NOTE: ALL LONDON THEATRES WILL REMAIN CLOSED THROUGH AT LEAST APRIL 26. PLAYBILL WILL UPDATE THESE LISTINGS WHEN NEW INFORMATION IS MADE AVAILABLE. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST THEATRE-RELATED CORONAVIRUS UPDATES.
- Theatre: Menier Chocolate Facotry
- First Preview: March 13, 2020
- Opening: March 23, 2020
- Playwright: Paula Vogel
- Director: Rebecca Taichman
- Cast: Alexandra Silber, Corey English, Beverley Klein, Finbar Lynch, Molly Osborne, Peter Polycarpou, Joseph Timms
Inspired by the true events surrounding the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s The God of Vengeance—a play seen by some as a seminal work of Jewish culture, and by others as an act of traitorous libel—Indecent charts the history of an incendiary drama and the path of the artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it.
- Theatre: Boulevard Theatre
- First Preview: March 19, 2020
- Opening: March 24, 2020
- Playwright: Lucy Prebble
- Director: Anthony Neilson
- Cast: Eric Kofi Abrefa, Christine Entwisle, Tim McMullan, Kate O'Flynn
Hearts racing. Minds reeling. Knees buckling. Connie and Tristan have palpable chemistry—or is it a side effect of a new antidepressant? They are volunteers in a clinical trial, but their sudden and illicit romance forces the supervising doctors to face off over the ethical consequences of their work. The Effect takes on our pill-popping culture with humor and scintillating drama.
- Theatre: Park Theatre
- First Preview: March 25, 2020
- Opening: March 30, 2020
- Playwright: Bruce Norris
- Director: Oliver Kaderbhai
- Cast: Michael Fox, Imogen Stubbs, Eric Underwood, Alisha Bailey, Maddy Hill, Andrew Langtree, Richard Lintern
Borrowing elements from Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Bruce Norris' Pulitzer Prize-winning play explores race relations and gentrification in the changing face of a Chicago neighborhood.
- Theatre: Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
- First Preview: March 21, 2020
- Opening: March 31, 2020
- Book: Michael Burdette
- Music: Robert Scott & Brendan Cull
- Lyrics: Robert Scott & Brendan Cull
- Director: Morgan Young
- Cast: Michael D. Xavier, Kimberley Walsh, Soo Douet, Gay Soper, Alex Fobbester, Dylan Turner, Vicki Davids, Michael Carolan, Jobe Hart, Charlie Bull, Charlotte Gale, Matt Holland, Joanna Rennie, Tyler Smith, Annette Yeo
Sleepless is the enchanting new romantic musical comedy based on the original story and screenplay of the romcom classic Sleepless In Seattle. Sleepless tells the heart-warming tale of Sam, who moves to Seattle with his eight year-old son, Jonah, following the tragic death of his wife. When Jonah phones a radio show, Sam is forced to talk about his broken heart and sleepless nights live on air, and he suddenly finds himself one of the most sought after single men in America and a great news story for feisty journalist Annie on the opposite side of the country. Can Jonah bring the two together on the top deck of the Empire State Building? A fresh and lively book alongside a brand-new musical score bring this most timeless of romantic comedies to life on stage.
- Theatre: The Other Palace
- First Preview: March 31, 2020
- Opening: April 2, 2020
- Book: Dominic Powell
- Music: Dominic Powell
- Lyrics: Dominic Powell
- Director: Grace Taylor
- Cast: Maiya Quanasah-Breed, Sabrina Aloueche, Andrew Patrick-Walker, Adrian Hansel
Cases is a new musical exploring the triumphs, heartbreaks and sacrifices involved in the pursuit of art where the commercial world collides with the underground and fame becomes a high price to pay. Relationships change, partnerships rearrange and ideas exchange. The musical depicts the ultimate fight for creative freedom, providing a voice for artists, performers and creatives alike who lose financial security during the establishing of a career.
- Theatre: Ambassadors Theatre
- Opening: April 2, 2020
- Created by Richard Gadd
- Directed by Jon Brittain
- Cast: Richard Gadd
When comedian Richard Gadd offers a stranger a free cup of tea, he has no sense of the nightmare to come. One act of kindness. Six years of torment.
- Theatre: Trafalgar Studios 2
- Opening: April 8, 2020
- Playwright: Samuel Bailey
- Director: George Turvey
- Cast: Josef Davies, Josh Finan, Andrea Hall, Ivan Oyik
Instead of GCSEs, Cain, Riyad and Jonjo got sentences. Locked up in a young offenders’ institution, they trade sweets, chat shit, kill time – and await fatherhood. Grace’s job is to turn these teenagers into parents, ready to take charge of their futures. But can they grow up quickly enough to escape the system?
- Theatre: Almeida Theatre
- First Preview: March 30, 2020
- Opening: April 9, 2020
- Playwright: Jeremy O. Haris
- Director: Danya Taymor
- Cast: Rebecca Bernice Amisah, Keisha Atwell, Jabari Braham, Katie Brayben, Alexander Hanson, David Jonsson, Ionna Kimbook, John McCrea, Tanya Moodie
Franklin, a young black artist on the verge of his first show, meets Andre, an older white art collector, and before long their feverish link deepens into an irresistible bond. But when Franklin’s Christian mother decides that her son is in peril, she enters into a battle of wills with Andre over the soul of the man they both call baby. Basquiats and Birkins, gospel and pop, and fantasy and reality collide around a Bel Air swimming pool in this deeply surreal exploration of intimacy and identity.
