Top 5 Openings: 18 – 24 September

5. For Love or Money

Viaduct Theatre until 23 September, then tour

Barrie Rutter's final show as artistic director of Northern Broadsides after 25 years at the helm is something of an occasion, and the show will tour the UK until December. Set in the 1920s, the piece sees a greedy trio playing one another for their own gain. After Halifax, the show will tour to Leeds, Huddersfield, York, Bury, Kingston, Newcastle, Scarborough, and Liverpool.

Find out more about Barrie Rutter's departure in our news story.

4. The Unknown Island

Gate Theatre until 7 October

While Barrie Rutter may be leaving Northern Broadsides, Ellen McDougall is directing her first show at London's Gate Theatre as the new artistic director. The Unknown Island, based on the Nobel prize-winning novelist Jose Saramago’s short story, The Tale of the Unknown Island, is a rebellious adventure story with dream-like infusions.

Read our interview with McDougall here.

3. Dido: Queen of Carthage / Coriolanus

Swan Theatre / RST until 28 October / 18 November

The RSC kick off their winter this week with plays by both Marlowe and Shakespeare. Dido, directed by Kimberley Sykes, sees Chipo Chung take on the titular role, while Angus Jackson's Coriolanus (above) stars Sope Dirisu, who was last seen in One Night in Miami at the Donmar Warehouse.

Find out more about the RSC's new season.

2. Legally Blonde

Churchill Theatre, Bromley until 23 September then UK tour

Eurovision entrant Lucie Jones stars as everyone's favourite musical lawyer in this new tour based on the original 2007 Broadway musical. The show then won Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards when it first arrived in the UK. Rita Simons also stars, and the show will head out across the UK for the next nine months.

Find out more about the UK tour of Legally Blonde here.

1. We're Still Here

Byass Works, Port Talbot until 30 September

The steelworks at Port Talbot are transformed into an epic performance space as part of National Theatre Wales return to the city, six years after their previous performance of The Passion starring Michael Sheen. This time around the show focuses on the lives of the town's steelworkers, at risk of losing their jobs in a rough economic climate. This is ambitious, site-specific theatre at its most pertinent.

Read more about the project here.