London

London theatre podcast episodes

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Creature

Direction and choreography Akram Khan

English National Ballet

Sadler's Wells

23 September–2 October 2021

Nobody

Created and directed by Kevin Finnan

Motionhouse

Peacock Theatre

22–25 September 2021

The Co-Op

Written by Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson and Felix Grainger and devised by Make It...

Make It Beautiful

The Jack Studio Theatre

21–25 September 2021

Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes

Matthew Bourne, based on the film by Michael Powell and Emmeric Pressburger

New Adventures

Released 21 September 2021

Mythosphere

Inna Dulerayn

Bacchae Productions in partnership with Stone Nest, produced by Gary Beestone...

Stone Nest

20 September–9 October 2021

Malindadzimu

Mufaro Makubika

Hampstead Theatre

17 September–30 October 2021

Shining City

Conor McPherson

Theatre Royal Stratford East

17 September–23 October 2021

The Last Five Years

Jason Robert Brown

Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment

Garrick Theatre

17 September–17 October 2021

W.A.Y (re-work)

Choreography by Sung Im Her, music by Husk Husk

The Place

17–18 September 2021

The Pleasure Garden

Book and lyrics by Glenn Chandler, music by Charles Miller

Produced by Ban Paturel and John Owen in association with Andy Hill and Tom M...

Above the Stag Theatre

15 September–17 October 2021

The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte)

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House

15 September–7 October 2021

Relatively Speaking

Alan Ayckbourn

Mill at Sonning

Jermyn Street Theatre

15 September–9 October 2021

Double Murder

Hofesh Shechter

Hofesh Shechter Company

Sadler’s Wells Theatre

14–18 September 2021

Small Change

Peter Gill

Both Barrels Theatre

Omnibus Theatre

14 September–2 October 2021

Can I Live?

Fehinti Balogun

Complicité in association with the Barbican, London, supported by Oxford Play...

The Barbican

12 September 2021

Is God Is

Aleshea Harris

Royal Court Theatre

10 September–23 October 2021

White Witch

Barry Reckord

Thee Black Swan

Bloomsbury Theatre

7–18 September 2021

Camp Siegfried

Bess Wohl

Old Vic

7 September–30 October 2021

Indecent

Paula Vogel

Menier Chocolate Factory

3 September–27 November 2021

Laura Rogers as Mary and Carolina Main as Catherine

The Memory of Water

Shelagh Stephenson

Hampstead Theatre

3 September–16 October 2021

Leopards

Alys Metcalf

Rose Theatre

Rose Theatre Kingston

2–25 September 2021

Coppelia

Director and choreographer Kevan Allen; music Rickard Berg after Léo Delibes

KVN Dance Company

The Cockpit

2–11 September 2021

Family Tree

Mojisola Adebayo

ATC, the Young Vic, and FESTIVAL.ORG.

Charlton House and Gardens

28–30 August 2021

Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act

Athol Fugard

Orange Tree Theatre

28 August–2 October 2021

Frozen: the West End Musical

Music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez Book by Jennifer Lee

Disney Theatrical Productions

Theatre Royal Drury Lane

From 27 August 2021

Salomé

Oscar Wilde

Lazarus Theatre Company

Southwark Playhouse

25 August–11 September 2021

Rockets and Blue Lights

Winsome Pinnock

National Theatre co-production with the Royal Exchange Theatre

Dorfman Theatre

25 August–9 October 2021

Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied Tunisia

Josh Azouz

Almeida Theatre

21 August–18 September 2021

Buzzing

Debbie Bird

The Jack Studio

19–21 August 2021

This Beautiful Future

Rita Kalnejais

Jermyn Street Theatre

18 August–11 September 2021

When Darkness Falls

James Milton and Paul Morrissey

Paul Morrissey Ltd, Christopher Wheeler and Molly Morris with Jason Haigh-Ell...

Park Theatre

18 August–4 September 2021

The Song Project

Co-created by Chloe Lamford, Wende, Isobel Waller-Bridge & Imogen Knight, wor...

Royal Court Theatre

Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs

17–28 August 2021

Searching for Belinda

Devised by Emilia Nurmukhametova and Amy Mitchell

Bold Mellon

Above The Stag Theatre and Bar

12–14 August 2021

Paradise

Kae Tempest

National Theatre

Olivier Theatre

4 August–11 September 2021

The Windsors: Endgame

George Jeffrie and Bert Tyler-Moore

Runaway Entertainment

Prince of Wales Theatre

2 August–9 October 2021

Carousel

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

31 July–25 September 2021

Singin’ in the Rain

Screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Ar...