- Theatre: Shakespeare's Globe
- Opening: April 14
- Playwright: William Shakespeare
- Director: Ola Ince
- Cast: Alfred Enoch
Teenagers Romeo and Juliet fall for each other despite their warring families in Verona. Their passionate romance leads to tragedy in William Shakespeare's tale of forbidden love.
- Theatre: National Theatre - Lyttelton
- First ThPreview: April 7, 2020
- Opening: April 15, 2020
- Playwright: Moira Buffini
- Director: Fiona Buffini
- Cast: Nancy Carroll, Ben Daniels, Michele Austin, Peter Bray, Gillian Dean, Amy Forrest, David Hargreaves, Edward Judge, Shaniqua Okwok, Eliot Salt
A violent storm sweeps the coast. Diana Stuckley and her daughter are struggling to keep the roof on their run-down manor house, when neighbours and strangers begin to appear on their doorstep, seeking shelter from the floods. One of these unexpected arrivals is Ted Farrier, the charismatic leader of a right-wing organisation: he could be Diana’s saviour – or pull the fragile household to pieces. Stranded together, this explosive mix of people must survive the weather, and each other.
- Theatre: Barbican Theatre
- Opening: April 16, 2020
- Playwright: Ramsey Nasr, adapted from Thomas Mann
- Director: Ivo van Hove
- Cast: Achraf Koutet, Aus Greidanus Jr, Marieke Heebink, Ramsey Nasr, Steven van Watermeulen
When an older writer arrives in 1911 Venice, he finds himself powerfully, perhaps tragically, drawn to a beautiful youth. Death in Venice is a magnificent examination of the nature of beauty and the limitless capacity of the spirit.
- Theatre: Old Vic Theatre
- First Preview: April 6, 2020
- Opening: April 17, 2020
- Playwright: Amy Herzog
- Director: Matthew Warchus
- Cast: Eileen Atkins, Timothée Chalamet, Maya Britto, Nesba Crenshaw, Siu-see Hung, Dan Krikler, Robyn Sinclair, Philippine Velge
After losing his best friend while they were on a cross-country bike trip, 21 year-old Leo seeks solace from his feisty 91 year-old grandmother in her West Village apartment.
- Theatre: Duke Of York's Theatre
- Opening: April 20, 2020
- Playwright: Robert Icke, adapted from Arthur Schnitzler
- Director: Robert Icke
- Cast: Juliet Stevenson, Jamie Parker, Chris Colquhon, Shelley Conn, Anni Domingo, Liv Hill, Millicent Wong, Mariah Louca, Daniel Rabin, Joy Richardson, Naomi Wirthner, Hannah Ledwidge
First. Do no harm. On an ordinary day, at a private hospital, a young woman fights for her life. A priest arrives to save her soul. Her doctor refuses him entry. In a divisive time, in a divided nation, society takes sides.
ORFEUS: A HOUSE MUSIC OPERA
• Theatre: Young Vic Theatre
• First Preview: April 14, 2020
• Opening: April 21, 2020
• Words, Music and Libretto: Nmon Ford
• Director: Charles Randolph- Wright
• Cast: Nmon Ford
Blurring the lines of opera, house music and theatre, Nmon Ford’s Orfeus makes its World Premiere at the Young Vic, directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. Set in the near future, this unique production blends music genres and performance into a timeless version of Ovid’s legend. Orfeus confronts his true nature to save the beautiful poet Euridice from his father Pluto, the fascist ruler of a dystopian empire. Grammy award-winning Nmon Ford plays Orfeus.
- Theatre: Donmar Warehouse
- First Preview: April 17, 2020
- Opening: April 22, 2020
- Playwright: Suzan-Lori Parks
- Director: Ellen McDougall
- Cast: Nikki Amuka-Bird, April Koyejo-Audiger, Paul Bazely, GinnyHolder, Martins Imhangbe, Sinead Matthew, Sule Rimi
An unflinching look at the hates, fears and simple misunderstandings that allow homelessness and unintentional parenthood to become a self-perpetuating cycle. An adaptation of Hawthorne’s classic tale, The Scarlet Letter.
SOPHOCLES' ANTIGONE: THE BURIAL AT THEBES
• Theatre: Lyric Theatre Hammersmith
• First Preview: April 18, 2020
• Opening: April 23, 2020
• Playwright: Sophocles, translated by Seamus Heaney
• Director: Roy Alexander Wise
• Cast: Babirye Bukilwa, Alexander Campbell, Simon De Deney, Nick Fletcher, Kwong Loke, Arian Nik, Ruth Redman, Yusra Warsama
This epic tale of humanity versus leadership centres on a young woman with the courage to defend her beliefs – whatever the cost. Roy Alexander Weise directs Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney’s bold translation of Sophocles’ Antigone, in a large scale production featuring a chorus of young performers from the Lyric Ensemble.
WELCOME TO IRAN
• Theatre: Theatre Royal Stratford East
• First Preview: April 18, 2020
• Opening: April 24, 2020
• Playwright: Nadia Fall
• Director: Nadia Fall
• Cast: Moe Bar-El, Nalân Burgess, Souad Faress, Karina Fernandez, Nicholas Karimi, Serena Manteghi, Maimuna Memon, Isabella Nefar, Kareem Samara, Joplin Sibtain
Ava is a twenty-something Londoner. Following the death of her estranged father, she journeys to Iran in search of his past and her extended family. Exploring the rich culture and thriving art scene of this oft misunderstood country, Ava is swept into a world of raves, raids and illicit love, all whilst negotiating family politics, Tehran traffic and the morality police. Based on real-life testimonials, this new play by Nadia Fall offers a tender and witty snapshot of modern life in Iran.
