1. Ben Whishaw is Waiting For Godot

We last saw Whishaw at the Royal Court (Bluets) and here he stars opposite Lucian Msamati (Talking Heads, Bridge Theatre) in the Beckett classic at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from 13 September through 14 December 2024. Tickets

• Read on for reasons including John Lithgow, Look Back In Anger and the return of Cable Street

2. John Lithgow in Giant at the Royal Court

Lithgow plays controversial author Roald Dahl in 1983 as The Witches is about to be published and the outcry at an antisemetic article he has written won’t die down. Mark Rosenblatt’s debut play runs at the Royal Court starring Tony and Golden Globe-winner Lithgow opposite Olivier Award-winner Elliot Levey (Cabaret, Kit Kat Club) from 20 September through 16 November 2024. Tickets Our review

3. Waleed Akhtar’s The Real Ones at the Bush

Akhtar wrote The P Word at this venue which was beaten by Prima Facie to the monsta for our Best New Play of 2022. The Real Ones is his new play starring It’s A Sin’s Nathaniel Curtis (Disruption, Park Theatre) in a story about best friends whose escape plan is to become playwrights. Runs at the Bush Theatre 6 September through 19 October 2024. Tickets

4. Look Back In Anger at the Almeida

Billy Howle (Dear Octopus, National Theatre) stars in this John Osborne classic directed by Atri Banerjee at the Almeida Theatre alongside Morfydd Clark who appears in Prime’s The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power which returns for a 2nd season 29 August. Look Back In Anger runs 20 September through 23 November 2024. Tickets Preview review

5. The Other Place starring Emma D’Arcy at the National

We last saw House Of The Dragon‘s D’Arcy opposite Whishaw in Bluets at the Royal Court this year and here they star opposite Tobias Menzies (Uncle Vanya, Almeida) and Nina Sosanya (Frozen, Theatre Royal Haymarket) in this re-imagining of Antigone about sisters who reunite on the death of their father. Runs at the Lyttelton 27 September through 9 November 2024. Tickets Preview review

6. David Oyelowo is Coriolanus

Lyndsey Turner (A Number, Old Vic) directs Oyelowo, who played Martin Luther King in 2014 film Selma, in this Shakespeare classic at the National from 11 September through 9 November 2024. Tickets Fellow cast members include Pamela Nomvete (To Kill A Mockingbird, Gielgud Theatre) and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (The Effect, National Theatre).

7. Cable Street at Southwark Playhouse

Given the recent UK riots, this new musical about events on 4 October 1936 in the East End’s Cable Street where its community of socialists, communists, Jews and Irish people refuse to let Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists pass suddenly feels even more relevant. We reviewed it at Southwark Playhouse (Borough) earlier this year and it returns to the venue’s larger Elephant venue 6 September through 10 October 2024. Tickets

8. Agoney LP

Agoney won our 2023 Best Song monsta for Benidorm Fest entry Quiero Arder. Their 2nd LP Dicotomia (Dichotomy) is out 20 September and follows a run of interesting singles including Intacto, Tormenta and Redención. It’s their 1st album for 4 years. Tickets

9. Slow Horses 4 on Apple

Apple’s adaptation of the Slough House novels by Mick Herron have been a hit starring Gary Oldman as unconventional MI5 boss Jackson Lamb and Jack Lowden (Measure For Measure, Donmar) as flawed agent River Cartwright. Series 4 returns 4 September 2024 with a 5th already greenlit.

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy Waiting For Godot and Theatre Royal Haymarket Tickets
• Have you seen a Ben Whishaw show before and what did you think of this 1? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
• Enjoyed this preview? Follow monstagigz on Twitter @NeilDurham, email neildurham3@gmail.com and check us out on Instagram and Facebook