Chichester Festival Theatre and Stage Entertainment

Sadler's Wells

30 July–5 September 2021

Big Big Sky

Tom Wells

Hampstead Downstairs / Celia Atkin

Hampstead Theatre

30 July–11 September 2021

Twelfth Night

William Shakespeare

The Globe Theatre

29 July–30 October 2021

Jersey Boys

Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice, music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe

Trafalgar Theatre

28 July 2021–31 January 2022

Evening Conversations / Life Laundry

Sudha Bhuchar

Bhuchar Boulevard

Jermyn Street Theatre

28 July 2021

Masks and Faces

Charles Reade and Tom Taylor

Finborough Theatre

28 July–25 August 2021

Crisis? What Crisis?

Tom Black

Parabolic Theatre

New Diorama Theatre (off-site) at a secret location

27 July–28 August 2021

Hotter

Mary Higgins and Ell Potter

HOTTER Project and Ellie Keel Productions

Soho Theatre

26 July–7 August 2021

Hymn

Lolita Chakrabarti

Almeida Theatre

26 July–13 August 2021

Fitter

Mary Higgins and Ell Potter

HOTTER Project and Ellie Keel Productions

Soho Theatre

26 July–6 August 2021

Changing Destiny

Ben Okri

Young Vic

24 July–21 August 2021

Anything Goes

Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, original book by P G Wodehouse & Guy Bolton ...

Trafalgar Theatre Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions, Bookmyshow, Hill ...

Barbican Theatre

23 July–31 October 2021

The Two Character Play

Tennessee Williams

Hampstead Theatre

22 July–28 August 2021

Come From Away

Book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein

Phoenix Theatre

From 22 July 2021

Still Water

Hannah Kennedy

Tramp

The White Bear Theatre

22–23 July 2021

Oleanna

David Mamet

Theatre Royal Bath and Jonathan Church Productions

Arts Theatre

21 July–23 October 2021

every seven years

Jack Fairey

Bedivere Arts Company

Jack Studio Theatre

20–24 July 2021

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Lorenzo Da Ponte

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London

16 July–15 August 2021

Rambert Summer Livestream 2021: Eye Candy / Rouge

Choreography Imre van Opstal & Marne van Opstal, Marion Motin

Rambert

Rambert Home Studio

15–17 July 2021

The Game of Love and Chance

Pierre de Marivaux, in a new version by Quentin Beroud and Jack Gamble

Arcola Theatre

Arcola Outside

14 July–7 August 2021

Our Little Lives: Shakespeare & Me

Russell Brand and Ian Rickson

Live-Now

Almeida Theatre

14–23 July 2021

Beauty Mixed Programme: Anemoi / Divertissements / The Sleeping Beauty Act III

Choreography Valentino Zucchetti, Arthur Pita, Wayne McGregor, Kenneth MacMil...

The Royal Ballet

Royal Opera House

9 July–8 August 2021

The Invisible Hand

Ayad Akhtar

Kiln Theatre and Dasha Theatricals

Kiln Theatre

7–31 July 2021

Wolves Are Coming For You

Joel Horwood

Jack Studio Theatre

6–17 July 2021

Last Easter

Bryony Lavery

Orange Tree Theatre

3 July–7 August 2021

Hamilton and Me

Giles Terera

Nick Hern Books

Released 1 July 2021

Extinct

April De Angelis

Theatre Royal Stratford East

30 June–17 July 2021

Going Ape

Andrew Corbet Burcher

Dance Attic Studios and Rebecca Andrews

Union Theatre

29 June–10 July 2021

Top 5

Come from Away

Book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein

Phoenix Theatre

30 January 2019–17 October 2020

Hamilton

Book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, inspired on Alexander Hamilton ...

The Public Theater

Victoria Palace Theatre

From 6 December 2017

Leopoldstadt

Tom Stoppard

Wyndham’s Theatre

25 January–13 June 2020

The Play That Goes Wrong

Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields

Mischief Theatre

Duchess Theatre

From 5 September 2014

The Seven Streams of the River Ota

Robert Lepage and Ex Machina

Ex Machina

Lyttelton Theatre (National Theatre)

6–22 March 2020

Alternative Top 5

Kunene and the King

John Kani

The Fugard Theatre, Cape Town and Royal Shakespeare Company

Ambassadors Theatre

24 January–28 March 2020

Les Misérables

Book by Alan Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel by Victo...

Cameron Mackintosh

Sondheim Theatre

18 December 2019

Matilda the Musical

Based on the novel by Roald Dahl, book by Dennis Kelly, music and lyrics by T...