- Theatre: National Theatre - Olivier
- First Preview: April 15, 2020
- Opening: April 28, 2020
- Playwright: Richard Bean and Oliver Chris
- Director: Thea Sharrock
- Cast: James Corrigan, Laurie Davidson, Richard Fleeshman, Jordan Metcalfe, Caroline Quentin, Natalie Simpson, Helena Wilson
July 1940. After an aerial dog fight, Pilot Officer Jack Absolute flies home to rejoin his intrepid young Hurricane squadron at RAF Fontwell (formerly Malaprop Hall). Back on British soil, Jack is shocked to find his old flame, Lydia, on the base. Setting his sights on winning her heart, Jack’s advances turn to anarchy when the young heiress demands to be loved on her own terms.
HAIRSPRAY
• Theatre: London Coliseum
• First Preview: April 23, 2020
• Opening: April 29, 2020
• Book: Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell
• Music: Marc Shaiman
• Lyrics: Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
• Director: Jack O'Brien
• Cast: Michael Ball, Lizzie Bea, Marisha Wallace, Paul Merton, Rita Simons, Jonny Amies, Kimani Arthur, Dermot Canavan, Lori Haley Fox, Mari McGinlay, Ashley Samuels, Michael Vinsen, Imogen Bailey, Pearce Barron, Jordan Benjamin, Nicholas Collier, Joel Cooper, Luke George, Christopher Gopaul, Winny Herbert, Chris Howell, Lily Laight, Hannah Grace Lawson, Madeleine Lawton, Holly Liburd, Will Luckett, Mireia Mambo, Kody Mortimer, Robyn Rose, Tinovimbanashe Sibanda, Kibong Tanji, Amy West, Natalie Woods
Look who’s back! Don’t miss Michael Ball reprising his Olivier Award-winning role as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray the Musical. The huge-hearted, smash-hit musical arrives at the magnificent London Coliseum from next April for a strictly limited 12-week season. From the original award-winning creative team of director Jack O’Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, and featuring the infectiously feel-good songs "Good Morning Baltimore", "You Can’t Stop the Beat" and "Big, Blonde and Beautiful" this inspirational, fun-loving and fabulously uplifting musical sensation is back and bigger than ever.
RARE EARTH METTLE
• Theatre: Royal Court- Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
• First Preview: April 2, 2020
• Opening: TBA
• Playwright: Al Smith
• Director: Hamish Pirie
• Cast: Carlo Alban, Ashleigh Castro, Marcello Cruz, Arthur Darvill, Lesley Lemon, Giselle Martinez, Racheal Ofori, Genevieve O'Reilly, Golda Rosheuvel, Rick Warden
A leading British doctor with a radical plan to save the NHS and a Silicon Valley billionaire with a radical plan to halt climate change, meet outside an abandoned train on a salt flat in South America. A landscape so bright in its whiteness that it isn’t easy to look at, and so uninterrupted in its flatness there’s no echo. For Kimsa and his daughter who live there, the arrival of these strangers initially seems like an opportunity. Until they both stake their claim on the land, each following their ruthless pursuit of ‘the greater good’.
TWO PALESTINIANS GO DOGGING
• Theatre Royal Court- Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
• First Preview: April 9, 2020
• Opening: TBA
• Playwright: Sami Ibrahim
• Director: Omar Elerian
• Cast: Sofia Asir, Amir El-Masry, Joe Haddad, Philipp Moglintsky, Sirine Saba, Avigail Tlalim, Miltos Yerolemou
The year is 2024, and Reem and her husband Sayeed are here to share a ‘Serious Play about Palestine’. Things are tense. People are on the edge. The Third Intifada is right around the corner. But on a contested piece of land near their village of Beit al-Qadir, this couple is about to go dogging. Don’t worry, you’re allowed to laugh.
- Theatre: Kiln Theatre
- First Preview: April 22, 2020
- Opening: April 28, 2020
- Playwright: Hannah Khalil
- Director: Erica Whyman
- Cast: David Birrell, Houda Echouafni, Emma Fielding, Ali Gadema, Rendah Heywood, Zed Josef, Nadi Kemp-Sayfi, Dabbie Korley, Riad Richie, Rasoul Saghir
In 1926, the nation of Iraq is in its infancy, and British archaeologist Gertrude Bell is founding a museum in Baghdad. In 2006, Ghalia Hussein is attempting to reopen the museum after looting during the war. Decades apart, these two women share the same goals: to create a fresh sense of unity and nationhood, to make the world anew through the museum and its treasures. But in such unstable times, questions remain. Who is the museum for? Whose culture are we preserving? And why does it matter when people are dying?
- The Bridge Theatre
- First Preview: April 22, 2020
- Opening: April 30, 2020
- Playwright: Stephen Beresford
- Director: Nicholas Hytner
- Cast: Alex Jennings
Raffish, urbane and frequently drunk, David Highland has kept a grip on his remote coastal parish through a combination of disordered charm and high-handed determination. But when his faith impels him to take a hard line with a bereaved parishioner, he finds himself dangerously isolated from public opinion. As his own family begins to fracture and his marriage falls apart, David must face a future that threatens to extinguish not only his position in the town, but everything he stands for.
- Theatre: Hope Mill Theatre
- Opening: May 9, 2020
- Book: Oscar Hammerstein II, Douglas Carter Beane
- Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
- Music: Richard Rodgers
- Director: Joseph Houston
- Cast: TBA
Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical Cinderella is reconceived in a new dramatic context, featuring a new book by Douglas Carter Beane.
