1. Death Of England: The Plays @SohoPlace

Death Of England: Michael, Death Of England: Delroy and Death Of England: Closing Time were written by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams and were originally performed at the National Theatre. Delroy won monstas for our Best New Play in 2020 and Best Theatre Actor for Michael Balogun in 2020. You can see these plays starring Paapa Essiedu (The Effect, National Theatre) and Erin Doherty (Crave, Chichester Festival Theatre) singly or in combinations during this innovative run. Runs 15 July through 28 September 2024. Tickets

• Read on for reasons including new musical Why Am I So Single?, Victorious Festival and A Chorus Line

2. Why Am I So Single? at the Garrick

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss follow SIX, now at the Vaudeville Theatre in London’s West End, with a new musical about 2 friends’ lives, love, dating, friendship … and bees. Runs at the Garrick Theatre 27 August through 13 February 2025. Tickets

3. Victorious Festival at Southsea

Headliners at this bank holiday music festival right on the south coast in Portsmouth include Fatboy Slim, Jamie T and Biffy Clyro. But there are 13 stages to whet the appetite and we always look forward to Brighton/Southampton’s Welly and other acts to look out for include Wet Leg, Sugababes, Lightning Seeds and Echobelly. Tickets A Humdrum Mum’s highlights preview

4. Bernadette Peters at Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Peters starred in Sondheim’s Old Friends in London’s West End last year and transfers with it to Broadway in March 2025. On 12 August she plays for 1 night only in London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane promising an evening of song featuring music from the Broadway shows that have earned her critical acclaim, as well as tracks from her Grammy Award winning and nominated albums including standards and classics from Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman, among others. Tickets

5. A Chorus Line in London

The touring production of this classic musical set in a 1975 Broadway audition starring Carly Mercedes Dyer (Anything Goes, Barbican) arrives at London’s Sadler’s Wells and runs 31 July through 25 August 2024 before travelling to Norwich, Canterbury, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh and High Wycombe. Tickets Our review

6. James McArdle in The Real Thing

McArdle (The Tragedy Of Macbeth, Almeida Theatre) won our 2021 Best Theatre Actor monsta and here stars opposite Bel Powley in Tom Stoppard’s play about the marriage between a playwright and an actress directed by Max Webster (Minority Report, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith). Runs at the Old Vic through 22 August to 26 October 2024. Tickets

7. The Years at the Almeida

Deborah Findlay (Orlando, Garrick Theatre), Romola Garai (Measure For Measure, Young Vic) and Gina McKee (Dear England, National Theatre) lead the cast as 5 different actors bring 1 woman’s personal and political story to life, set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing post-war Europe at the Almeida Theatre 27 July through 31 August. Tickets

8. Will Young Light It Up LP

Young’s 9th LP is released 9 August and includes the singles Falling Deep and Midnight. We last saw him live at EartH, Hackney in 2021 and said: ‘We’ve just read his book How To Be A Gay Man and that, coupled with the real-life interaction here, gives a real sense of his character, heart, sense of mischief and self-deprecating sense of humour that we’ve sometimes struggled to find in his music.’ A 50-gig UK tour takes place this fall including 2 gigs at London’s intimate Cadogan Hall. Tickets Theatrically we last saw him at Hampstead Theatre in 2023 in Song From Far Away. Our review

9. Mean Girls at the Savoy

Based on the 2004 film, with a book by Tina Fey and lyrics by Nell Benjamin and music by Jeff Richmond, this tale of a teenage girl who transfers to a public high school after being homeschooled her whole life in Africa plays at the Savoy Theatre through 16 February 2025. Tickets Stars include Grace Mouat (Be More Chill, Shaftesbury Theatre) and Ako Mitchell (Bonnie And Clyde, Arts Theatre).

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy Death Of England: The Plays and Nimax Theatres Tickets
• Have you seen a Paapa Essiedu show before and what did you think of this 1? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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