Kicking off 2024 with an incredible line up of theatre, cabaret, comedy and magic, the Pleasance Theatre Trust present a truly thrilling London season this spring with all performances now on sale.
From Goop-tastic skiing collisions to techno opera, exciting competitions to the return of the Wrestival, there’s something for everyone this season in Islington.
Due to incredible demand, Awkward Productions return to Pleasance with their sensational viral show Gwyneth Goes Skiing (30th January – 16th February). Following a sold-out initial run in December 2023, this very silly story of justice, betrayal and optometry recounts the now-infamous collision in 2016 on the slopes of Deer Valley and the court case seven years later that enthralled the world. Gwyneth Goes Skiing makes the audience the jury, asking them to decide who’s guilty and who’s gooped.
Hot off its instant sell-out premiere at the Royal Opera House, GISELLE: REMIX (10th – 27th March) comes to the Pleasance stage with an evening of cabaret excellence, theatrical divinity, staggering choreography and jaw-dropping lip-syncs, created in collaboration with dancers from The Royal Ballet.
Following its five-star run at Edinburgh last year, award-winning one-person play Wasteman (14th/15th/16th March) combines monologue, song and drag in a love letter to hard-working Northerners and gender euphoria, based on writer Joe Leather’s real-life experiences working as a refuse loader through lockdown. Sergio Maggiolo’s Jeezus! F*cking Christ (21st/22nd March) invites audiences to a queer ritual to exorcise the demons religion has filled us up with, whilst Mahatma Khandi throws open the doors of The Khandi Shop (23rd February/19th April) for a cavalcade of some of the most iconic cabaret legends on the scene.
A collaboration between Marie Hamilton (Madonna On The Rocks) and Sharp Teeth Theatre, Polly – The Heartbreak Opera (8th – 11th May) is a riotous, radical adaptation of Polly, John Gay’s banned sequel to The Beggar’s Opera, with techno, tracksuits and palm trees and songs inspired by Peaches, Britney and Nina Simone. Sam McArdle brings The Manny (20th/23rd March) to the Pleasance stage, a dark comedy about an Irish male nanny who works for rich single mums in West London.
Bi-annual theatre-meets-wrestling festival Wrestival (2nd – 4th May) makes its triumphant return in 2024, with a knockout three-day line-up. From comedy battles in Lethal Lottery where the audience decide and a unique evening of pro-wresting, comedy and cabaret in Jerry Bakewell Variety Show, to scratch night The Wrestival Schmozz and the UK’s leading queer drag wrestling cult Fist Club, and finishing with the hard-femme, post-apocalyptic GALZILLA and drag king extravaganza King of the Ring, there’s something for everyone in this fantastic programme. I Hope This Helps (6th – 9th March) is a new one-act comedy from Brooklyn Rep, introducing Brian and Darlene amidst the swirling steam of a Russian Banya, as they sweat through layers of vulnerability, revealing fantasies, fears, and the unexpected twists of connection. Part of the Main’s Bloody Mary: Live! (28th – 30th March) is a gleefully vicious stand-up special in which Teen Queen Mary Tudor takes to the mic to rehab her so-called ‘bloody’ image in a fiery one-woman show written and performed by Olivia Miller.
Join Pleasance in championing extraordinary early career artists at The Charlie Hartill Try Outs 2024 (19th/20th February), as audiences can take a first look at each innovative and ambitious new production. From 14 finalists, one will be chosen as the recipient of the Charlie Hartill Fund for Ensemble Theatre, which offers the rare and extraordinary support of £10,000 to present a fully produced play at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024.
Director’s Cut Theatre Company present Make The Cut (21st February), the hottest competition for actors and writers seeking an opportunity and a platform to showcase their talents, whilst Late Night Magic (8th February), hosted by Tom Brace, gives audiences an opportunity to see world-class magicians and members of the mysterious Magic Circle in this brand-new late night line up of the best magic and variety acts. Gamble (24th February) is a bittersweet multimedia show about addiction and its effect on families, friends, and communities. From Hannah Walker & Co and based on a true, personal story and inspired by accounts of industry experts, health professionals, people in recovery, and their loved ones, Gamble is a spangling whirlwind of flashing lights and big wins.
The Work In Progress comedy season returns, back and bigger than ever for its 10th year! Hosting 70+ comedy shows including Alan Davies (QI), Sophie Duker (Taskmaster), Fern Brady (Taskmaster), Jordan Brookes (Comedy Award winner), Joe Thomas (The Inbetweeners) and many more recognisable household names, tickets are available from as little as £7 each.
It’s a season not to be missed this spring at The Pleasance – get those tickets while you can! Tickets are available at www.pleasance.co.uk