Royal Shakespeare Company

Cambridge Theatre

7 October 2011

On Blueberry Hill

Sebastian Barry

Fishamble: The New Play Company

Trafalgar Studios (Studio One)

5 March–2 May 2020

The Welkin

Lucy Kirkwood

National Theatre

Lyttelton Theatre (National Theatre)

15 January–23 May 2020

News

Voila! Europe 2021

26 September 2021

Voila! Europe 2021 offers an eclectic range of events in person and online.

Farrell joins Gatiss in A Christmas Carol

19 September 2021

Nicholas Farrell is to join the cast of Mark Gatiss’s new adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol at Nottingham Playhouse and London’s Alexandra Palace.

McNicol Ballet reimagines Firebird on film

16 September 2021

McNicol Ballet Collective will release Firebird Reimagined, a new dance film, on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

East London Dance new leadership

16 September 2021

Tia Hassan and Kate Scanlan have been jointly appointed to the position of Creative Director and Chief Executive on a job share basis.

Collective IDentity tours exhibition

16 September 2021

Danielle Teale’s Collective IDentity Project work with dancers with Parkinson's will tour an exhibition, Who we are now, and then….

Dance Passion commissions announced

16 September 2021

BBC and One Dance UK announce 14 artists from across the UK commissioned to create new projects as part of Dance Passion 2022.

New Nordics Festival

12 September 2021

The New Nordic Festival, postponed from last year, now comes to London.

ROH autumn streams of opera and ballet

12 September 2021

The Royal Opera House will stream six productions from its 2021/22 season on selected Fridays then on-demand for 30 days.

Royal Opera and Ballet at the movies

12 September 2021

The Royal Opera House has launched its 2021/22 international Cinema Season after sixteen months of closure, broadcasting to more than 2,000 screens across the globe.

Edinburgh, frights and queer canines come to London

12 September 2021

The Pleasance in London hosts Edinburgh transfers alongside the London Horror Festival as part of the new season.

Introducing the next generation of choreographers

Sadler’s Wells Young Associates on film

5 September 2021

Sadler’s Wells has released Introducing the next generation of choreographers, a series of four short films by Sadler’s Wells Young Associates, available free on Digital Stage.

ROH opera and ballet schools matinées

5 September 2021

The Royal Opera House has announced details of this year’s schools’ matinées, bringing ballet and opera to more than 10,000 pupils.

Bold is as BOLD does

5 September 2021

New South London venue, BOLD Elephant, announces first productions.

Heading for a big time in London

3 September 2021

The Big Time, a comedy by a North East playwright/director/actor is heading for London

provoked 2 madness by the brutality of wealth

gobscure on tour

3 September 2021

North East company gobscure takes its latest production on a national tour

Trafalgar acquires children’s drama academy

2 September 2021

International group Trafalgar Entertainment which runs Stagecoach Performing Arts has acquired the children’s extra-curricular drama organisation Helen O’Grady Drama Academy.

Sergei Polunin at The London Palladium

1 September 2021

Ballet dancer Sergei Polunin will visit the London Palladium for one night only to promote his autobiography, Free: A Life In Images And Words.

PLASA 2021 celebrates ABTT anniversary

29 August 2021

The PLASA Show takes place at London's Olympia with an event that celebrates technical innovation and the ABTT's 60th anniversary.

NHS workers get free Night With Reg

29 August 2021

London's Turbine Theatre and Tickets for Good have free seats for My Night With Reg for NHS workers.

Bloomsbury Festival 2021

29 August 2021

London's Bloomsbury Festival offers a varied programme of 100+ events this October.

Royal Opera House Young ROH scheme

20 August 2021

The Royal Opera House has launched its Young ROH scheme, offering 30,000 subsidised tickets for theatregoers aged 16 to 25.

Room to Room dance solos on film

20 August 2021

Filmed by Ravi Deepres, Joseph Toonga choreographs Natalia Osipova, Catarina Carvalho choreographs Hearns Sebuado and Ana Maria Lucaciu choreographs Vidya Patel.

McNicol Ballet's Awakenings

15 August 2021

The McNicol Ballet Collective will make its debut with Awakenings, a programme of four pieces choreographed by Andrew McNicol, in London and Hull.

Hope for Phil Bartlett

15 August 2021

Phil Bartlett is to take over from Kennedy Bloomer as artistic director of London's Hope Theatre.

All That is COVID cancelled

15 August 2021

London's King’s Head Theatre is forced to cancel All That as cast member tests positive—a creative and financial blow at a difficult time.

