London Theatre News

New season at National Theatre announced, featuring Kristin Scott Thomas and Giles Terera

The National Theatre has announced the latest season of shows to be performed across the three theatres, with new plays by April de Angelis and Jack Thorne, as well as a West End transfer of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which will play at the Duke of York's Theatre from October 2020.The season will also feature performances by Kristin Scott Thomas and Giles Terera and a London transfer of Standing at the Sky's Edge.Olivier TheatreLesley Sharp plays Philoctetes in Kate Tempest's adaptation...

Sara Bareilles and Gavin Creel extend Waitress run at the Adelphi Theatre

Waitress composer and Grammy Award winner Sara Bareilles and Olivier Award-winning actor Gavin Creel will appear in the West End production of Waitress at the Adelphi Theatre for an extended engagement. They'll star in the show for an extra two weeks, now appearing to 21st March.Sara Bareilles and Gavin Creel are "opening up" at the AdelphiBest known for her hit songs 'Love Song' and 'Brave', Bareilles reprises the role of Jenna in London, making her West end debut in the role. She's previously...

Bob Marley musical Get Up, Stand Up! to premiere in West End in 2021

UPDATE: Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical will now open in October 2021. Read here for more information.A new musical about the life of Bob Marley has confirmed a venue, dates and its star, with Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical set to play the West End in 2021.Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musicalwill chronicle the life of the Jamaican singer-songwriter, and will be written by Lee Hall, known for writing Billy Elliot and Network, and will be directed by Dominic Cooke, an...

New Wicked images released showing Laura Pick as Elphaba

­­­New production images have been released showing Laura Pick in the lead role of Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked, currently in its 14th year at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.Pick took over the role last month when it was announced that Nikki Bentley had withdrawn from the production for family reasons.Pick had been standby Elphaba in the musical since 2017, but has now stepped up to take on the role full-time alongside castmates Helen Woolf as Glinda and Alistair Brammer as...

Rufus Hound and Katy Brand join Everybody’s Talking About Jamie in the West End

New casting has been announced for the West End production of Everybody's Talking About Jamie, with Rufus Hound and Katy Brand set to join the show next month.It's a big year for the musical, as the production embarks on a UK tour starring Layton Williams, and a major motion picture set to star Richard E. Grant, Sharon Horgan and Sarah Lancashire being released in October.But the original production continues to run at the Apollo Theatre, where it is now in its third year and continuing to play...

Jay McGuiness and Kimberley Walsh reunite for Sleepless the Musical

Having previously starred alongside each other in the West End in Big, Kimberly Walsh and Jay McGuiness are set to reunite as they star in the premiere of Sleepless the Musical from April.Starring as Annie and Sam respectively, they will be joined by Daniel Casey who will play Walter in the romantic comedy musical about an architect who starts a new life in the Washington city and meets and falls for an engaged newspaper reporter.It is based on the 1993 Nora Ephron film starring Tom Hanks and...

Carrie Hope Fletcher to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella

Carrie Hope Fletcher is set to take on the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical version of Cinderella, which will open at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in August.Fletcher, who played the role in workshop performances of the musical at The Other Palace, is currently playing Fantine in Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, and has also starred in Mary Poppins, Heathers and The Addams Family.She will star as Cinderella in the musical which has a new book by Killing Eve writer Emerald...

Friday Briefing: A week to showcase the best of Britain's theatre press

Critics' Circle Theatre Awards On Tuesday (11th February), this year's Critics' Circle Theatre Awards were presented in an invitation-only ceremony at the Prince of Wales Theatre's Delfont Rooms (but live-streamed to Facebook). As chairman of the drama section of the Critics' Circle until last year, I hosted these awards for nine years; but I finally stepped down, and was replaced at Tuesday's event by the frequently hilarious Henry Hitchings, former theatre critic of the Evening Standard. It...

Casting announced for Lucy Prebble's The Effect at the Boulevard Theatre

Casting has been announced for the upcoming revival of Lucy Prebble's The Effect, which is set to be directed by Anthony Nielson at the Boulevard Theatre next month.It is the first time the play - which premiered at the National Theatre in 2012 - has been revived in London, and sees two paid subjects of a psychology experiment who fall in love while they are closely monitored.The play will star Kate O'Flynn, who is currently starring in all of it at the Royal Court and is known for her...

Katie Brayben and Tanya Moodie to star in Daddy at the Almeida Theatre

The UK premiere of Jeremy O. Harris' Daddy at the Almeida Theatre will include the Olivier Award-winning actress Katie Brayben, as the cast of nine has been announced, with performances starting next month.First performed in 2016, Daddy explores intimacy and identity as a young black artist meets an art collector, with a mother later trying to save her son who has found himself with a new father figure.Daddy is at the Almeida Theatre from 30th March, with an official opening night on 9th April...