Helen Murray News

Writer and comedian Francesca Martinez's debut play All of Us is directed by Ian Rickson, runs in the Dorfman Theatre from 18 March until 16 May. Press night is the 26 March.

Love was in the air at the Bush Theatre this Valentine's Day with the opening of Temi Wilkey's new play The High Table. A heartfelt drama that spans generations of a Nigerian family, this is a confident debut.

The Bush Theatre's studio feels like a perfect place for this play, as it demands close proximity between the audience and actor. Sitting on a raised ledge, Essie tells us the story of her job displacement, intertwining conversations she's had with her friends, family and former partners. Her aim is to make a list of words that describe her - in order for her to pull them out when being asked about herself in interviews. Words like smart, practical, and perfectionist are a few that have been chosen to be used.

Roy Williams and Clint Dyer's one man play explores the complexities of white working class identity in a multicultural, post-Brexit England with verve and passion.

Naomi Wirthner directs Tim Crouch in his acclaimed work, I, Cinna (the poet), the fifth play in his series of solo shows inspired by Shakespeare's minor characters. In this exposition, I, Cinna (the poet) gives voice to one of Shakespeare's unluckiest individuals.

a?oeGrime changed my life, more than my two first class degrees, it gave me permission.a?? Debris Stevenson is back at the Royal Court with a limited of her grime theatre show Poet in da Corner, prior to a UK tour. Inspired by the acclaimed breakthrough album from her idol Dizzee Rascal (Boy in da Corner), it charts Stevenson's journey from dyslexic teen trapped in a Mormon household to independent and self-aware woman; this is a story told from the heart, in the best way she knows how.

When the artistic team at the Bush told me that they were interested in programming my play, I genuinely couldn't believe it. Not only because I'm a first-time writer, but also because when you write a play about a queer British-Nigerian woman, you don't really expect it to be programmed. My plan was to get this first play off of my chest and then quickly move onto the next.

a?oeIt was human tapioca.a?? An unusual way to describe a party, perhaps, but a stickily accurate one. That's just one of many effective lines in Miriam Battye's Scenes with girls at the Royal Court. Knowing references, squeals of delight and animated gestures confirm the hilarious familiarity shared between Tosh and Lou as the two dissect said party, and from there audiences are quickly drawn into their comfortable space.

Billed as the only all-female panto in the world, The Fairytale Revolution: Wendy's Awfully Big Adventure is the latest pantomime offering from Battersea's Theatre503. With a cast of only four, this is an energetic and charming production that attempts to subvert many pantomime stereotypes. Wendy from Peter Pan is stuck at home caring for the Lost Boys, while Peter Pan and her brothers have all the adventures. Captain Hook is a poetry-lover who wants to break free from his villainous past. The pair team up and go on to meet Thumbelina's mother Baker Swife (!), who has been sent to Banishment for trying to save her daughter.

The National Youth Theatre revamp Mary Shelley's masterpiece and update it for a modern audience in what should be a cutting-edge production at Southwark Playhouse. Carl Miller's rewriting of the first ever science fiction novel looks more like a translation for the 21st century rather than a faithful adaptation, setting the story in a nondescript future that doesn't look too far away. Director Emily Gray leads the stylish retelling: Garth (Sonny Poon Tip) corresponds with his sister Bob (Natalie Dunne) via radio, who details the rescue of Doctor Victoria Frankestein (Ella Dacres) in the Arctic and the obsession that's led her to that point.

Opening the 2019 National Youth Theatre REP season is Neil Bartlett's adaptation of Great Expectations. With director Mumba Dodwell at the helm, this new take on the novel uses ensemble storytelling to great effect.

Get a first look at Hackney Showroom's world première of for all the women who thought they were Mad by Zawe Ashton.

Danusia Samal's award-winning play packs plenty of issues, perhaps too many, into its drama but says important things about the way young Muslim women are expected to behave, as they navigate the first generation immigrant experience.

Hackney Showroom presents the world première of for all the women who thought they were Mad by Zawe Ashton. Associate Director of Hackney Showroom's Jo McInnes directs Layo-Christina Akinlude (Angela), Mina Andala (Joy), Jennifer Dixon (Kim), Joy Elias-Rilwan (Margaret), Jumoké Fashola (Ruth), Michael Fitzgerald (Boss/Doctor), Janet Kumah (Rose), with Elena Coleman, Chiamara Nwosu and Rae Ann Quayle sharing the role of Nambi. The production opens at Stoke Newington Town Hall on 17 October, with previews from 14 October, and runs until 9 November – marking Hackney Showroom's a new partnership with the London Borough of Hackney to bring theatre to Stoke Newington Town Hall.

I go to the Bunker more than any other London theatre, but when stepping into the building this time I hardly recognised it. Still retaining it's open and welcoming atmosphere, the inside has been completely transformed into a traditional working boozer. If you arrive in the hour before the show you can grab a drink on stage. On Tuesday there's a pub quiz and Thursday allows you to show your skills on the karaoke microphone.

The National Theatre presents 'Master Harold'... and the boy, featuring Lucian Msamati (Amadeus, Kiri) as Sam, Hammed Animashaun (Barber Shop Chronicles, A Midsummer Night's Dream) as Willie and Anson Boon (Blackbird, The Alienist) as Hally, and directed by Roy Alexander Weise (Nine Night, The Mountaintop).

When I was first approached by Giles Foden to adapt his 1998 novel for the stage, I was unsure how to respond. I'd seen Kevin MacDonald's fine movie version in 2006 and wondered what a theatrical version could add to it. So I went back to Giles's novel and found myself gripped by his account of Ugandan history and the complexity of Idi Amin Dada, its nightmarishly charismatic President from 1971 to 1979. Giles constructed Nicholas Garrigan, Amin's physician, out of a number of real prototypes, ranging from rogue diplomats to mercenaries. What gripped me from the outset was the core psychological drama exploring friendship, charisma and denial in the face of atrocity. 

This adaptation of Giles Foden's novel takes us into the heart of Idi Amin's regime

Athol Fugard's 1982 play, set in 1950s Port Elizabeth, is inspired by his own boyhood in apartheid-era South Africa a?' as Fugard says in a programme note, it's a?oethe most intensely personal thing I have ever writtena??. Like his teenage character Harold (Fugard's actual first name), his father was disabled and his mother tried to keep them afloat via a struggling tearoom. And, crucially, Fugard also had a complex relationship with Sam and Willie, their black employees a?' encapsulated here in an increasingly gripping 100-minute piece of atonement.

From the award-winning Anna Jordan (Killing Eve, Sid Gentle Films Ltd; Succession, HBO), written between the Brexit vote and Trump's Presidential victory, We Anchor in Hope captures a moment of deep uncertainty in recent history and the characters' lives when local pub, The Anchor, closes for good. Chaos is in the air, and yet life goes on. For the duration of the play's run The Bunker will become The Anchor - transformed into a functioning pub with post-show events including pub quizzes, karaoke nights and music.