- Theatre: Ambassadors Theatre
- Opening: May 11, 2020
- Playwright: Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon
- Director: Guy Masterson
- Cast: Ian Shaw, Demetri Goritsas, Liam Muray Scott
Cape Cod, 1974: shooting on JAWS has stalled.Steven Spielberg’s stars – Robert Shaw, Roy Sheider and Richard Dreyfuss – are stuck on a boat, frustrated by foul weather and a faulty mechanical shark. Awash with alcohol and ambition, three great white sharks start to bare their teeth.
- Theatre: Park Theatre
- First Preview: May 6, 2020
- Opening: May 12, 2020
- Playwright: Archie Maddocks
- Director: Michael Buffong
- Cast: TBA
A pub. A funeral parlour. An urban-zen enoteca and conscious eatery. One building in Brixton tells the story of London’s changing communities over three very different generations. Trinidadian funeral director Clarence and fifth generation pub owner George don’t want things to change. But everything around them is changing. Do they adapt to survive? Or stay true to their roots and risk it all... family, tradition, business?
- Theatre: Trafalgar Studios 2
- Opening: May 12, 2020
- Playwright: John Godber
- Director: Jane Thornton
- Cast: Martha Godber, Adrian Hood, John Godber
Dennis and Mick are the worst taxi drivers in the North; ignorant, offensive and rude! But when longstanding owner Val suddenly dies, they have to deal with her savvy, streetwise, tourism guru of a niece; feisty new graduate Roxy, who takes over the running of the firm.
- Theatre: Shakespeare's Globe
- Opening: May 15, 2020
- Playwright: William Shakespeare
- Director: Sean Holmes
- Cast: TBA
Mistaken identity, wild characters and unusual courtships are all combined in one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies.
101 DALMATIANS
• Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
• Opening: May 16, 2020
• Music and Lyrics: Douglas Hodge
• Book: Zinnie Harris
• Director: Timothy Sheader
• Cast: Kate Fleetwood
Based on Dodie Smith's iconic story set in the heart of Regent’s Park, this new musical is written by Zinnie Harris and Douglas Hodge.
- Theatre: Harold Pinter Theatre
- First Preview: May 8, 2020
- Opening: May 19, 2020
- Playwright: Laura Wade
- Director: Samuel West
- Cast: Sam Alexander, Sally Bankes, JaneBooker, Elaine Claxton, Tim Delap, Sophie Duval, Louise Ford, John Wilson Goddard, Grace Molony, Elander Moore, Paksie Vernon, Cat White, Laurence Ubong Williams, Ralph Davis
What happens when the writer loses the plot? Emma Watson is nineteen and new in town. She’s been cut off by her rich aunt and dumped back in the family home. Emma and her sisters must marry, fast. If not, they face poverty, spinsterhood, or worse: an eternity with their boorish brother and his awful wife. Luckily there are plenty of potential suitors to dance with, from flirtatious Tom Musgrave to castle-owning Lord Osborne, who’s as awkward as he is rich. So far so familiar. But there’s a problem: Jane Austen didn’t finish the story. Who will write Emma’s happy ending now? Based on her incomplete novel, this sparklingly witty play looks under the bonnet of Jane Austen and asks: what can characters do when their author abandons them?
WELCOME TO IRAN
• Theatre: National Theatre - Dorfman Theatre
• Opening: May 21, 2020
• Playwright: Nadia Fall
• Director: Nadia Fall
• Cast: Moe Bar-El, Nalân Burgess, Souad Faress, Karina Fernandez, Nicholas Karimi, Serena Manteghi, Maimuna Memon, Isabella Nefar, Kareem Samara, Joplin Sibtain
Ava is a twenty-something Londoner. Following the death of her estranged father, she journeys to Iran in search of his past and her extended family. Exploring the rich culture and thriving art scene of this oft misunderstood country, Ava is swept into a world of raves, raids and illicit love, all whilst negotiating family politics, Tehran traffic and the morality police. Based on real-life testimonials, this new play by Nadia Fall offers a tender and witty snapshot of modern life in Iran.
- Theatre: Almeida Theatre
- First Preview: May 18, 2020
- Opening: May 26,2020
- Playwright: Beth Steel
- Director: Blanche McIntyre
- Cast: TBA
The House Of Shades spans five decades of the lives, and deaths, of the Webster family. Inside their home, set against the ever-changing industrial landscape of working-class Britain, some chase dreams of a brighter future, and others are haunted by the nightmares of the past.
A FIGHT AGAINST...
• Theatre Royal Court- Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
• First Preview: May 20, 2020
• Opening: TBA
• Playwright: Pablo Manzi, Translated by William Gregory
• Director: Sam Pritchard
• Cast: TBA
A lecturer in Chile. A study group in the USA. A torture instructor in Argentina. A hangman in Mexico. A woman who won’t stop dancing in Paraguay. Pablo Manzi’s darkly comic odyssey across the Americas explores whether violence brings us closer together and what it takes to walk past on the other side of the street. Developed on a residency at the Royal Court in 2017, A Fight Against…marks the English language debut of one of Chile’s most significant new voices.
- Theate: Park Teatre
- First Preview: May 27, 2020
- Opening: June 1, 2020
- Playwright: Shamia Chalabi & Sarah Henley
- Director: TBA
- Cast: TBA
Meet Ashraf - an Egyptian, Muslim, taxi driver - and Shazia, his half Egyptian, half Wigan daughter…who is more interested in last call at the bar, than the call to prayer. Following Ashraf's trusty taxi, we witness Wigan at its finest - fancy-dress bingo, driving lessons, ex-wives, meddling uncles, hot sauce and plenty of bad karaoke. Full of heart, this father-daughter story contrasts moments of pure joy and silliness with ones that’ll have you reaching for your Kleenex - juggling Allah and Aldi, mosques and mojitos and of course - burkas and bacon butties.
