Opening: Nunn’s Tempest, NT Kitchen, Diva & Decade
Amongst the major London openings, in the West End and further afield, this week are:
OPENING TONIGHT, Monday 5 September 2011 (previews from 1 September), Olivier Award-winner Debbie Tucker Green’s new play truth and reconciliation, examining on conflicts from Northern Ireland to Zimbabwe, premieres in the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, directed by the author and continuing until 24 September.
OPENING TUESDAY, 6 September 2011 (previews from 27 August), Ralph Fiennes stars as Prospero in Trevor Nunn’s staging of The Tempest at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. The production, the third in Nunn’s tenure as artistic director of the venue, also features Nicholas Lyndhurst as Trinculo, and runs in a strictly limited season until 29 October 2011.
ALSO ON TUESDAY, Woyzeck on the Highveld, from Tony Award-winning War Horse creators Handspring Puppet Company, opens for a week at the Barbican as part of a UK and European tour.
ALSO ON TUESDAY (previews from 1 September), Ragtime, Terrence McNally and Stephen Flaherty’s 1996 Broadway musical based on EL Doctorow’s novel, is revived at the Landor Theatre for a run to 8 October.
OPENING WEDNESDAY, 7 September 2011 (previews from 31 August), Bijan Sheibani revives Arnold Wesker’s 1959 play The Kitchen, set behind the scenes at a large West End restaurant, at the National’s Olivier, where it runs in rep until 9 November 2011.
ALSO ON WEDNESDAY, Respect La Diva, the new jukebox show from Thriller Live creator Adrian Grant, pays tribute to iconic divas from Aretha Franklin to Whitney Houston, in a limited season to 24 September at the Garrick Theatre.
ALSO ON WEDNESDAY (previews from 3 September), Out of Joint’s celebration of Samuel Johnson, A Dish Of Tea With Dr Johnson, returns to London at the Arts Theatre, starring Luke Griffin, Ian Redford, Trudie Styler and directed by Max Stafford-Clark. Until 24 September.
OPENING THURSDAY (previews from 1 September), Decade, Headlong’s site-specific piece to mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11, is directed by Rupert Goold in a disused office building at St Katharine Docks for a limited run until 15 October.
ALSO ON THURSDAY, 8 September 2011 (previews from 6 September), Slave – A Question of Freedom, based on a real-life modern story about a girl sold into slavery, opens at Riverside Studios, where it runs until 1 October.
OPENING FRIDAY, 9 September 2011 (previews from 2 September), the Young Vic revives Enda Walsh’s Disco Pigs, about two teenagers torn apart by their sexual awakening, in the Clare Studio. Directed by Cathal Cleary and starring Charlie Murphy and
Rory Fleck-Byrne, it runs until 24 September.
ALSO ON FRIDAY, 9 September 2011 (previews from 6 September), one of the biggest hits of the Georgian stage, Hannah Cowley’s The Belle’s Stratagem, is revived at Southwark Playhouse, directed by Jessica Swale (The Rivals) and starring Gina Beck, Jackie Clune, Hannah Spearritt, Maggie Steed and Robin Soans. Until 1 October.
ALSO ON FRIDAY, 9 September 2011 (previews from 6 September), Tell Them That I Am Young and Beautiful, a new play based on stories from around the world, opens at the Arcola Theatre, directed by Marcello Magni and running until 8 October 2011.
