Opening: Bette & Joan, Wind, Balance & Fings

OPENING TUESDAY, 10 May 2011 (previews from 5 May), Anita Dobson and Greta Scacchi bring to life the legendary feud between screen divas and rivals Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in the world premiere of Anton Burge’s Bette & Joan, which runs at the Arts Theatre for a seven week season.

ALSO ON TUESDAY (previews from 3 May), Jon Fosse’s “moving contemporary fable” I Am the Wind is staged at the Young Vic in a new adaptation by Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens (Pornography, Punk Rock). Directed by renowned Frenchman Patrice Chéreau, it runs until 21 May 2011.

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OPENING THURSDAY, 12 May 2011 (previews from 5 May), Edward Albee’s 1966 Broadway classic A Delicate Balance is revived at the Almeida Theatre with a cast featuring Tim Pigott-Smith, Penelope Wilton, Imelda Staunton and Lucy Cohu. Directed by James Macdonald, who helmed Judgment Day at the Almeida in 2009, it continues to 2 July 2011.

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OPENING FRIDAY, 13 May 2011 (previews from 10 May), Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be, the East End ‘play with music’ that launched the career of Barbara Windsor in 1960, is revived at the Union Theatre. The show, by Lionel Bart (Oliver!) and Frank Norman, centres on Fred, a loveable rogue, who comes out of prison to find he is not quite the king of the manor he once was. Directed by Phil Willmott, it continues to 4 June.