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Top 5 theatre openings: 23 – 29 October

The Bridge Theatre opens its first production, while Emma Rice debuts her new musical in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in the week’s top openings

Simon Rouse and Alice Bailey Johnson in Insignificance
Simon Rouse and Alice Bailey Johnson in Insignificance
© Mark Tanner

5. Insignificance

Arcola Theatre until 18 November

Writer Terry Johnson debuted Insignificance at the Royal Court in 1982, and now returns with a cast including Johnson's own daughter Alice Bailey Johnson. The show, which was adapted into a film and nominated for the Palme d'Or in 1985, imagines a fictionalised meeting between four iconic figures – Marilyn Monroe, Joseph McCarthy, Joe DiMaggio, and Albert Einstein.

Read our interview with Terry Johnson and Alice Bailey Johnson here.


Patrick Godfrey and Catherine Steadman in Witness for the Prosecution
Patrick Godfrey and Catherine Steadman in Witness for the Prosecution
© Sheila Burnett

4. Witness for the Prosecution

London County Hall until 11 March

Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution started life as a novella before being adapted for the stage in the 1950s, and will now return in a site-specific run at the cavernous County Hall. Starring Catherine Steadman and David Yelland with direction from Lucy Bailey, the show will play out a court case live on stage, in front of a jury made up of audience members. With an even more exciting twist, audiences then get to give a verdict to end the show.

See the full casting announced for Witness for the Prosecution.


Laura Caldow, Ben Thompson and David Ricardo-Pearce (Puppeteers) and Simon Paisley Day (The Once-ler)
Laura Caldow, Ben Thompson and David Ricardo-Pearce (Puppeteers) and Simon Paisley Day (The Once-ler)
© Manuel Harlan

3. The Lorax

Old Vic Theatre until 5 November

The Lorax was nominated for an Olivier Award when it first opened at the Old Vic in December 2015, and the show now returns for a three-week run at the same venue. Adapted for the stage by David Greig with music and lyrics by Charlie Fink, Dr Seuss's famed creation battles to save the magical trees of Paradise Valley from encroaching forces. The ideal way to spend a half term holiday.

Read our review of the original Lorax run at the Old Vic.


Romantics Anonymous in rehearsals
Romantics Anonymous in rehearsals
© Steve Tanner

2. Romantics Anonymous

Shakespeare's Globe until 6 January

Emma Rice concludes her time working as artistic director at Shakespeare's Globe with new musical Romantics Anonymous, based on the 2010 French film Les Émotifs anonymes. A love story set in a cosy chocolate factory, the show will star Carly Bawden, Dominic Marsh and Joanna Riding. Against the backdrop of the candle-lit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Romantics Anonymous rounds off Rice's time at the venue with something rather different.

See the full casting announcement for Romantics Anonymous.


Rory Kinnear and the cast of Young Marx
Rory Kinnear and the cast of Young Marx
© Manuel Harlan

1. Young Marx

Bridge Theatre until 31 December

The eagerly anticipated Bridge Theatre finally officially opens its first show in the form of Richard Bean and Clive Coleman's Young Marx. Starring Rory Kinnear and Oliver Chris, the show charts the early life of famous socialite-turned-socialist Marx as he languishes in Soho. Directed by the venue's artistic director Nicholas Hytner, Young Marx is an exciting glimpse at what the Bridge will have in store for future audiences.

Take a look at the production in photos here.