A Glimpse of London Theatre 2015

2015 is looking bright for Theatreland! Here is a sneak peek of some exciting, up and coming theatre in London.

JANUARY

My Night with Reg - Apollo Theatre

“In 1994 this powerful story won an Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy. It also took the 1994 Writers' Guild Award for Best Fringe Play and won a 1995 Olivier Award for Best Comedy. Following the lives of a group of gay friends over a period of several years, it's set during the time when the AIDS crisis was at its most frightening.”

The Ruling Class - Trafalgar Studios

"BAFTA winning and Golden Globe nominated actor James McAvoy (Filth, The Last King of Scotland, Atonement, X-Men) returns to Trafalgar Transformed, following his performance in Jamie Lloyd's Macbeth, which launched the first Trafalgar Transformed season and earned him an Olivier award nomination for Best Actor, and for the production a nomination for Best Revival."

FEBRUARY 

 

Three stories of Tennessee Williams - Young Vic 
“Three riveting stories of misplaced identity and sexual repression reveal the tragic consequences of isolation. Don’t miss these rarely performed Tennessee Williams one-act plays: Summer at the Lake, Auto-da-Fe and The Strangest Kind of Romance, directed by 2015 Genesis Future Directors Award winner Finn Beames.”

Man and Superman - National Theatre “A romantic comedy, an epic fairytale, a fiery philosophical debate, Man and Superman asks fundamental questions about how we live. Ralph Fiennes takes the role of Jack Tanner in this exhilarating reinvention of Shaw’s witty, provocative classic.” 

Othello - Rose Play House Theatre - (Click here)
“Time Zone Theatre return to The Rose after their highly acclaimed production of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ and 2014’s opera ‘Orpheus and Eurydice’, to present William Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’.”

A View from the Bridge - Wyndhams Theatre - (Click here) “The Young Vic's hit production of A View from the Bridge transfers to the West End for a strictly limited season, with a stellar cast led by Mark Strong (The Imitation Game, Before I Go To Sleep) as Eddie Carbone. Don't miss this “magnetic, electrifying, astonishingly bold” production (Evening Standard) which sold out even before it opened at the Young Vic.”

L’Ormindo -Sam Wanmaker Playhouse (click here) “L’Ormindo is a comic and moving tale of the loves and betrayals of princes, its miraculous plot twists spurred on over three acts by the forces of Destiny, Love and Luck. The Globe's ground-breaking collaboration with The Royal Opera House returns after delighting audiences and critics alike during the Playhouse's inaugural season.”

MARCH The Great Gatsby - Sadlers Well (click here)

“After its sell out success at Sadler’s Wells in 2013, Northern Ballet’s The Great Gatsby returns by popular demand. “On New York’s Long Island in the heady, indulgent days of the roaring 1920s, young Midwesterner Nick Carraway meets his infamous neighbour Jay Gatsby – a mysterious millionaire with a secret past and a penchant for lavish parties. As the sparkling facade of Gatsby’s world begins to slip, Carraway comes to see the loneliness, obsession and tragedy that lie beneath.”

Gypsy - Savoy Theatre “Imelda Staunton delivers a "knock-out performance" (The Independent) as Momma Rose in Jonathan Kent's "dazzling revival" (Mail on Sunday) of this gloriously entertaining musical fable, that features "showstopping" (Mail on Sunday) choreography from Stephen Mear.”

Sweeney Todd - London Coliseum (click here)

“Academy Award-winning actress Emma Thompson and international opera and concert star Bryn Terfel reprise their roles as Mrs Lovett and Sweeney Todd in this concert staging of Stephen Sondheim’s gloriously gruesome musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

Lord of the Dance - Dominion Theatre 

“Following a sell-out West End run in 2014, Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance: Dangerous Games returns to London this Spring.”

APRIL The Audience - Apollo Theatre “Kristin Scott Thomas will play the Queen in a new version of Peter Morgan’s The Audience.  Stephen Daldry’s production will preview at the Apollo Theatre from 21 April 2015 and is booking to 25 July 2015."

 
High Society - Old Vic  “You’re invited to the wedding of the year, and what a swell party it’s going to be! Cole Porter’s classic feel-good musical, High Society comes to The Old Vic in a glittering new production staged in the round.”

JUNE  The Seagull - Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre “The first of Chekhov’s great works, The Seagull is celebrated as one of the most important plays of the nineteenth century. As guests assemble at a country house for the staging of an avant-garde open air play, artistic temperaments ignite a more entertaining drama behind the scenes, with romantic jealousies, self-doubt and the ruthless pursuit of happiness confusing lives, loves and literature.”  

AUGUST Hamlet - Barbican Centre – It’s sold out…for now. (click here) “Benedict Cumberbatch takes on the title role in Shakespeare’s great tragedy. Directed by Lyndsey Turner (Posh, Chimerica) and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, the Barbican presents an exclusive twelve-week run of this compelling new production in summer 2015.”