- Theatre: Southwark Playhouse
- First Preview: May 29, 3030
- Opening: June 5, 2020
- Book: Michael Conley
- Lyrics: Michael Conley
- Music: Dylan Schlosberg
- Director: Charlotte Westerna
- Cast: Norman Bowman, Jacqui Dankworth
Atlantic City. 1988. Jonny and Rebecca are very much in love and very much in debt. He’s a struggling singer-songwriter who spends most of his time playing backup for Annie at the Oasis Casino Hotel Resort, and she works part-time at the casino and for a local charity. They struggle to make ends meet but they’re happy and that’s enough.
THE GLOW
• Theatre: Royal Court- Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
• First Preview: May 29, 2020
• Opening: TBA
• Playwright: Alistair McDowall
• Director: Vicky Featherstone
• Cast: TBA
1863. An asylum. A woman locked in a windowless cell, with no memory as to who she is, or how she arrived there. When spiritualist medium Mrs Lyall requires a new assistant, this nameless woman seems the perfect candidate. But as the woman’s past begins to reveal itself, so do new powers neither are prepared for. The Glow was the 2018 Pinter Commission, an award given annually by Lady Antonia Fraser to support a new commission at the Royal Court Theatre.
- Theatre: Barbican Theatre
- Opening: June 5, 2020
- Playwright: Tennessee Williams
- Director: Ivo van Hove
- Cast: Isabelle Huppet, Justine Bachelet, Cyril Guei, Nahuel Perez Biscayart
Tennessee Williams’s autobiographical “memory play” looks at the WIngfield family—frustrated writer Tom, his nagging mother, Amanda, who is often lost in memories of her Southern-belle past, and his painfully shy sister, Laura—and the effect a visit from a “gentleman caller” for Laura has on all their lives.
- Theatre: Boulevard Theatre
- First Peview: June 4, 2020
- Opening: June 9, 2020
- Playwright: Athol Fugard
- Director: Yaël Farber
- Cast: TBA
Athol Fugard's drama set in 1965 South Africa, about the uneasy reunion of a brother and his estranged sister who returns home as her father is dying.
- Theatre: Kiln Theatre
- First Preview: June 4, 2020
- Opening: June 10, 2020
- Playwright: Richard Cameron
- Director: Kate Wasserberg
- Cast: TBA
It’s the Summer of 1962. The hard-working, hard-drinking members of the Edlington Miners’ Glee Club are preparing for their local gala. But as times change, they realise that the ‘good old days’ may not last forever.
- Theatre: Gielgud Theatre
- First Preview: May 21, 2020
- Opening: June 11, 2020
- Playwright: Aaron Sorkin
- Director: Bartlett Sher
- Cast: Rhys Ifans
Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the Depression-era South, defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his children against prejudice.
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
• Theatre: Savoy Theatre
• Opening: June 11, 2020
• Book: James Lapine
• Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
• Director: Sarna Lapine
• Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Annaleigh Ashford
Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford are set to reprise their roles in Stephen Sondheim's musical Sunday in the Park with George, which transfers to the West End's Savoy Theatre following Broadway success in 2017. With a book by James Lapine, the musical is inspired by the French painter Georges Seurat and his work titled 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'. The story concerns a character called George, a fictionalised version of the artist, who immerses himself in the painting.
- Theatre: Donmar Warehouse
- First Preview: June 10, 2020
- Opening: June 15, 2020
- Playwright: Steve Waters
- Director: Caroline Steinbeis and Chelsea Walker
- Cast: TBA
Glaciologist Will Paxton returns from Antarctica to the home of his reclusive parents in Norfolk. He’s looking for reconciliation but he also has news: a flood is coming. This will be the Big One. Is it the one his father predicted all those years ago?
- Theatre: National THeatre - Lyttelton Theatre
- Opening: June 17, 2020
- Playwright: Emlyn Williams
- Director: Dominic Cooke
- Cast: Nicola Walker, Adam Baker, Jordan Bamford, Saffrom Coomber, Gareth David-Lloyd, Iwan Davies, Jonathan Hawkins, Richard Lynch, Alice Orr-Ewing, Sophie Stanton, Garyn Williams, Rufus Wright
It's the turn of the 20th century and the determined Miss Moffat has just moved to a poor Welsh mining town with the idea of setting up a school. When she stumbles upon a promising protégé amidst the coal dust, she dedicates herself to educating him all the way to Oxford.
- Theatre:Playhouse Theatre
- First Preview: June 10, 2020
- Opening: June 18, 2020
- Playwright: Henrik Ibsen
- Director: Jamie Lloyd
- Cast: Jessica Chastain
Nora Helmer, a childlike wife and mother accustomed to an existence built around her husband Torvald, comes to confront the truth of her marriage, in Henrik Ibsen's groundbreaking 1879 play.
- Theatre: Shakespeare's Globe
- Opening: June 19, 2020
- Playwright: William Shakespeare
- Director: Eleanor Rhode
- Cast: TBA
The course of true love never runs smooth. Beatrice and Benedick bicker constantly, but are easily tricked into admitting warm feelings for each other. Claudio and Hero, soon to be wed, are separated by a malicious rumor. Will both couples reach the marriage altar?
SUCKER PUNCH
• Theatre: Theatre Royal Stratford East
• First Preview: June 19, 2020
• Opening: June 25, 2020
• Playwright: Roy WIlliams
• Director: Roy Alexander Weise
• Cast: TBA
Leon and Troy are best mates trying to figure out their place in the world amid mounting unemployment and simmering racial tensions. After finding solace in Charlie’s gym, they start forging their path into the ruthless world of professional boxing. Roy Williams’ bruising play examines what it was like to be a young black man in 1980s Britain and asks, how can you fight a system that’s desperate to see you fail?
