WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2
WHERE? National Theatre (Lyttelton) RUNTIME: 90 minutes (no interval)
WHEN? 26/8, opens 29/8 and runs to 25/11/19
Stars Alex Jennings and Lindsay Duncan boast 5 Olivier Awards between them and we really couldn’t be in safer hands.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE? Turbine Theatre RUNTIME: 150 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)
WHEN? 25/8, opens 6/9 and runs to 13/10/19
Welcome to London’s newest theatre at a venue close to Battersea Power Station which we last visited in the late 90s for a pop gig starring Robbie Williams, Gary Barlow and All Saints.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE? Noel Coward Theatre RUNTIME: 65 minutes (no interval)
WHEN? 20/8, opens 28/8 and runs to 14/9/19
No Time To Die is revealed as the title of the new Bond film Waller-Bridge co-wrote moments before she takes to the West End stage to kill off the character with which she made her name.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE? Gielgud Theatre RUNTIME: 170 minutes (including 20-minute interval)
WHEN? 17/8 and runs to 30/11/19
STOP PRESS: This production returns at the Sondheim Theatre for 6 weeks from 5/12/20 Tickets
This year’s BBC adaptation of Les Miserables was song-free and here that idea is very much reversed with the focus on the score of the behemoth musical with the labyrinthine plot far less well explained.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE? Donmar Warehouse RUNTIME: 165 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)
WHEN? 16/8, opens 22/8 and runs to 5/10/19
The stage is so cluttered that at a suitably dramatic moment lead Monica Dolan turns on her heels, loses her balance, falls off the stage and ends up in an unsuspecting audience member’s lap.
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHERE? Almeida Theatre RUNTIME: 170 minutes (with 20-minute interval)
WHEN? 12/8, opens 20/8 and runs to 28/9/19
STOP PRESS: The Doctor transfers to the Duke Of Yorks in the West End from April 2020 Tickets
Welcome to writer/director Robert Icke’s final production as Associate Director at this venue in a remarkable run which has seen 3 West End transfers at 5 attempts.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE? Kiln Theatre RUNTIME: 120 minutes (including 20-minute interval)
WHEN? 3/8, runs to 7/9/19
It’s our 1st visit to north London’s refurbished Kiln Theatre and we’re in the centre of the front row to see Olivier Award-winning Sharon D. Clarke’s (pictured above) turn in this musical set in a rundown Chicago hotel in 1938 and concentrating on the lives of 3 women.
STOP PRESS: This production of Evita is now booking at the Barbican 27/6 to 22/8/20 Tickets
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE? Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre RUNTIME: 130 minutes (plus 20-minute interval)
WHEN? 2/8, opens 8/8, runs to 21/9/19
It’s apt that in the week where UK girl group musical Six announces its Broadway transfer, that the latest actress to play Evita should have the voice of Anna Kendrick and the moves of Cheryl Cole.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE? Soho Theatre RUNTIME: 120 minutes (no interval)
WHEN? 18/7, press night 23/7, runs to 24/8/19
It’s the 1st preview and this European premiere of a recent Off Broadway success is starting 15 minutes later than advertised and running 15 minutes longer than expected – but receives a standing ovation at its climax.
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHERE? Above The Stag RUNTIME: 130 minutes (with 20 minute interval)
WHEN? 7/7, opens 10/7 runs to 31/8/19
STOP PRESS: Tickets for MUSIK’s London run in September go on sale at 10am 29/7/19 here.
We saw the original production of this musical in 2001 and authors Jonathan Harvey and Pet Shop Boys have written a follow up of sorts featuring lead character Billie Trix which premieres at this summer’s Edinburgh Fringe.
