Theatre News

Opening: Rain, Very Nice, Waterfront, WOS Awards

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff

| London's West End |

9 February 2009

Amongst the major openings in London this week are:

OPENING TONIGHT, Monday 9 February 2009 (previews from 5 February), Off the Wall, a season of new plays about Germany, begins at the Royal Court Downstairs with The Stone by Marius von Mayenburg. Until 28 February.


OPENING TUESDAY, 10 February 2009 (previews from 30 January), James McAvoy, Nigel Harman and Lyndsey Marshal star in Jamie Lloyd’s new production of Richard Greenberg’s Three Days of Rain at the Apollo Theatre.

The play had its UK premiere at the Donmar Warehouse in 1999, with a cast of Colin Firth, David Morrissey and Elizabeth McGovern (See News, 9 Jun 1999). A 2006 Broadway revival starred Julia Roberts, Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper. This is its first London revival since, and runs until 2 May 2009.

ALSO ON TUESDAY (previews from 4 February), Sadie Frost stars in Zoe Lewis’ one-woman play about an obsessive Madonna fan Touched… For the Very First Time at Trafalgar Studios 2, running until 14 March (See News, 21 Nov 2008).

ALSO ON TUESDAY, Carl Heap returns to the NT’s Cottesloe Theatre to direct his version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth for younger audiences. For two weeks only.

ALSO ON TUESDAY, the RSC returns to Hackney Empire with Othello directed by Kathryn Hunter and starring Patrice Naiambana in the title role. It runs for one week only, as part of a national tour.

ALSO ON TUESDAY (previews from 5 February), Alexandra Wood’s Unbroken, inspired by Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde, opens at the Gate Theatre, where it runs until 7 March 2009.


OPENING WEDNESDAY, 11 February 2009 (previews from 4 February), Nicholas Hytner directs Richard Bean’s new play England People Very Nice, about immigration through the ages, at the NT’s Olivier Theatre, running in rep until 30 April 2009.

ALSO ON WEDNESDAY, (preview 10 February), Look Left Look Right’s award-winning documentary theatre piece The Caravan opens in a real caravan in a new space at the Royal Court Theatre, where it’s parked up until 28 February.


OPENING THURSDAY, 12 February 2009 (previews from 28 January), following seasons at Nottingham Playhouse and the Edinburgh Fringe, Steven Berkoff’s new Whatsonstage.com Award-nominated stage adaptation of On the Waterfront transfers to the Theatre Royal Haymarket, where Berkoff himself joins the cast. It’s currently booking until 25 April.

** DON’T MISS Our Whatsonstage.com Outing to On the Waterfront on 19 March, including a FREE drink, FREE programme and access to our EXCLUSIVE post-show Q&A for just just £25click here for details! **

OPENING THURSDAY (previews from 4 February), Peter Hall’s production of Feydeau’s Where There’s a Will opens at Kingston’s Rose Theatre, kicking off a national tour. The production marks the second collaboration between Director Peter Hall and ETT following their celebrated production of Uncle Vanya last year. It’s at the Rose until 14 February.


ON SUNDAY, 15 February 2009, the casts of Jersey Boys, Spring Awakening and Mamma Mia! line up alongside Elena Roger, Niki Evans, Julie Atherton, Samantha Barks, Leila Benn Harris and many others at the Whatsonstage.com Awards Concert at the Prince of Wales Theatre, hosted for the second year running by James Corden and Sheridan Smith (See News, 29 Jan 2009).

– by Theo Bosanquet

Awards
Concert tickets are priced from £15 to £40 and have almost all gone! To book yours, call the Prince of Wales box office on
0844 482 5133 or click here to book online

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