- Theatre: Barbican Theatre
- Opening: June 27, 2020
- Book: Tim Rice
- Lyrics: Tim Rice
- Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Director: Jamie Lloyd
- Cast: TBA
An obscure and ambitious actress becomes the powerful and controversial first lady of Argentina.
ROMEO AND JULIET
• Theatre: Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
• Opening: June 27, 2020
• Playwright: William Shakespeare
• Director: Kimberley Sykes
• Cast: TBA
Set in Verona, where the rival houses of Capulet and Montague have had a long-standing feud, Romeo And Juliet is Shakespeare’s famous tragedy of star-crossed lovers, filled with all the passion of young love.
LOCAL HERO
• Theatre: The Old Vic
• First Preview: June 18, 2020
• Opening: June 30, 2020
• Book: Bill Forsyth and David Greig
• Music and Lyrics: Mark Knopfler
• Director: John Crowley
• Cast: TBA
Ambitious Texan oil executive Mac MacIntyre arrives in Scotland on a mission to buy a small seaside village and replace it with a refinery. It’s the deal of a lifetime, but Mac soon finds that putting a price on this beautiful spot is more complicated than he bargained for. Before the locals get rich, they must decide what their home is worth. The hit comedy film Local Hero takes to the stage as John Crowley directs a new musical adaptation by Bill Forsyth and David Greig with music and songs by the legendary Mark Knopfler.
- Theatre: National Theatre - Olivier Theatre
- Opening: June 30, 2020
- Playwright: Kate Tempest
- Director: Ian Rickson
- Cast: Lorna Gayle, Lesley Sharp
In a cave on a desolate island lives Philoctetes: once a wartime hero, now a wounded outcast. Stranded for ten years, he sees a chance of escape when a young soldier appears with tales of Philoctetes' past glories. But with his hope comes suspicion and, as an old enemy emerges, he is faced with an even greater temptation: revenge.
PURPLE SNOWFLAKES AND TITTY WANKS
• Theatre: Royal Court- Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
• First Preview: June 29, 2020
• Opening: TBA
• Playwright: Sarah Hanly
• Director: Alice Fitzgerald
• Cast: TBA
Sinéad Murphy has learnt to orgasm with an electric toothbrush; she’s getting together with boys in car parks at church discos; and she’s doing so well in exams, her teachers think she’s cheating. She’s also struggling to manage a big secret, and there’s only one person she can talk to about it. Purple Snowflakes and Titty Wanks is written and performed by Sarah Hanly, and directed by Alice Fitzgerald.
JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT
- Theatre: London Palladium
- Opening: July 2, 2020
- Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Book and Lyrics: Tim Rice
- Director: Laurence Connor
- Cast: Jac Yarrow, Jason Donovan
Following a triumphant sold-out season, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will return to The London Palladium for a strictly limited season of just 77 performances in summer 2020. Released as a concept album in 1969, the stage version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has become one of the worlds most beloved family musicals. The multi-award-winning show, which began life as a small scale school concert, has been performed hundreds of thousands of times including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway, international number one tours, and productions in over 80 countries as far afield as Austria and Zimbabwe and from Israel to Peru. The show features songs that have gone on to become pop and musical theatre standards, including Any Dream Will Do, Close Every Door To Me, Jacob and Sons, There’s One More Angel In Heaven and Go, Go, Go, Joseph.
HAMLET
• Theatre: Young Vic Theatre
• First Preview: July 6, 2020
• Opening: July 10, 2020
• Playwright: William Shakespeare
• Director: Greg Hersov
• Cast: Cush Jumbo
Cush Jumbo makes her Young Vic debut as a new kind of Hamlet for this generation. Following a succession of award-winning productions together, she reunites with her long-time collaborator, director Greg Hersov, to bring us Shakespeare’s great tragedy about power, politics and desire, reimagined for today.
- Theatre: National Theatre - Dorfman Theatre
- Opening: July 14, 2020
- Playwright: Gary Owen
- Director: Rachel O'Riordan
- Cast: Anita Reynolds, Callum Scott-Howells, Rosie Sheehy
Romeo is a teenage single dad hangingon tight. Julie is fighting to follow her dream of studying at Cambridge. Two 18-year-olds raised a few streets apart – but from entirely different worlds – crash into first love and are knocked off their feet. But at the crossroads to the rest of their lives, both families fear the worst in world of unequal opportunity.
- Theatre: Wyndham's Theatre
- First Peview: June 28, 2020
- Opening: July 15, 2020
- Playwright: Lolita Chakrabarti
- Director: Max Webster
- Cast: Hiran Abeysekera, Mina Anwar, Sagar Arya, Alex Chang, Fred Davis, Tom Espiner, Kirsten Foster, Daisy Franks, Raj Ghatak, Nuwan Hugh Perera, Romina Hytten, Sarah Kameela Impey, Tom Larkin, David K.S. Tse, Syreeta Kumar, Deeivya Meir, Habib Nasib Nader, Scarlet Wilderink
After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, there are five survivors stranded on a lifeboat - a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, a Royal Bengal tiger, and a sixteen year-old boy named Pi. Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive?
- Theatre: Roundhouse
- Opening: July 17, 2020
- Book: Sabrina Dhawan and Arpita Mukherjee
- Lyrics: Masi Asare and Susan Birkenhead
- Music: Vishal Bhardwaj
- Director: Mira Nair and Stephen Whitson
- Cast: TBA
The perfect storm starts brewing when family members from around the world descend on Delhi for a nonstop four-day celebration of an arranged marriage between a modern upper-middle-class Indian family’s only daughter and an American guy she’s never met. But the bride is having an affair, her father’s financial troubles deepen, and dark family secrets surface. The forecast calls for drama, love, hope, laughs, and a whole lot of rain.