SEPTEMBER Lord of the Flies - Regents Park Open Air Theatre (click here) "For just 14 performances, our critically acclaimed production of Lord of the Flies, William Golding’s classic story of survival, superstition and immorality, returns prior to a major UK tour.”

Nell Gwynn - Shakespeare Globe (click here) “It is 1660. The puritans have run away with their drab grey tails between their legs. Charles II has exploded onto the scene with a love of all things loud, French and sexy. And, at Drury Lane, a young Nell Gwynn is getting her satsumas out for the punters. Nell Gwynn charts the rise of an unlikely heroine, from her roots in Coal Pan Alley to her success as Britain’s most celebrated actress, and her hard won place in the heart of the king. But at a time when women are second class citizens, can her charm and spirit protect her from the dangers of the court? And at what cost?”

Cinema Screening of the Young Vic's A Streetcar Named Desire ***** [Five Star]

By Mary Grace Nguyen

I am incredibly thankful that National Theatre Live and, over 1000, UK cinemas gave audiences the opportunity to see the encore screening of Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire, with the X-files star Gillian Anderson, that was running at the Young Vic as the fastest selling show in its history. 

The production ran from late July until the September 19^th and, even then, most of the shows were sold out, which only proves the sheer advantage and need for cinema screenings.

The American playwright, Williams received various awards such as the ‘Pulitzer Price for Drama' in 1948 with major film stars including Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh playing the lead roles. Yet, besides the glitz and glamour the play received, on stage and as a movie, A Streetcar Named Desire has an engrossing script that pulls audiences in through its unadulterated dialogue and complicated characters. 

Australian theatre and opera director Benedict Andrews is known for being controversial and for this production, he decided to recreate a rotational skeletal frame of an apartment as oppose to the original 1940s setting of a home in New Orleans. This allowed the audience to see everything and to actively engage with the stage in viewing different angles, which, pretty much, worked in the same way for cinema audiences too.

Southern belle Blanche DuBois (Anderson) is our damsel in distress in fancy vintage attire; she is a lady of sophistication. She travels by a New Orlean Desire streetcar to see her sister Stella (Vanessa Kirby) who is married to the brutish and sexually charged Stanley (Ben Foster).  Stella welcomes Blanche to stay, as she says that her work has allowed her time off; yet, Stanley has his doubts about her. 

As the story progresses, and with Blanche’s increasing need for drink, Stella and Stanley’s relationship begin to worsen with the bitter onslaught of physical violence and sexual manipulation, which Blanche doesn't understand. She tries to develop a relationship with Mitch, Corey Johnson; cast in many Bourne legacy films, yet Stanley reveals some shocking news that thwarts everything she had said and puts her own persona into question. Due to Stanley’s sordid frustrations with Blanche and after raping her, Blanche descends into madness saying her signature line ‘I've always depended on the kindness of stranger’ as she leaves hand in arm with a psychiatrist. 

The show, which lasts for almost four hours, is a sensory overload of impassioned acting and dynamic movement that is filled with the best quotes and lines. The classic jazz and booming rock music make it difficult for any audience to look elsewhere but the stage. The inclusion of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game also highlights the highly intense and sexually driven relationship of Stanley and Stella.

The Six Feet Under star Foster depicted a scary and menacing Stanley which could easily brand him as the baddy yet, despite his overt masculinity and the emotional grief he bestows on Stella, there’s a small piece of Foster’s characterisation of Stanley that is likable; after all, we cannot forget that Blanche is, also, a flawed character.

Kirby, who played Estella in BBC’s Great Expectations, did just as well as a supportive sister, and slightly submissive, and trapped wife with a soft Southern accent. She fluttered around the stage with her sensuous toned stomach and tight-fitted jeans, but was strong where necessary particularly in the last scene screaming and wailing, ‘What have I done to my sister?’

Anderson as Blanche, however, was unbelievably tenacious and resilient throughout as she conducted herself with a sweet and charming voice that showed trances of a genteel and courteous lady. Yet, she also boasted all the attributes of a fallen woman in a very unique way. Anderson embraced the script and breathed it. At times, audiences weren’t sure if Blanche was talking to Mitch or herself which, displayed early signs of insanity. 

Anderson has always wanted to play the role as Blanche since her last collaboration with Andrews in 2012 during the production of Critics’ Circle Award-winning play, Chekhov’s Three Sisters. She even admitted in an interview, ‘I have completely fallen in love with Blanche and I was unprepared for that.’

Most of the cast in this production are known for their expertise in film and TV, which could account for one of the main reasons the shows sold out fast - it was guaranteed to present first-class acting. If more stars of this calibre are casted in theatre, then more shows will sell out and may require more dates for shows or, alternatively, more cinema screenings... Watch this space.

There is an encore screening of the performance on October 19th at the Gate Cinema and many other picture houses in the UK and abroad.