Ralph Fiennes's Richard III Leads June's Top 10 New London Shows
By: Marianka Swain May. 30, 2016
London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From Shakespeare and Rattigan to new musicals and an Edward Snowden play, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews...
1. Richard III, Almeida Theatre
Artistic Director Rupert Goold directs Ralph Fiennes in the villainous title role, kicking off the Almeida's starry new season. Vanessa Redgrave is Queen Margaret, and the supporting cast features Joanna Vanderham, Mark Hadfield, Joseph Mydell, Finbar Lynch and Scott Handy.
2. The Deep Blue Sea, National Theatre
Helen McCrory stars in Terence Rattigan's shattering portrait of need, loneliness and passion. She reunites with director Carrie Cracknell, who helmed her Medea, also at the National, in 2014. The cast includes Tom Burke, Peter Sullivan, Marion Bailey and Hubert Burton.
3. The Go-Between, Apollo Theatre
Phantom legend Michael Crawford leads David Wood and Richard Taylor's musical adaptation of L. P. Hartley's classic tale of love and loss. Roger Haines directs a company that features Issy van Randwyck, Stuart Ward and Gemma Sutton.
4. Henry V, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Emma Rice has pledged gender parity at the Globe, the Donmar's all-female Shakespearean troupe is reassembling, and over at Regent's Park, Michelle Terry takes on an iconic male role as she tackles Henry V. Robert Hastie directs, and Ben Wiggins is Princess Katharine.
5. Aladdin, Prince Edward Theatre
The Disney film-turned-hit musical arrives in the West End. Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice supplied the score, Chad Beguelin the book, and Casey Nicholaw directs British rising stars Dean John-Wilson and Jade Ewen, and Broadway's Trevor Dion Nicholas.
6. Hobson's Choice, Vaudeville Theatre
Jonathan Church's production, which began at the Theatre Royal Bath, celebrates the 100th anniversary of Harold Bridghouse's classic comedy. Martin Shaw is the titular self-made man, alongside Naomi Frederick, Bryan Dick, Gabrielle Dempsey and Joanna McCallum.
7. Sunset at the Villa Thalia, National Theatre
Alexi Kaye Campbell's resonant new play goes back to the Sixties and journeys through a turbulent decade of political unrest in Greece. Simon Godwin directs Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey), Ben Miles, Pippa Nixon, Eve Polycarpou and Sam Crane.
8. Macbeth, Shakespeare's Globe
Iqbal Khan, acclaimed for his ground-breaking RSC Othello in 2015, takes on the Scottish play. Ray Fearon and Tara Fitzgerald play the scheming nobles, and the cast also includes Sam Cox, Nadia Albina, Jermaine Dominique, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd and Freddie Stewart.
9. The Spoils, Trafalgar Studios
Hollywood star Jesse Eisenberg makes his West End debut, writing and starring in a new dark comedy. Sam Elliott's production also features Alfie Allen (joining fellow Game of Thrones escapees Richard Madden and Kit Harington), Katie Brayben, Kunal Nayyar and Annapurna Sriram.
10. Wild, Hampstead Theatre
Mike Bartlett's latest is a thinly veiled Edward Snowden drama, examining zeitgeist ideas like heroism, citizens' rights, and the cost of tackling the global status quo in the digital age. James Macdonald directs Jack Farthing, John Mackay and Caoilfhionn Dunne.
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