- Theatre: Shakespeare's Globe
- Opening: July 18, 2020
- Playwright: William Shakespeare
- Director: TBA
- Cast: TBA
The tragic tale of the classic Egyptian lovers and their battles with Caesar Octavius.
- Theatre: Park Theatre
- First Preview: July 15, 2020
- Opening: July 23, 2020
- Director: Alexandra Rutter
- Cast: TBA
Rainy season. Tokyo. Akizuki is skipping class; Yukino should be at work. When a student and an older woman seeking solace in a Japanese garden meet by chance, their mutual feelings of alienation draw them together. But a truth is about to be uncovered. The friendship that could save them might also ruin them…
- Theatre: Curve Theatre
- First Preview: July 15, 2020
- Opening: July 23, 2020
- Book: Paul Blake
- Music: Cole Porter
- Lyrics: Cole Porter
- Director: Nikolai Foster
- Cast: TBA
A chance encounter with an American reporter sends the royal rebel on a scooter ride through Rome. Whilst Princess Ann enjoys her first taste of freedom – his first thought is a career-changing tabloid scoop at the Princess’s expense.
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
• Theatre: Sadler's Wells
• Opening: July 24, 2020
• Book: Betty Comden and Adolph Green
• Music: Nacio Herb Brown
• Lyrics: Arthur Freed
• Director: Jonathan Church
• Cast: Adam Cooper
Song-and-dance legend, Adam Cooper, reprises the iconic role made so famous by Gene Kelly in Jonathan Church’s critically acclaimed production of Singin’ in the Rain. A smash-hit at Chichester Festival Theatre and in the West End, this irresistibly charming show returns to London in 2020 to make a summer splash! Andrew Wright’s high-energy choreography and Simon Higlett’s sumptuous set design (including over 14,000 litres of water on stage every night) combine with the charm, romance and wit of one of the world’s best- loved films. Singin’ in the Rain features the glorious MGM score including "Good Morning", "Make ‘em Laugh", "Moses Supposes" and the legendary "Singin’ in the Rain".
- Theatre: Duke Of York's Theatre
- Opening: July 24, 2020
- Playwright: Martin McDonagh
- Director: Matthew Dunster
- Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Steve Pemberton
A writer in a totalitarian state is interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a number of child-murders that are happening in his town.
IS GOD IS
• Theatre Royal Court- Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
• First Preview: July 16, 2020
• Opening: TBA
• Playwright: Alesha Harris
• Director: Ola Ince
• Cast: TBA
When a letter arrives from the mother they thought was dead, twins Racine and Anaia travel from the Dirty South to the California desert and a yellow house with teal shutters. They are on a mission to avenge her past and ready to take down anyone who stands in their way. Aleshea Harris’ award-winning play collides the ancient, the modern, the tragic, the spaghetti Western, hip-hop and Afropunk.
NANJING
• Theatre: Royal Court- Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
• First Preview: July 20, 2020
• Opening: TBA
• Playwright: Jude Christian
• Director: Ekayce Ismail
• Cast: TBA
This is a personal response to the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, otherwise known as the Rape of Nanking. British Chinese writer/performer Jude Christian tells a story about belonging anywhere and no where at once, and looks at how our lives are shaped by history. In an explosive time for political discourse around the world, Nanjing asks: what does it mean to fight hatred and love one another? Nanjing is set in England, China, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, the USA and the Isle of Man. It comes to the Royal Court as part of a tour of the seven countries which make up its story.
SISTER ACT
Theatre: Eventim Apollo
Opening: July 21, 2020
Book: Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, Douglas Carter Beane
Lyrics: Glenn Slater
Music: Alan Menken
Director: TBA
Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Saunders, Clive Rowe
When disco singer Deloris Van Cartier is placed in protective custody in a dying convent, her unique brand of funk comes face-to-face with the traditions of the church. Someone's habits are about to change.
Based on the Touchstone Pictures motion picture Sister Act, written by Joseph Howard.
HORRIBLE HISTORIES: BARMY BRITAIN - PART FIVE
• Theatre: Apollo Theatre
• Opening: July 30, 2020
• Closing: August 29, 2020
• Playwright: Terry Deary, Neal Foster, and Ciaran McConville
• Cast: TBA
We all want to meet people from history. The trouble is everyone is dead! So Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain is back with a brand-new show full of crazy new characters and rude new rulers from Britain’s barmy past! Will you conquered by King William? Will you sink or swim with King Henry I? Will Thomas Becket get the chop? Go house hunting with King Henry VIII! Are you scared to scale the Tudor scaffold? Join the gorgeous Georgians as they take over England! Break into Buckingham Palace and hide from the Queen! Watch out for the witch of World War Two! It’s history with the nasty bits left in!
CAROUSEL
• Theatre: Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
• Opening: July 31, 2020
• Music: Richard Rodgers
• Libretto: Oscar Hammerstein II
• Director: Timothy Sheader
• Cast: TBA
Free-spirit carnival barker Billy Bigelow's love for the curiously soulful Julie Jordan persists beyond the circles of time. Includes the songs "If I Loved You," "You'll Never Walk Alone," "June Is Bustin' Out All Over" and "Soliloquy (My Boy Bill)." Based on the drama Liliom by Ferenc Molnar.
