Opening: Faith Machine, Losing It, Globe God, Dragon

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

OPENING WEDNESDAY, 31 August 2011 (previews from 25 August), Ian McDiarmid and Hayley Atwell star in Alexi Kaye Campbell’s new play The Faith Machine at the Royal Court Downstairs. Centring on a young couple in New York and exploring “the relationship between faith and capitalism”, it continues until 1 October.

ALSO ON WEDNESDAY (preview 30 August), Carol Bunyan’s dark comedy The Company of Strangers, set in a nursing home, premieres at The Courtyard Theatre with a run to 25 September 2011.

ALSO ON WEDNESDAY (preview 30 August), Marsha’s Norman’s 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning play ‘night, Mother receives its UK premiere at the Old Red Lion. A “darkly comic, heart-wrenching tale of love and its limits”, it continues until 24 September.

OPENING THURSDAY, 1 September 2011 (preview 31 August), after two sell-out runs at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Ruby Wax brings Losing It, her show about battling depression, co-written with singer-songwriter Judith Owens, to the Duchess Theatre, for five weeks to 1 October.

ALSO ON THURSDAY (previews from 27 August), Chris Hannan’s The God of Soho, set in “a world addicted to drugs and handbags, to flash-bulbs and tabloid exposure, and to the overwhelming need for attention”, premieres at Shakespeare’s Globe, running in rep until 30 September.

ALSO ON THURSDAY (previews from 24 August), David Davalos’ Wittenberg, pitting Doctor Faustus against Martin Luther in a battle for troubled student Hamlet, receives its European premiere at the Gate Theatre, with a cast including Sean Campion. It continues until 1 October.

ALSO ON THURSDAY, Neil Labute’s 9/11 drama The Mercy Seat is revived at the Pleasance, Islington, where it runs until 18 September.

OPENING FRIDAY, 2 September 2011 (previews from 31 August), Trudi Styler makes a rare stage appearance in A Dish of Tea with Dr Johnson, a three-hander about the life of Samuel Johnson, for Out of Joint at the Arts Theatre, running until 24 September.
 

ALSO ON FRIDAY (preview 1 September), Ramin Gray’s inaugural production as ATC artistic director, the UK premiere of German writer Roland Schimmelpfennig’s The Golden Dragon, set in a Chinese takeaway, arrives at the Arcola Theatre for a run to 24 September.

ALSO ON FRIDAY, new youth musical Carnival, celebrating the heart and soul of the annual Notting Hill event, premieres at the Cockpit Theatre with a three-day run.

ALSO ON FRIDAY (previews from 30 August), Juan Radrigán’s Beasts (La Brutas), set against the backdrop of the Pinochet regime’s ascent to power in Chile, receives its UK premiere at Theatre503, translated by Catherine Boyle and directed by Sue Dunderdale. Until 24 September.

OPENING SATURDAY, 2 September 2011, Antic Disposition marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s The Tempest with a staging at the historic Middle Temple Hall, running for two nights only.