London Theatre News

Paul Merton to star alongside Michael Ball in Hairspray at the London Coliseum

Paul Merton is set to join Michael Ball in the upcoming West End revival of Hairspray at the London Coliseum, making his London musical debut.Merton will play Wilbur Turnblad, a joke shop owner whose daughter is vying for fame by entering a TV talent competition, and is married to Edna Turnblad, Ball's character.The musical opens on 23rd April, with casting also including Lizzie Bea and Marisha Wallace. Tickets are available now.Hairspray West End castPaul Merton joins Michael Ball, who...

Friday Briefing: Actors and artists as spokespeople and other cultural storms

It is a critic's job to have opinions. Like 'em or loathe 'em, a critic can't, in the end, sit on the fence - as the saying goes, you end up having splinters up your arse. But in the increasingly polarised world we live in, expressing opinions can get you into seriously hot water. What we write isn't necessarily popular, especially when we're being critical (as we sometimes must be).Laurence Fox appeared on Question Time earlier this weekAt least we typically confine our opinions to the work in...

Mean Girls set sights on West End transfer in spring 2021

Mean Girls producers have announced they are 'in final discussions' for a West End transfer of the stage musical adaptation.With a book by Tina Fey and music and lyrics by Jeff Richmond and Neil Benjamin respectively, the musical is based on Fey's movie which starred Lindsay Lohan as a high schooler who falls in with the popular girls as she starts her new high school.Produced on stage by Lorne Michaels, Stuart Thompson, Sonia Friedman, and Paramount Pictures, it has been announced that Casey...

Samuel Bailey’s Shook to transfer to Trafalgar Studios

UPDATE: Shook was cancelled at Trafalgar Studios due to Coronavirus. A performance of Shook will be filmed in December 2020 and released early next year.After beating over 1,400 entrants to win the 2019 Papatango New Writing Prize, Samuel Bailey's Shook will receive its West End transfer. Shook will be performed at Trafalgar Studio Two for a four-week engagement from April 2020.Examining the consequences of locking up teenagers, Shook follows Grace, as she works with three teenagers as they...

In London's evolving critical landscape, how much personal information should critics divulge?

This year has marked the official start for two writers as chief theatre critics of their respective papers. At The Guardian, Arifa Akbar formally took over from Michael Billlington following his retirement after over 48 years in the post, while at The Times, it was announced that Clive Davis was appointed to take over from Ann Treneman, who stepped down in September last year (after, as she put it, deciding "at the age of 63, to go back to university and study landscape architecture and...

New Shakespeare's Globe season sees Alfred Enoch play Romeo

Michelle Terry has announced her latest season at Shakespeare's Globe, which she says will be "fuelled by mythic love and the hope of radical and positive transformation", and feature productions of Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, and Twelfth Night.Actor Alfred Enoch will star as Romeo in Ola Ince's production of Romeo & Juliet, set to open the season on 14th April. Enoch, known for his screen roles in the Harry Potter series and How To Get Away With Murder, has recently starred on...

Richard Gadd’s Baby Reindeer to get West End transfer from Bush Theatre

Baby Reindeer, the debut play by writer Richard Gadd, will transfer to the West End following its sell out runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Bush Theatre.Directed by Jon Brittain, and Olivier Award winner for his production of Rotterdam, the play recounts Gadd's real experiences with a stalker, as one offer of a cup of tea transformed into six years of torment.Gadd stars in the play, which will run at the Ambassadors Theatre from 2nd April until 2nd May, prior to a run in New York in the...

Michael Longhurst announces second Donmar Warehouse season

Artistic director Michael Longhurst has announced his second season at the helm of the Donmar Warehouse, which will feature a play by a Pulitzer Prize winner, a double bill in response to the climate emergency, and a world premiere of a film adaptation.The season begins with In the Blood, which will be the UK premiere of the play by Suzan-Lori Parks. Parks' 2001 play Topdog/Underdog saw her become the first African American woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama, and her earlier work...

Mischief Theatre’s Magic Goes Wrong extends West End run

Mischief Theatre has extended the West End run of its latest production Magic Goes Wrong, which opened at the Vaudeville Theatre earlier this month.Created in collaboration with legendary Las Vegas magicians Penn and Teller, the production is the latest in the company's 'Goes Wrong' series, which also includes The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong, alongside their other comedies The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, and Groan Ups, which opened the West End season at the Vaudeville last...

Six extends booking period at the Arts Theatre to January 2021

Celebrating its first birthday in the West End today, an extended booking period for Six at the Arts Theatre has been announced. The five-time Olivier Award-nominated musical will now run at the Arts Theatre to 31st January 2021, with tickets for the new booking period on sale from 17th January.Six extends in the West EndSix will now play at the Arts Theatre for an extended booking period to 31st January 2021, with tickets for performances from August 2020 available from 2pm on 17th January. As...