- Theatre: Lyric Theatre Hammersmith
- First Preview: July 28, 2020
- Opening: August 5, 2020
- Music: Leslie Bricussse
- Book: Leslie Bricusse
- Lyrics: Leslie Bricusse
- Director: Clarke Peters
- Cast: Giles Terera
Takes us from Sammy’s days as a child working in vaudeville through his time with Dean and Frank as a member of the Rat Pack.
DRAGONS AND MYTHICAL BEASTS
• Theatre: Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
• Opening: August 11, 2020
• Playwright: Derek Bond
• Director: Derek Bond and Laura Cubitt
• Cast: TBA
Calling all brave heroes! Enter into a magical world of myths and legends in this fantastical new interactive show for all the family. Unveil a myriad of dark secrets and come face to face with some of the most magnificent monsters and terrifying beasts ever to walk the earth. Discover the colossal Stone Troll, the mysterious Indrik and Japanese Baku; the Tooth Fairy (not as sweet as you'd think), an adorable Unicorn and majestic Griffin. Take your place among legendary heroes, just don't wake the Dragon…
- Theatre: Nottingham Playhouse
- First Preview: July 3, 2020
- Opening: August 11, 2020
- Book: Stuart Paterson
- Music: George Stiles
- Lyrics: Anthony Drewe
- Director: Trevor Nunn
- Cast: TBA
The twin-sational new musical based on the novel The Parent Trap by Erich Kästner. The classic story of twin girls separated at birth, reunited by chance at a summer camp ten years later. In an attempt to get to know their parents and reconcile the two halves of their family, they decide to swap places and live each other’s lives.
- Theatre: Donmar Warehouse
- First Preview: August 7, 2020
- Opening: August 12, 2020
- Playwright: Tim Price
- Director: Michael Longhurst
- Cast: TBA
Tomas and Ebba are determined to have quality family time with their children, so they head to the Alps on a skiing holiday. But when disaster strikes, their carefully constructed world is turned upside down.
- Theatre: Adelphi Theatre
- First Preview: August 11,2020
- Opening: August 27, 2020
- Book: Michael Stewart
- Music: Jerry Herman
- Lyrics: Jerry Herman
- Director: Dominic Cooke
- Cast: Imelda Staunton, Jenna Russell, Andy Nyman
High-spirited matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi helps three sets of young people find romance, while angling to win for herself the "well-known half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder. Based on Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker," this long-running musical includes the songs "Before the Parade Passes By," "It Only Takes a Moment," and the title song.
- Theatre: Shakespeare's Globe
- Opening: September 4, 2020
- Playwright: Sami Ibrahim, Laura Lomas, Sabrina Mahfouz
- Director: Sean Holmes and Holly Race Roughan
- Cast: TBA
- Theatre: Newcastle Theatre Royal
- Opening: September 5, 2020
- Book: Ed Curtis
- Score: The Drifters
- Director: Jonathan Church
- Cast: Beverley Knight
The story of Faye Treadwell, the legendary manager of The Drifters, who, alongside her husband, fought for three decades to turn Atlantic Records' hottest vocal group into a global phenomenon.
- Theatre: Boulevard Theatre
- First Preview: September 16, 2020
- Opening: September 22, 2020
- Playwright: Billy Roche
- Director: Kathy Burke
- Cast: TBA
Meet the Cavalcaders - Terry, Rory, Ted and Josie - three generations of Barber shop singers from small-town Ireland. These likely lads spend their days mending shoes and their nights as singers of local legend, holding court on the charity circuit. This is the story of their lives, their loves, their betrayals and their memories.
PORTIA COUGHLAN
• Theatre: Young Vic
• First Preview: September 16, 2020
• Opening: September 22, 2020
• Playwright: Marina Carr
• Director: Caroline Byrne
• Cast: Ruth Negga
Academy Award-nominee Ruth Negga makes her Young Vic debut as Portia Coughlan in Marina Carr’s haunting play, directed by Caroline Byrne. Portia Coughlan is a profound and disturbing story about love and kinship, examining how the history of the family is the history of a nation.
- Theatre: Garrick Theatre
- Opening: October 1, 2020
- Book: Ed Curtis
- Score: The Drifters
- Director: Jonathan Church
- Cast: Beverley Knight
The story of Faye Treadwell, the legendary manager of The Drifters, who, alongside her husband, fought for three decades to turn Atlantic Records' hottest vocal group into a global phenomenon.
- Theatre: Playhouse Theatre
- Opening: October 6, 2020
- Playwright: C.P. Taylor
- Director: Dominic Cooke
- Cast: David Tenant
Good is a music-filled play providing a wildly theatrical account of one man's denial in the Third Reich.
- Theatre: Gillian Lynne Theatre
- Opening: October 9, 2020
- Book: Emerald Fennell
- Lyrics: David Zippel
- Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Director: Laurence Connor
- Cast: Carrie Hope Fletcher
- Theatre: National Theatre - Olivier Theatre
- Opening: October 28, 2020
- Playwright: Helen Edmundson
- Director: Rufus Norris
- Cast: TBA
Adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson, Small Island follows three intricately connected stories. Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope and humanity meet stubborn reality as the play traces the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK.
- Theatre: Queen Elizabeth Hall
- Opening: December 9, 2020
- Book: Jeff Whitty
- Lyrics: Amanda Green and Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Music: Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tom Kitt
- Director: Guy Unsworth
- Cast: Vanessa Fisher, Amber Davies, Louis Smith, Alicia Belgarde, Georgia Bradshaw, Ayden Morgan, Samuel Wilson-Freeman, Chloe Pole, Frances Dee, Marvyn Charles
Two squads, one mission: claim the title at the National Cheerleading Championships. The challenge: competition between the two teams is nothing compared to the competition inside them...and these girls can bring it.
