Opening: Cigarette, Nook, Shout!, Globe Romeo

OPENING TONIGHT, Monday 27 April 2009 (previews from 23 April), one-man play You Can See the Hills, written and directed by Matthew Dunster, returns to the Young Vic following its debut in the Clare studio last autumn. This time round it’s in the larger Maria space, starring William Ash as Adam, crashing through his teens in the 1980s as he steers himself out of Oldham and into adulthood. Until 9 May.

OPENING TUESDAY, 28 April 2009 (previews from 21 April), The Last Cigarette, adapted from Simon Gray‘s memoirs and completed just before his death last summer, transfers to Trafalgar Studios 1 following its premiere at Chichester in March (See News, 27 Mar 2009).

Starring Felicity Kendal, Nicholas Le Prevost and Jasper Britton, who each portray Gray during the course of the play, The Last Cigarette is directed by former National Theatre artistic director Richard Eyre and designed by Rob Howell, with music by George Fenton.

** DON’T MISS the chance to get top-price tickets to The Last Cigarette for £35 & £30 (usually £45 and £35) – click here for details **

OPENING WEDNESDAY, 29 April 2009 (previews from 16 April), Terry Johnson returns to the Menier Chocolate Factory following his award-winning revival of La Cage aux Folles to direct the classic Ben Travers farce Rookery Nook (See News, 10 Mar 2009).

Newly married playboy Gerald Popkiss (Neil Stuke) finds himself caught up in a game of hide-and-seek when, arriving at Rookery Nook ahead of his wife and mother-in-law, he must shelter a beautiful young girl who has been thrown out of the house next door in nothing but her pink silk pyjamas. It continues to 20 June.

ALSO ON WEDNESDAY (previews from 17 April) Su Pollard stars in 1960s jukebox musical Shout! at the Arts Theatre (See News, 24 Mar 2009). Five gorgeous women and one lucky man will twist and shout, shimmy and shake while belting out more than 30 hits from the era including “Downtown”, “Son of a Preacher Man”, “I Only Wanna Be With You”, “To Sir With Love” and “These Boots Are Made for Walking”. Until 28 June 2009.

** DON’T MISS the chance to get top-price tickets to Shout! for just £25 – valid until 30 April click here for details **

OPENING THURSDAY, 30 April 2009 (previews from 23 April), the 2009 Shakespeare’s Globe season opens with artistic director Dominic Dromgoole’s new production of Romeo and Juliet, starring Adetomiwa Edun and Ellie Kendrick (star of the recent BBC series The Diary of Anne Frank) in the title roles. It continues in rep to 23 August.

** Our Whatsonstage.com Outing to Romeo and Juliet
on 7 May 2009, which includes a FREE cushion voucher and and access to
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ALSO ON THURSDAY, the National Theatre of Scotland/Dundee Rep’s radical interpretation of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt opens at the Barbican Theatre, where it continues to 16 May 2009 as part of a national tour.

** DON’T MISS our exclusive 2 for 1 ticket offer on tickets to Peer Gynt from 30 Apr to 9 May – click here for details **

ALSO ON THURSDAY (preview 29 April),  Tamasha theatre company bring Deepak Verma’s Bollywood-inspired musical version of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights to the Lyric Hammersmith, where it continues to 23 May as part of a national tour (See News, 19 Feb 2009). Kristine Landon-Smith directs with music and lyrics from Felix Cross and Sheema Mukherjee.

– by Theo Bosanquet