Opening: West End Well, Woods, Winter\’s & Hilda

Amongst the major London openings over the festive period are:

OPENING TUESDAY, 23 December 2008 (previews from 20 December), Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, about the adventures of a childless baker and his wife when they fall under the spell of a witch, is revived Upstairs at the Gatehouse, directed by Racky Plews. Until 1 Feburary 2009.

OPENING SUNDAY, 28 December 2008, Hampstead’s New End theatre presents A Winter’s Chill, an evening of readings by Miles Barden and Josh Dickenson billed as “the spine-tingling horror of M. R. James combined with the mysterious monstrosity of Edgar Allan Poe to quicken your blood and addle your mind”. For two nights only.

OPENING TUESDAY, 30 December 2008 (preview 29 December), Lisa Kron’s Well transfers to the Apollo theatre following its run at Trafalgar Studios 2 earlier in the year (See News, 3 Nov 2008), headed by original stars Sarah Miles and Natalie Casey and directed by Eve Leigh. Kron’s semi-autobiographical comedy about her relationship with her allergy-stricken mother was nominated for a 2006 Tony award following its Broadway premiere. Until 24 January 2009.

** DON’T MISS our Whatsonstage.com Outing to see Well on 22 January, including a top-price ticket and access to both our EXCLUSIVE performance of an extract from Sarah Miles’ new one-woman show and an EXCLUSIVE cast Q&A – all for only £22.50! – click here for more details! **

ALSO ON TUESDAY, Sarah Woods’ translation of Marie Ndiaye’s Hilda, a “bitingly funny parody about the psychology of oppression”, begins the first of its two performances at the Arcola studio 2.

– By Theo Bosanquet