THEATRE REVIEW: The Cherry Orchard starring Kristin Scott Thomas & Stephen Mangan at the Harold Pinter Theatre

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Monday 5 October, opens 13 October and runs through 9 January 2027 RUNTIME: 150 minutes (including a 20-minute interval but aiming for 135)

Scott Thomas (Electra, Old Vic) from Apple TV’s Slow Horses leads this cast with wonderful grace, chutzpah and charisma as Ranevskaya, a broke aristocratic landowner returning to her under-threat estate in the country with the titular fruit-bearing wood.

  • Read on for reasons including how Scott Thomas is less slow horses and more galloping show pony
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THEATRE REVIEW: Bloodsport After Helen Of Troy starring Michelle Dockery, Laura Aikman and Maimuna Memon at Stratford East

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Saturday 3 October and runs through 10 October 2026 RUNTIME: 120 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Author Ava Pickett is longlisted for our Best New Play monsta for 1536 (Ambassadors Theatre) and don’t be surprised to see this modern-day update of the Helen Of Troy story join it on the soon-to-be-announced shortlist.

  • Read on for reasons including how the West End deserves to see this fiery writing topped off by Dockery’s astonishing transformation
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SONG OF THE MONTH Skinny Boy by Welly (October 2026)

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WORTH A LOOK? ****

Southampton 5-piece Welly approach their difficult 2nd album – or is it technically their 3rd? – without fear on this 145-second tale of being rebuffed romantically that feels more New Order than their previous Britpop-inspired efforts.

  • Read on for reasons including where to see Welly on a UK and European tour this autumn
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AWARDS SHORTLIST: MONSTAS: Best Podcast of 2026

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It’s been quite the year, it’s almost Christmas and what would the festive season be without some recognition of the best of 2026? Over the next 3 months we’ll shortlist five nominees in each of 17 categories for our Oscars, or monstas if you will, of 2026.

  • Read on for the nominees for the monsta for Best Podcast of 2026 2025 winner London Theatre Review Listen 2024 winner Kermode and Mayo’s Take Listen 2023 AussieVision 2021 and 2022 winner Second Cherry
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Danceteria by Soft Cell (October 2026)

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

Tracklist: Elusive; Danceteria; The Space Inside; Times Square; Two Of A Kind; The Rainbow Room; In Heaven (When I Dance With You); Decadence Is Hard Work; Crackland; What Is Your Morality?; Losing Yourself; After Hours; Wave To America; Out Come The Freaks

Keyboardist Dave Ball died last October shortly after finishing work on Soft Cell’s final album which sees them perfecting some of the best work of their career while lyrically returning to early 80s New York, a pivotal time for the duo.

  • Read on for reasons including Danceteria is a wildly entertaining, reflective and fitting epitaph to both Soft Cell and Dave Ball
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THEATRE REVIEW: RENT The Musical starring Gaten Matarazzo at Tom Stoppard’s Theatre

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Wednesday 30 September, opens 8 October and runs through 27 March 2027 RUNTIME: 175 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Matarazzo from Netflix’s Stranger Things is cast perfectly as Mark the filmmaker chronicling the lives of bohemian friends in the late 80s/early 90s in New York’s East Village in this classic musical revival.

  • Read on for reasons including how brilliant the onstage seating experience is for this production
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THEATRE REVIEW: Affluenza starring Noah Schnapp at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Monday 28 September, opens 5 October and runs through 21 November 2026 RUNTIME: 135 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

The most interesting thing about the new play Schnapp from Netflix’s Stranger Things has chosen for his stage debut is the dramatic rug pull it executes at the beginning of its 2nd act transforming the audience’s perspective.

  • Read on for reasons including how Schnapp has the potential for a promising stage career ahead of him if he so chooses
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THEATRE REVIEW Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? starring Gillian Anderson @SohoPlace

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Saturday 26 September, opens 30 September and runs through 19 December 2026 RUNTIME: 210 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Gillian Anderson gave us the definitive Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Young Vic on a revolving stage a decade ago and here performs a similar trick as Martha.

  • Read on for reasons including how Anderson’s performance is 1 for the history books as she gives an unforgettable take on a classic role
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THEATRE REVIEW The Standard Of Living starring Rory Kinnear at Theatre Royal Haymarket

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Wednesday 23 September, opens 29 September and runs through 12 December 2026 RUNTIME: 150 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

This is the story of John Maynard Keynes, considered one of the most influential economists of the 20th century, who turned his back on a life of homosexuality as part of the Bloomsbury Group and married a Russian ballerina.

  • Read on for reasons including how this story is probably more for James Graham die-hard fans only rather than a mainstream audience
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