So after a very damp and rainy summer it’s suddenly Autumn!
Cheer yourself up with some rewarding theatre going this September. Here’s my top five plays and musicals opening this month.
1. PHOTOGRAPH 51
It’s always an event when a big Hollywood star appears in the West End so expect Theatreland to be buzzing with excitement as Nicole Kidman appears in this new play directed by superstar director, Michael Grandage with whom she’s recently been making a film. This unmissable dose of glamour arrives at The Noel Coward Theatre on September 14th
2. FARINELLI AND THE KING
Almost as exciting as seeing Nicole Kidman live is the chance to see Mark Rylance who made such an impact as Cronwell in the recent TV adaptation of Wolf Hall and had smash hits in the West End and on Broadway with his starring roles in Twelfth Night, Richard III and in gritty rural drama, Jerusalem. This transfer of an acclaimed production from Shakepeare’s Globe opens at The Duke of York’s Theatre on September 29th.
3. KINKY BOOTS
This riotous musical about a beleaguered British shoe factory that makes a fortune when it switches to making footwear for drag queens has been a big hit on Broadway. The only thing that spoilt it for me in New York were the American actors' appalling English accents. This won’t be a problem with the Brit cast appearing at the Adelphi Theatre from September 15th
4. THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
The 70’s cult and campy haunted house favourite returns to the West End in an acclaimed production directed by Chris Luscombe with guest celebrity narrators in including its author Richard O’Brian who played butler Riff Raff in the film. Catch it at the Playhouse Theatre.
5. ORESTEIA
Arguably one of the greatest plays ever written this is an ancient Greek text which dramatises mankind’s emergence from superstition and a cycle of tyranny and revenge to democracy and enlightenment. London boasts two productions in September. A multi-media account at Trafalgar Studios starring Lia Williams & Jessica Brown Findlay and a more traditional performance at Shakespeare’s Globe.
The St James Theatre is a smart new theatre tucked away in a back street in the Victoria area of London. It had a notable hit with the musical URINE TOWN which transferred to the West End but up until recently it’s struggled to find its identity. Over the past twelve months however it’s become the place to go catch top performers in cabarets celebrating loved show-tune writers like Kander and Ebb, The Sherman Brothers and Maltby and Shire.