As we head in to May, it’s time to take a look at the top ten shows to see this month. Our list includes two productions coming from Edinburgh Fringe, American and Australian stars, and a ballet mixed programme that’s not to be missed.
10The Lehman Trilogy
Piccadilly Theatre 11th May to 3rd August
Following a sold-out run at the National Theatre, the NT and Neal Street Productions’ critically acclaimed The Lehman Trilogy will transfer to the Piccadilly.
Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley, and Ben Miles will reprise the roles they originated at the National Theatre in The Lehman Trilogy by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power and directed by Sam Mendes.
The story of a family and a company that changed the world, told in three parts on a single evening.
9Country Music
Omnibus Theatre 19th May to 23rd June
From Simon Stephens, the multi-award winning writer of the stage adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and directed by twice Offie Nominated director Scott Le Crass comes Country Music.
1983, Gravesend. Jamie has committed a crime. What he doesn’t know it that this event will shape the next 20 years of his life.
It’s a play about protection, atonement, but also about how our experiences and circumstances can define who we are, but not necessarily who we become.
8The Worst Little Warehouse in London
King’s Head Theatre 21st May to 26th May
When 12 people live under the same roof in a converted warehouse in North London, what could possibly go wrong?
This kooky, fun and light-hearted comedy follows Lala Barlow and Robbie Smith as two wide-eyed koalas fresh off the boat, looking for the perfect place to call home. Winner of the Adelaide Fringe Best Cabaret Award and nominated for Musical Theatre Review’s Best Musical and Broadway World’s Best Cabaret Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, relive their year living at Daisy Mill as they discover high ceilings, bathroom baskets and very thin bedroom walls.
7Sergei Polunin Mixed Programme
London Palladium 28th May to 1st June
International ballet stars Sergei Polunin and Johan Kobborg will perform in a new mixed programme at the London Palladium from 28 May to 1 June 2019. The programme on 28, 29 and 30 May will feature three one-act ballets: Fraudulent Smile, Paradox and Sacré. The programme on 31 May and 1 June will feature the world premiere of Rasputin, with a final ballet to be announced
6SHIFT
Shoreditch Townhall 7th May to 18th May
The company who brought you smash hits BROMANCE and KIN return with their brand new show SHIFT – with a dazzling array of tricks, humour and energy, this ensemble of four will challenge everything you thought you knew about gravity and physical achievement.
One of the UK’s hottest circus companies, Barely Methodical Troupe are at the forefront of a new kind of physical performance, creating highly entertaining shows that mix the show-stopping acrobatics of circus with the emotional punch of theatre.
5Henry V
Barn Theatre 22nd May to 22nd June
Aaron Sidwell and Lauren Samuels will star as Henry and Katherine respectively, in The Barn Theatre’s upcoming production of the Bard’s timeless historical classic, Henry V.
Set in modern surroundings, this enduring classic of Shakespeare’s tale of war, its victors and victims, is cleverly brought up to date and explores the conflict between tradition and modernity in Britain through the lens of a nation at war.
4Death of a Salesman
Young Vic 1st May to 29th June
Following her recent award-winning success on Company and Angels in America, Marianne Elliott will co-direct this production with Miranda Cromwell, who worked as Associate Director on both of those shows.
Death of a Salesman stars Wendell Pierce from US TV series Suits, making his UK stage debut as Willy Loman, Sharon D. Clarke as Linda Loman and Arinzé Kene.
3Salomé
Greenwich Theatre 14th May to 25th May
Originally banned in Britain, Oscar Wilde’s outrageously provocative Salomé comes to the stage in this exotic and exquisite new production and features as the final production in Lazarus Theatre’s second year-long residency at The Greenwich Theatre.
King Herod asks Salomé to dance for him… this request leads to The Dance of the Seven Veils and one of the most shocking, thrilling and scandalous climaxes ever seen on stage.
2Coral Browne: This F***ing Lady
King’s Head Theatre 19th May to 3rd June
Prospect Productions have announced the UK première of Coral Browne: This F***ing Lady!, written and directed by Maureen Sherlock. Amanda Muggleton stars in this one-women play based on the real life of the stage and screen star Coral Browne. It opens at King’s Head Theatre on 19 May and runs until 3 June.
In 1934 aged 20 Coral Browne arrived in London from Australia with £50 in her pocket, stars in her eyes and driving ambition in her heart. 85 years later Coral is back in London to let you know how that starry-eyed 20 year-old turned out!
1The Starry Messenger
Wyndham’s Theatre 16th May to 10th August
Hollywood star and multiple Tony Award-winning Broadway legend Matthew Broderick – renowned for roles including Ferris Bueller in the iconic movie and Leo Bloom in The Producers – is to make his West End debut in in The Starry Messenger by Kenneth Lonergan, the Academy Award-winning writer of Manchester-By-The-Sea.
The production, directed by Sam Yates (Glengarry Glen Ross), also stars Elizabeth McGovern, known to millions for her portrayal of Lady Cora in the multi award-winning drama series Downton Abbey.
In the vastness of the universe are we all just lonely souls under the same night sky? Mark Williams is lost. An astronomer at New York City’s Planetarium, he feels a closer connection to the infinite, starry sky than to his job or even to his wife, Anne. Mark doesn’t believe in fate or divine intervention, but the universe has other ideas.
