrates August in England at Bush Theatre

Lenny Henry makes his playwriting debut in August in England, now on at the Bush Theatre.

Directed by Lynette Linton and Daniel Bailey, Henry writes and performs the one-man show that offers an insight into the lives impacted by the injustice of the Windrush scandal.

Charming, flawed, and with the gift of the gab, we all know a man like August Henderson. Between his three kids, devoted wife-to-be, and part-ownership of a fruit and veg shop, he is proud of the life he has built since landing in his beloved West Bromwich.

So, when faced with deportation to a country he has no memory of, he isn’t prepared to go quietly. Listen up, he is ready to tell his own story.

August in England is at the Bush Theatre until June 10.