Top 5 theatre openings: 13 – 19 March
© Dominic Clemence
5. Filthy Business
Hampstead Theatre, until 22 April
Ryan Craig's new comedy is set in 1968 London and follows business owner Yetta Solomon. But in a rapidly changing Britain, Solomon has to battle to keep her successful shop in the family. Hampstead's AD Edward Hall directs Olivier Award winner Sara Kestelman who appeared alongside Tamsin Greig in The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide… last year.
© Dan Hipkin
4. Seventeen
Lyric Hammersmith, until 8 April
Australian writer Matthew Whittet's play sees veteran actors play a group of teenagers. It's set just after the group's last day of school and has everything you'd expect from a group of modern adolescents; love triangles, misfits and cheap booze. The production gets its UK premiere after a run down under at the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney.
© Jan Versweyveld
3. Roman Tragedies
Barbican, 17 to 19 March
Toneelgroep present edited versions of Shakespeare's Coriolanus, Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra in one flowing production, set in a conference centre. Ivo van Hove directs the piece which is performed in Dutch with English subtitles. It is one of Toneelgroep Amsterdam's
three pieces directed by van Hove at the Barbican this year, with Obsession in April and After the Rehearsal/Persona in September.
(© Marc Brenner)
2. The Grapes of Wrath
Nuffield Theatres, Southampton, until 25 March
Frank Galati adapts John Steinbeck's novel about a poor farmer family who are driven from their Oklahoma home during the Great Depression. The cast includes Brendan Charleson and Andre Squire. Abbey Wright directs the production, which will also run at the Nottingham Playhouse and West Yorkshire Playhouse.
© Nobby Clark
1.Stepping Out
Vaudeville Theatre, until 17 June
Richard Harris' play is about eight characters who take up evening tap classes at their local church hall, and stars Amanda Holden, Natalie Casey and Tracey-Ann Oberman to name a few. Tamzin Outhwaite may have been forced to withdraw from the production due to a fractured foot, but the more than capable Anna-Jane Casey steps in to Mavis' tap shoes. Directed by Maria Friedman, Stepping Out first played in Bath last year before touring the UK and landing in the West End.
