Theatre News

Off-West End Announcements – 12 Feb 2010

| Off-West End |

12 February 2010

Bag Your Bonus At New End

Some plays deserve top billing purely for their titles.
W For Banker is one
of those plays. Running at the New End Theatre from 23 March – 18 April, the
comedy is the latest to spring from the pen of writing duo Steinberg and Kilby.
Their last outing, In the Balance imagined what might happen
if a single person had the casting vote in the US presidential elections. With Obama
safely deposed in the White House, they now turn their hand to bankers, bonuses
and greed.

Islington’s Wilder than Wilde

And there will be more city slickers at the King’s Head
Theatre, but in a rather different get-up. Writer director Martin Lewton’s new
play Lord Arthur’s Bed weaves the story of high-flying
civil partners Donald and Jim with the case of Victorian cross-dressers Ernest
and Fred, whose farcical trial predated the Oscar Wilde scandal by 20 years. The
play runs at lunchtimes from 2 March – 10 April, while Dermot Murphy’s The Condor and the Maiden
runs evenings until 21 March.

Straight to DVD in Greenwich

Also running two plays concurrently is Greenwich Theatre,
where former RSC director Elizabeth Freestreet takes on both Ben Jonson’s Volpone
and John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi. From 18 March to 10
April, Jonson’s dark satire will be renacted at 1pm every lunchtime, with
Webster’s macabre tragedy opening on 23 March and playing nightly at 7pm. Greenwich
has teamed up with Stage on Screen, who
are producing a DVD of both productions to be released in May.

Relax Croydon: Do Do It

Things have been quiet at the Croydon Warehouse of late,
until now. In his new play RELAX, Robert Farrar channels the
classic French farce of George Feydeau and the gay humour of Joe Orton into a light-hearted
look at the difficulties suburban men face in being honest about their
sexuality. Phil Setren, founder of the One Act Play Festival, directs James Holmes
of BBC One’s Miranda, Toby Bluto and Nadia Kamil in a four
week run from 14 March – 4 April.

V-Day Gets More Than Monologue

It’s about that time of year again. No, not Valentine’s
Day, but V-Day. And New Players Theatre are not only reviving Eve Ensler’s now infamous Vagina Monologues
but showcasing a whole fortnight of feminine and feminist talent. The provocatively
entitled See You Next Tuesday season, running from 5-20 March, includes theatre, comedy, cabaret
and talks, and on the final night, the premiere of Maya Angelou’s Women
Work as part of a gala night for the City of Joy safe-house in the
Republic of Congo.

And Finally

Because we can’t leave you without a rose for Valentine’s
Day, the welcome news that classic children’s book Guess How Much I
Love You is to get a long awaited stage version this May, adapted by
master of children’s theatre, David Wood. Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown
Hare will be jumping from page to stage at the Rose Theatre from 18-23 May,
before a mammoth 18 week tour. With 16 million copies of the book sold, best catch
them in Kingston first.