Polar Bears by Mark Haddon opens at the Donmar tonight
Be There First: London Shows Opening
Tonight's hot theatre ticket is Mark Haddon's much talked-about theatrical debut, Polar Bears, opening at the Donmar Warehouse.
If you're looking for something with tickets easier to come by, comedy Wet Weather Cover, starring Michael Brandon and Steve Furst opens at the Arts Theatre tomorrow.
A double bill of American angst comes the National Theatre tomorrow: Beyond The Horizon by Eugene O'Neill and Spring Storm by Tennessee Williams transfer from the Royal and Derngate Northampton as part of a Young America Season.
Andersen's English imagines at meeting between Charles Dickens and Hans Christian Andersen at the Hampstead Theatre from Thursday.
Also opening on Thursday is a double bill of Willy Russell goodness at the Menier Chocolate Factory: Shirley Valentine starring Meera Syal and Educating Rita (with EastEnder Larry Lamb) are only on for a month, so be quick!
If you're looking for some new dance this week, here's a couple of nods: tomorrow sees Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity dancing at the Hammersmith Apollo. Bringing A Toy Story To Life is a new show about, well, toys coming to life, actually. If you're looking for something more classical, Cinderella comes to the Royal Opera House from Saturday. On Monday, Micro opens at the Gate Theatre: it's an electrifying live music concert with theatre and dance that "defies classification", according to the website.
Artswise, the ever-interesting Haunch of Venison gallery has two exciting openings this week. Choose from "Glasnost" (Soviet non-conformist art from the 1980s and 190s) or "Forever Foreign" by Rina Banerjee (sculpture, drawings and assemblage by the Bengali-American artist), or see both as they're both free. Elsewhere, Lowry's Travels opens at the Halcyon Gallery on Saturday, showing 20 of the popular artist's works from around the UK.
Last Chance To See: London Shows Closing
Saturday sees the final curtain for a whole bunch of London's current theatre shows: Duchess of Malfi at Greenwich Theatre, Gambling at the Soho Theatre, The Little Dog Laughed at the Garrick Theatre, Measure for Measure at the Almeida Theatre, and Sweet Nothings at the Young Vic.
Decode at the V&A closes on Sunday, as does Identity at the Wellcome Collection and the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum. Anything hot you think we've missed? Tell us in the comments below.
