Wanamaker News

London is never short of temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. We've already posted our Christmas picks, and now here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings (sans tinsel). Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld reviews, interviews and features!

Jodie Prenger leads the cast in Abigail's Party, Mike Leigh's groundbreaking comedy classic which begins a major UK tour in Brighton on 10 January 2019 and tours until 20 April 2019 in Edinburgh.

Mischief Theatre today announces new cast members and 2019 extension for the critically acclaimed and Olivier Award nominated The Comedy About A Bank Robbery. Due to continued high demand, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery announces an extension of their run until 3 November 2019, as they approach their third year on the West End.

You wait so long for a Macbeth then like the buses, four major productions come along at once. The Barbican is staging the Royal Shakespeare Company's offering while the roundly panned National Theatre's effort is out on tour and the National Youth Theatre's version is playing in the West End.

Playing the Wicked Witch of the West, actor Jos Vantyler shares the challenges of taking on such well-known roles, the joys of performing villains, and what audiences can expect from the show.

Queens-based Rude Grooms will mount a limited Halloween engagement of the rarely seen 1621 play The Witch of Edmonton in partnership with The Astorian and Long Island City Artists. The play was written by William Rowley, Thomas Dekker, and John Ford and will be led by actor-manager Kate Pitt (The Way of the World at the Folger Theatre, Rude Grooms' Much Ado About Nothing) and associate produced by Emma Montoya Hills (Associate General Manager, HERE Arts Center). The production will play the Plaxall Gallery on October 28th at 7:30pm and The Astorian on Halloween, October 31, at 7:30pm. Reservations are strongly encouraged and can be made at rudegrooms.com.

Shakespeare's Globe has announced the full cast of Ralegh: The Treason Trial, compiled, edited, dramatized and directed by Oliver Chris. A verbatim account of what played out on that extraordinary November morning in 1603, the production has been compiled and edited from sources present at the trial itself. It will premiere in Winchester Great Hall from Friday 16 November, the location of the original trial 415 years ago, before opening in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse on Saturday 24 November for a limited one week run.

Kiln Theatre, Tamasha and Live Theatre today announce the full cast for the world premiere of Ishy Din's Approaching Empty in a first-time creative collaboration for the three companies. Pooja Ghai directs Kammy Darweish (Mansha), Rina Fatania (Sameena), Karan Gill (Shazad), Nicholas Khan (Raf), Nicholas Prasad (Sully) and Maanuv Thiara (Tany). The production opens at Kiln Theatre on 14 January, with previews from 9 January, and runs until 2 February. Following performances at Kiln Theatre, the production tours to Live Theatre, Newcastle; Tron Theatre, Glasgow; Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh; Derby Theatre; Belgrade Theatre, Coventry; Curve, Leicester; Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch, and Coliseum Theatre, Oldham.

Shakespeare's Globe is delighted to announce the full cast of Paulette Randall's Doctor Faustus, opening in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse on Saturday 1 December.

A West End production has been announced for Switzerland starring Phyllis Logan as renowned author Patricia Highsmith with Calum Finlay as Edward Ridgeway. The award-winning psychological thriller is written by Joanna Murray-Smith and directed by Lucy Bailey and will run at the Ambassadors Theatre in London from Saturday 10 November 2018 until Saturday 5 January 2019.

Queens-based Rude Grooms will mount a limited Halloween engagement of the rarely seen 1621 play The Witch of Edmonton in partnership with The Astorian and Long Island City Artists. The play was written by William Rowley, Thomas Dekker, and John Ford and will be led by actor-manager Kate Pitt (The Way of the World at the Folger Theatre, Rude Grooms' Much Ado About Nothing) and associate produced by Emma Montoya Hills (Associate General Manager, HERE Arts Center). The production will play the Plaxall Gallery on October 28th at 7:30pm and The Astorian on Halloween, October 31, at 7:30pm. Reservations are strongly encouraged and can be made at rudegrooms.com.

Upstart Crows of Santa Fe in association with the International Shakespeare Center is excited to welcome actor, author, producer and explorer of original practices in Shakespeare rehearsal and production, Ben Crystal to Santa Fe for three days of talks and workshops. We are also delighted to announce that Ben is the 2018 visiting artist for the annual Youth Shakespeare Festival Santa Fe.

The Ferryman has come to Broadway hot off its acclaimed West End run. Get to know the cast below as they begin Broadway performances!

Sheffield Theatres and Out of Joint today announce the full cast for their co-production of the world premiere of Kate Bowen's Close Quarters. Kate Wasserberg directs Ruby Barker (Private Sarah Findlay), Bradley Banton (Sergent Adeyemi), Chloe-Ann Tylor (Private Alison Cormack), Dylan Wood (Lance Corporal Brian Armstrong), Sophie Melville (Private Clare Davies) and Kathryn O'Reilly (Captain Anna Sands). The production opens on 29 October, with previews from 25 October, and runs until 10 November.

Today, BroadwayWorld remembers Mazzie with an extensive photo gallery of her life onstage and off. 

Following a sell-out show in 2014, Shakespeare's Globe is delighted to announce the return of Andrew Logan's Alternative Miss World on Saturday 20 October. Joining Andrew as co-host will be actor Sara Kestelman.

8th August, 2018, marks the 30th anniversary of the 1988 student uprising against the military dictatorship in Burma (now Myanmar), and Guy Slater in association with Tara Arts is proud to announce the casting for its World Premiere production of Eastern Star, to be performed at Tara Theatre from 11th - 29th September. Press night is on Wednesday 12th September at 7.30pm.

The American Shakespeare Center (ASC) will host a book signing of co-founder Dr. Ralph Alan Cohen's book 'ShakesFear and How to Cure It' on Wednesday, September 12 at 5:30pm at the Blackfriars Playhouse. At the signing, Professor Cohen, using scenes from As You Like It, will demonstrate how Shakespeare's language is our own. The event is open to all.

Love's Labour's Lost is one of Shakespeare's earlier comedies and has never been one of his more popular plays. Even attempts to make it more appealing by Kenneth Branagh in 2000 by turning it into a musical did little to sway public opinion. Nick Bagnall's production focuses more on slapstick comedy than it does on passion and romance.