Theatre News

Opening: Spelling Bee, Frankenstein, Losing It

Theo Bosanquet
London's West End Off-West End

Amongst the major London openings, in the West End and further afield, this week are:

OPENING TONIGHT, Monday 21 February 2011 (previews from 11 February), William Finn and Rebecca Feldman’s musical comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee receives its UK premiere at the Donmar Warehouse, with a cast including Katherine Kingsley and The League of Gentlemen’s Steve Pemberton, directed by Jamie Lloyd and running until 2 April.

OPENING TUESDAY, 22 February 2011 (previews from 5 February), Oscar winner Danny Boyle returns to his theatre roots by directing Nick Dear’s stage version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating in the roles of the scientist and his creature, at the National’s Lyttelton. A second press night will be held on 23 February, to allow critics to see the two leads in both roles.

OPENING THURSDAY, 24 February 2011 (previews from 22 February), comedian-turned-actor Les Dennis stars in Alan Ayckbourn’s Drowning on Dry Land, directed by Guy Retallack at Jermyn Street Theatre, running until 19 March.

ALSO ON THURSDAY (previews from 18 February), artistic director Stephen Unwin helms As You Like It at the Rose, Kingston for a run to 26 March.

ALSO ON THURSDAY (previews from 15 February), comedian and television personality Ruby Wax brings Losing It?, her “play with songs” about mental illness, directed by Thea Sharrock, to the Menier Chocolate Factory for five weeks to 19 March.

ALSO ON THURSDAY (previews from 22 February), veteran actor Edward Fox brings to life the characters of Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope in Trollope in Barsetshire at Riverside Studios, where it runs until 2 April.

ALSO ON THURSDAY (previews from 18 February), director Gerald Thomas inaugurates his London Dry Opera Company with the premiere of his company-devised piece Throats at the Pleasance Theatre, running until 27 March.

OPENING FRIDAY, 25 February 2011 (previews from 24 February), Fevered Sleep’s children’s show And the Rain Falls Down – which imagines “a world where every drop of water has a life of its own” – opens in the Young Vic’s Maria studio for a run to 12 March.

ON SUNDAY, 27 February 2011, The Songs of Bobby Cronin, showcasing the work of the award-winning American composer/lyricist, is presented for one night at the New Players Theatre.