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Top 5 theatre openings this week: 21 – 27 March

Paapa Essiedu takes on ”Hamlet” and Denise Gough brings her critically acclaimed performance to the West End in this week’s top picks

5. Reasons to be Happy – Hampstead Theatre

Robyn Addison, Warren Brown and Michael Attenborough (director)
Robyn Addison, Warren Brown and Michael Attenborough (director)
Michael Attenborough directs Neil Labute's romantic comedy about hidden agendas, half-truths. It may be called a 'rom-com', but remember this is Labute, so don't go expecting Sleepless in Seattle.

17 March – 16 April, Hampstead Theatre, London. More information and tickets here.

4. All That Fall – Wilton's Music Hall

Prepare to be blindfolded in this production of Samuel Beckett's first radio play by internationally acclaimed director Max Stafford-Clark, starring Tony Award-winner Bríd Brennan.

Not one for those scared of the dark…

24 March – 9 April, Wilton's Music Hall. More information and tickets here.

3. The Government Inspector – Birmingham Rep and on tour

In rehearsals: The Government Inspector

We caught up with some of the cast during rehearsals for The Government Inspector opening at the Birmingham Rep later this month prior to a national tour.

Posted by WhatsOnStage on Tuesday, 8 March 2016

Birmingham Repertory Theatre plays host to the first production from the groundbreaking touring project Ramps on the Moon. Committed to putting Deaf and
disabled artists and audiences at the centre of their work, this will be Gogol’s satire like you've never seen it before.

23 March – 26 March, Birmingham Rep then on tour. More information and tickets The Government Inspector.

2. Hamlet – Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Paapa Essiedu in rehearsals for Hamlet
Paapa Essiedu in rehearsals for Hamlet
© Manuel Harlan

In the year that marks 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare, Simon Godwin directs Paapa Essiedu as the Danish Prince. Expect a radical take on this oft-staged tragedy.

22 March – 13 August, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. More information and tickets here.

1. People, Places and Things – Wyndham's Theatre

Denise Gough (Emma)
Denise Gough (Emma)
© Johan Persson

Following its sell-out run at the National last year, Duncan Macmillan's critically acclaimed play about addiction and surviving in the modern world transfers to the modern world. Need an excuse to see it? Look no further than Denise Gough's career-making central performance.

23 March -18 June, Wyndham's Theatre. More information and tickets here.