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Opening: Honeymoon, Hare's Way & an RSC Shrew

Amongst the major London openings taking place this week are:

OPENING TONIGHT, Monday 12 January 2004 (previews from 8 January), (See News, 4 Nov 2003), English Touring Theatre's production of Honeymoon Suite premieres at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, where it continues to 7 February. The latest from Richard Bean (The God Botherers, Under the Whaleback, The Mentalists), the new play imagines what would have happened in the marriage of Romeo and Juliet had Shakespeare’s young star-crossed lovers lived. Honeymoon Suite was awarded the 2003 Pearson New Play of the Year Award.

OPENING TUESDAY, 13 January 2004 (previews from 8 January), Out of Joint’s co-production of David Hare's new play The Permanent Way comes to the National’s Cottesloe Theatre, where it’s running in repertory until 1 May as part of its national tour to 22 May (See News, 8 Oct 2003). Billed as an "extraordinary parable of British mismanagement", The Permanent Way is based on first-hand accounts with those most closely involved in the privatisation of the railways that, since 1991, has brought about the UK's modern transport chaos. It’s directed by Out of Joint artistic director Max Stafford-Clark and designed by William Dudley (The Coast of Utopia, Hitchcock Blonde).

OPENING THURSDAY, 15 January 2004 (preview 14 January), the Royal Shakespeare Company’s highly acclaimed production of The Taming of the Shrew transfers to the West End’s Queen’s Theatre for a limited season to 6 March 2004 (See News, 26 Nov 2003). In both Shakespeare's comedy and John Fletcher's lesser-known sequel, The Tamer Tamed, with which its paired, Jasper Britton and Alexandra Gilbreath play the alternately wooing, warring and wedding Petruchio and his respective wives Kate and Maria. Both productions, originally opened last spring in Stratford-upon-Avon, are directed by RSC associate director Gregory Doran.

The Tamer Tamed will join The Taming of the Shrew in repertory from next week. This is believed to be the first major pairing of the two plays in some 370 years. They are also likely to be the last plays performed at the 980-seat Queen's for a very long while, as they’ll be followed by Cameron Mackintosh's production of Boublil and Schonberg's long-running blockbuster musical Les Miserables, which moves house in April after 18 years at the Palace Theatre down the road (See News, 21 Nov 2003).

DON'T MISS our Whatsonstage.com Outing to The Taming of the Shrew on 29 January! You’ll pay just £22.50 for top-price seats, post-show discussion & a 50% discount to return for The Tamer Tamed on your own - click here for info!

- by Terri Paddock

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