Top 10 shows to see opening in London in September
After the ever-quiet August, September sees several shows open in the West End and beyond. From the political Hansard, A Very Expensive Poison and Two Ladies, to family dramas The Son or Falsettos, new theatres and new artistic directors, there's a lot to get excited about this month. Here's our pick of the openings in September.
© Marc Brenner
The Son
Florian Zeller returns to the West End with The Son, his family drama about a teenage boy struggling with the emotional trauma of his divorcing parents. Starring Amanda Abbington, the production is the first to transfer to the West End from the Kiln Theatre, since its rebrand from the Tricycle, as well as the sixth play by the Frenchman to run in London, following The Father, The Mother, The Lie, The Truth and The Height of the Storm.
Duke of York's Theatre, until 2nd November.
The Son tickets are available now.
Photo by Matthew Walker
Falsettos
William Finn and James Lapine's kaleidoscopic musical about a group of neighbours in New York City, including Marvin, his ten-year-old son Jason, wife Trina, psychiatrist Mendel, his boyfriend Whizzer, and the lesbian couple next door Charlotte and Cordelia. Featuring a top musical cast including Daniel Boys, Laura Pitt-Pulford and Oliver Savile, this Off-Broadway musical gets its European premiere in the intimate Other Palace directed by Tara Overfield-Wilkinson.
The Other Palace, until 23rd November.
Falsettos tickets are available now.
A Very Expensive Poison
Lucy Prebble returns with her first new play since The Effect at the National in 2012 with an adaptation on Luke Harding's book of the same name, which delves into the secrets and corruption around the death of Alexander Litvinenko. The former KGB spy had defected to MI6 before he was tragically murdered after being exposed to a radioactive substance, and a striking image of him lying in his hospital bed spread across the world. Prebble's play will star Tom Brooke as Litvinenko and Reece Shearsmith as 'The President' in John Crowley's production.
The Old Vic, until 5th October.
A Very Expensive Poison tickets are available now.
Photo: Mark Senior
Torch Song
Paul Taylor-Mills' brand new theatre in the unchartered territory of Battersea as the Turbine Theatre throws its doors open under the shadow of the iconic power station with a new production of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song. Starring Matthew Needham (Summer and Smoke) as a gay Jewish drag queen Arnold, the Tony Award-winning play, which was originally a trilogy, is directed by Drew McOnie.
Turbine Theatre, until 13th October.
Torch Song tickets are available now.
Hansard
Simon Godwin directs Simon Woods' new play Hansard, which stars Alex Jennings as seasoned Tory politician Robin Hesketh and Lindsay Duncan as wife Diana. Returning to their idyllic home in the Cotswolds, secrets are uncovered - presumably through Hansard, the official verbatim report of Parliamentary debates. It promises to be a sharp, witty look at a Parliamentarian's life.
National Theatre, until 25th November.
A Doll's House
Rachel O'Riordan is the latest from the latest influx of new artistic directors in London to begin their tenure as she directs Tanika Gupta new adaptation of Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Lyric Hammersmith. Gupta updates the play through a lens of British colonialism, offering a fresh female perspective on the play that wrestles with gender politics and identity.
Lyric Hammersmith, until 5th October.
A Doll's House tickets are available now.
Big the Musical
The Dominion finally reopens with a show after an extended period of closure with Big the Musical, the stage adaptation of the 1988 film which feature Tom Hanks as a boy who wishes he could wake up in an adult's body. The Wanted singer Jay McGuiness stars as Josh Baskin alongside Wendi Peters, Kimberley Walsh and Matthew Kelly in the musical with a score by David Shire and lyrics by Richard Maltby.
Dominion Theatre, from 6th September until 2nd November.
Big the Musical tickets are available now.
Two Ladies
Political theatre is ever popular this month, as Zoe Wanamaker and Zrinka Cvitešić star in Nancy Harris' new play Two Ladies. Directed by Nicholas Hytner at his Bridge Theatre, the play sees the first ladies of America and France meet in a side room as their husbands hash out and international crisis next door. Wanamaker appears at the Bridge for the first time, while Cvitešić returns to London after her Olivier Award-winning performance in Once.
Bridge Theatre, from 14th September to 26th October.
Photo: Marc Brenner
Blood Wedding
Yaël Farber directed the Federico García Lorca play Blood Wedding, which has been adapted by Marina Carr. A tragedy in three acts, it is the first play in Lorca's dramatic trlogy which includes Yerma (which starred Billie Piper at the Young Vic in 2016), and The House of Bernarda Alba. It sees an unnamed bride flee her wedding with a former lover.
Young Vic, from 19th September to 2nd November.
Photo credit: WEB-N TV (flickr)
Glass. Kill. Bluebird. Imp.
New Caryl Churchill plays are like buses, you wait three years for one and four turn up at once. The playwright brings a quadruple bill to the Royal Court, titled Glass., Kill., Bluebeard. and Imp. respectively. In typical theatre-marketing fashion, not much can be gleaned about the content from the hazy synopses, they do have a stellar cast across the four plays including Toby Jones, Tom Mothersdale, Sule Rimi and Deborah Findlay.
Royal Court, from 18th September to 12th October.
Glass., Kill., Bluebeard. and Imp. tickets are available now.
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