Our pick of London’s best theatre, musicals, opera, comedy and dance opening this week; plus a head’s up so you don’t miss out on those shows leaving town in the next seven days…
THEATRE
As it is Shakespeare’s birthday, there are a couple of the Bard’s shows opening tonight. Take your pick from Othello, starring Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear at the National Theatre; or The Tempest starring Roger Allam and Colin Morgan starting previews at Shakespeare’s Globe. Tomorrow, Glory Dazed opens at the Soho Theatre; a darkly comic and acerbic look at the impact of war on soldiers returning home. On Thursday, Colin McPherson’s haunting tale The Weir comes to the Donmar Warehouse. On Sunday, Over The Bridge opens at the Finborough Theatre, bringing the first London production of this classic Ulster play in more than 50 years. From Monday, the international Globe To Globe series returns to Shakespeare’s Globe with Venus & Adonis by the Isango Ensemble.
MUSICAL
Tonight, Britain’s Got Talons opens at the Hen & Chickens Theatre, promising a gripping tale of deceit, death and duets. An unconventional love story about two young artists, Rooms – A Rock Romance comes to the Finborough Theatre from Thursday.
KIDS’ THEATRE
Charlie and Lola’s Extremely New Play comes to the Polka Theatre from Saturday this month. You can see a version of Romeo and Juliet in contemporary language at the Unicorn Theatre from Monday. Perfect for getting little people into Shakespeare.
OPERA
Just the one opera recommendation for us this week, but it's a classic: La Bohème returns to the London Coliseum on Monday performed by the ENO.
DANCE
Tonight is the first night for Draftworks at the Linbury Studio: four nights of new and experimental choreography from the Royal Ballet. Or you can see Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty at the New Wimbledon Theatre. Bourne’s new production is a gothic romance for all ages based on the traditional fairytale - see our video taster below. Tomorrow you can catch the puzzlingly named Puz/zle at Sadler’s Wells, a new work by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui that explores whether there is more than one way of solving a puzzle. From Saturday, Uprising / The Art of Not Looking Back takes over at Sadler’s Wells: two acclaimed works by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Hofesh Shechter.
COMEDY
There’s masses of comedy in London this week. Our highlights include Andy Zaltzman: Political Animal at the Udderbelly from Thursday; Christian O’Connell: Live Work in Progress at the Hen & Chickens Theatre; and Festival of the Spoken Nerd at Udderbelly.
LAST CHANCE
Saturday is your last chance to see Proof at the Menier Chocolate Factory; Rope at Brockley Jack Theatre; and Macbeth at the Trafalgar Studios. The critically acclaimed Paper Dolls closes at the Tricycle Theatre on Sunday. Enjoy.
