As we head in to the month of Valentine’s day, theatre lovers are in for a treat with some fantastic new theatre arriving in London. Here’s our choice of the top ten shows opening in London this February.
The Tempest
Greenwich Theatre Opens 5th February
Lazarus Theatre have announced their gender switched production of Shakespeare’s legendary The Tempest which sees Prospero now female and Miranda now male; exploring gender, sexuality and identity.
Shakespeare’s legendary last play sees a ship caught in a storm, violent and destructive. When the casualties awake on an enchanted island their true self is revealed, an island full of magic, where love is love, revenge and forgiveness
Gently Down The Stream
Park Theatre Opens 13th February
This passionate new play by Olivier and Tony Award nominee Martin Sherman makes its UK debut 40 years after his celebrated modern classic Bent, which subsequently became a major film directed by Olivier and Tony Award nominee Sean Mathias, who directs this production of Gently Down The Stream, marking Martin Sherman’s 80th birthday.
The play follows the remarkably moving and brilliantly funny love story of Beau, an older American pianist living in London, and Rufus, an eccentric young lawyer. Coming of age during the 70s, Beau’s attitude to love has been seasoned by a life of loving men in a world that initially refused to allow it.
Timpson The Musical
King’s Head Theatre Opens 8th February
Following a smashing success at the Edinburgh Fringe 2018, Gigglemug Theatre bring their new musical – Timpson The Musical to the King’s Head Theatre in 2019. Sponsored by Timpson Ltd. themselves, Gigglemug Theatre’s debut musical explaining the origins of the high street cobbler’s “Timpson” is guaranteed hilarity.
Journey to Victorian London where Monty Montashoe and Keeleigh Keypulet, two young inventors bursting with ambition, strive to break free from the confines of their parents and follow their dreams all the way to the 50th annual ‘Invention Convention’!
Rip It Up
Garrick Theatre Opens 7th February
The ultimate Strictly boy band of dance bring the ’60s smashing into the 21st century, in an explosion of song, dance, acrobatics and amazing visuals! Aston Merrygold (JLS) and Jay McGuiness (The Wanted) sing, while Harry Judd (McFly) is on drums and Olympic champion Louis Smith performs amazing gymnastic feats.
The boys will be joined by an incredible cast of dancers, singers and musicians, in one of the most energetic shows to ever hit the West End stage.
Admissions
Trafalgar Studios Opens 28th February
Starring Alex Kingston, Admissions is a new play by Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other) that explodes the ideals and contradictions of liberal white America.
Sherri Rosen-Mason (Jessica Hecht) is head of the admissions department at a New England prep school, fighting to diversify the student body. Alongside her husband, the school’s Headmaster, they’ve largely succeeded in bringing a stodgy institution into the twenty-first century. But when their only son sets his sights on an Ivy League university, personal ambition collides with progressive values, with convulsive results.
The Price
Wyndham’s Theatre Opens 5th February
David Suchet delivers a comic tour de force as a silver-tongued 90 year old furniture dealer in Arthur Miller’s The Price.
Two brothers, Victor and Walter Franz, one a New York cop nearing retirement, the other a successful surgeon meet for the first time in sixteen years to sell their family furniture stored in the attic of a condemned New York brownstone. Revelation follows stunning revelation as each brother realises the price they have paid for heart breaking decisions made decades earlier.
Follies
National Theatre Opens 14th February
After a sold-out run, Follies returns to the NT in 2019. Stephen Sondheim’s legendary musical includes such classic songs as ‘Broadway Baby’, ‘I’m Still Here’ and ‘Losing My Mind’. Featuring a cast of 40 and an orchestra of 21, Follies is directed by Dominic Cooke. Tracie Bennett, Janie Dee and Peter Forbes return to reprise their roles, with Alexander Hanson and Joanna Riding joining the cast as Ben and Sally.
Jesus Hopped The ‘A’ Train
Young Vic Opens 14th February
From Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis, comes this critically-acclaimed dark comedy about the American justice system and the contradictory nature of faith.
Inside the lockdown wing of Rikers Island prison, a frightened young man accused of murdering a cult leader is confronted with a charismatic born-again serial killer and a sadistic guard. Will one man’s redemption lead to another’s damnation?
MT Fest UK
The Other Palace Opens 11th February
Not just one show to see, but a two-week festival of new musical theatre at The Other Palace from Monday 11 to Saturday 23 February 2019. The festival will present new work by both emerging and established writers, as well as programming talks and concerts from some of the most celebrated performers, writers and producers currently working in musical theatre.
At the centre of the festival will be a Taster Menu series of eight new musicals, each presented as a 45-minute semi-staged sharing in the studio at The Other Palace. The musicals will range from brand new commissions from Paul Taylor-Mills, to re-worked Broadway shows and brand-new musicals that Taylor-Mills has developed in his role as Affiliate Producer at The Other Palace. Beyond the Taster Menu series, the festival will also feature a selection of intimate talks, performances and one-off events throughout the day.
Waitress
Adelphi Theatre Opens 8th February
Katharine McPhee joins the Waitress London cast to play Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage. Pouring her heart into her pies, she crafts desserts that mirror her topsy-turvy life such as “The Key (Lime) to Happiness Pie” and “Betrayed By My Eggs Pie.” When a baking contest in a nearby county — and a satisfying run-in with someone new — show Jenna a chance at a fresh start, she must find the courage to seize it. Change is on the menu, as long as Jenna can write her own perfectly personal recipe for happiness.
Brought to life by a ground-breaking, all-female creative team, this Tony Award®-nominated hit features original music and lyrics by 6-time Grammy®nominee Sara Bareilles (“Love Song,” “Brave”), a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam) and direction by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Finding Neverland).
