WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Donmar Warehouse
WHEN: 29/4, runs to 18/6
At just 75 minutes long Elegy feels like the obvious follow-up to author Nick Payne’s biggest hit Constellations, an exploration of free will and quantum physics, which opened on Broadway over a year ago starring Jake Gyllenhaal after a West End transfer.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE: Old Vic
WHEN: 2/4, runs to 14/5
It’s 19 years since star Timothy Spall last acted on stage and just over one since his tremendous grumbling titular turn in Mike Leigh’s biopic Mr Turner inexplicably failed to earn him a best actor Oscar nomination.
Q: Who is the most nominated actor still living never to win an Oscar? A: Glenn Close (The World According To Garp, The Big Chill, The Natural (supporting nods), Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, Albert Nobbs (lead nods)). She brings a touch of Hollywood glamour to the Coliseum and we’re at the 1/4 first preview as this runs to 7/5. Tickets here. Picture via Facebook courtesy English National Opera.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Royal Court Theatre
WHEN: 3/2, running to 12/3
We first fell in love with Linda Bassett (pictured far left) in 1999 comedy East is East as an English mother married to a Pakistani Muslim and struggling to raise their family in 70s Manchester.
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHERE: Old Vic
WHEN: 29/1, runs to 19/3
Paranoid and egotistical master builder Halvard Solness (Ralph Fiennes) is going through a midlife crisis: he fears the young are seeking to do him out of a job yet is infatuated by a woman many years his junior.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE: Savoy Theatre
WHEN: 20/12 runs to 12/3/16
Casting has been announced for next year’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and its hero is Jamie Parker, who is currently starring in Guys and Dolls in the West End.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2
WHERE: Old Vic
WHEN: 17/12 runs to 16/1
We’ve been quite critical of Matthew Warchus’ tenure as Old Vic artistic director but this is his debut season’s first real success and it draws on much of which made his Matilda such a must-see.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE: Young Vic
WHEN: 5/12 (matinee), runs to 19/12
‘If you treat people like animals, they’ll behave like them.’ It’s an observation by protagonist Paul (rising star Brian Vernel, menacing and brilliant here) referring to football clubs’ treatment of their fans as he waits ticketless outside the only game he’ll miss this season, the 1976 FA Cup final, but it references much else here. Read More
It’s almost Christmas and what would the festive season be without some recognition of the best of 2015? Over the next fortnight we’ll shortlist five nominees in each of 11 categories for our Oscars, or monstas if you will, of 2015. Read on for the nominees for the monsta for gig of the year.
Would becoming a member of your favourite theatre make it easier for you to get the most in-demand tickets? We became a member of six of our favourite London venues to see what the value for money is.
Read on to find out what membership of the Almeida, Barbican, British Film Institute, Menier Chocolate Factory, National Theatre and Old Vic gets you.