Dance-theatre crime drama

14 August 2021

The autumn, VOXED will tour dance-theatre crime drama Out Late by Wayne Parsons to The Place, London and Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.

Jeyasingh's TooMortal at St Pancras

14 August 2021

Shobana Jeyasingh's work for historic churches, TooMortal, is back in London for four performances at St Pancras Church.

ENO Tosca at South Facing Festival

13 August 2021

As a part of South Facing Festival at Crystal Palace Bowl in London, English National Opera will present a semi-staged outdoor performance of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca.

ETPEP Award news

9 August 2021

The ETPEP Award run by London's Finborough Theatre is open for submissions.

Mark Ravenhill and Hannah Price share the crown

8 August 2021

Mark Ravenhill and Hannah Price are taking over the artistic leadership at London's King's Head Theatre.

Dance Umbrella announces live programme

7 August 2021

London annual international dance festival Dance Umbrella will return this October with live, in-person performances for the first time since 2019 alongside digital events.

ENB: new season updates

5 August 2021

English National Ballet's Emerging Dancer Celebration to be live-streamed; Erina Takahasi celebrates 25 years with company; Akram Khan's Creature to première.

ROH returns to cinema

5 August 2021

The Royal Opera House's international cinema programme is to return after sixteen months of closure, bringing ballet and opera to more than 2,000 screens across the globe.

New Diorama Theatre celebrates its tenth anniversary

1 August 2021

September sees the tenth anniversary of London's New Diorama Theatre being celebrated with a season that includes four premières.

McNicol becomes ENB School Associate

30 July 2021

Choreographer Andrew McNicol has been announced as English National Ballet School’s first Artistic Associate.

KVN Coppelia at the Cockpit

29 July 2021

Kevan Allen's reimagining of Coppelia, the inaugural performance by KVN Dance Company, will open at the Cockpit Theatre for a limited run.

Tony Jayawardena who will play George Khan

Birmingham REP unveils East Is East cast

29 July 2021

Birmingham REP has announced the full cast for its 25th anniversary production of East Is East, the comic family drama of the British-Asian experience.

Royal Ballet dance and music joiners

13 July 2021

The Royal Ballet has announced new dancers and conductors for the 2021–22 season.

ENB's Nutcracker returns

6 July 2021

Following a year in which English National Ballet was unable to present a live version of Nutcracker for the first time in its 70-year history, this December sees the show return.

Culture as a key to economic recovery

5 July 2021

Engine of Recovery: Culture on the South Bank & Waterloo calls for confidence in culture as measure to boost the economy whilst revealing the economic impact of leading arts institutions and on the wider economy.

It's all a drag this summer

5 July 2021

London's West End gets its first festival of British drag this summer.

Papatango 2020 winner production

4 July 2021

Dates are announced for Papatango-winning Old Bridge at London's Bush Theatre.

Woolwich Works' opening programme

4 July 2021

Woolwich Works opens in September with a programme of diverse events, now on sale.

Royal Ballet cancels performances

1 July 2021

The Royal Ballet has had to cancel Summer Draft Works due to a number of dancers having to self-isolate.

Fiennes’ Four Quartets to get West End transfer

1 July 2021

Ralph Fiennes’s world première stage adaptation of T S Eliot’s Four Quartets is to transfer to London’s Harold Pinter Theatre for 36 performances, Northampton’s Royal and Derngate and Theatre Royal Bath Productions have announced.

Features

Test and Superspreader Events

2 July 2021

As Terminus Day approaches, we review the current state of play for the events industry.

[Comm]unity is Strength

17 June 2021

National news editor and London reviewer Sandra Giorgetti talks to Jack Studio Theatre artistic director Kate Bannister on the venue's reopening this week.

Could Andrew Lloyd Webber be swapping Cinderella for Midnight Express?

11 June 2021

Lord Lloyd Webber has announced that he will open Cinderella on 25 June, even if that means breaking the law and a potential prison sentence.

National Theatre Together - Press Conference 4 June 2021

4 June 2021

Philip Fisher reports on announcements from the National Theatre that promise an optimistic future.

National Theatre at Home

16 April 2021

Philip Fisher reviews the National Theatre's new online video library.

A voice from the past, a message for the present

4 April 2021

National news editor and London reviewer Sandra Giorgetti talks to the team behind Talking Gods, a series of plays created and filmed by Arrows & Traps Theatre Company at her local venue, the Jack Studio Theatre.

The demise of the interval

3 April 2021

It may initially seem inconsequential but the announcement by Shakespeare's Globe that it is ditching the interval could have wider implications.