{"id":51684,"date":"2025-07-01T09:40:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T08:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=51684"},"modified":"2025-07-05T11:47:42","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T10:47:42","slug":"musicians-politicians-and-actors-theatre-in-london-this-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/musicians-politicians-and-actors-theatre-in-london-this-july\/","title":{"rendered":"Musicians, Politicians, and Actors:Theatre in London This July"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Inter Alia<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Lyttelton Theatre<\/em><\/strong>
National Theatre, South Bank<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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National Theatre<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Inter Alia is a Latin legal phrase used to suggest that what\u2019s listed isn\u2019t everything \u2014 \u201camong other things.\u201d A fitting title for Suzie Miller\u2019s play: she\u2019s not only a successful playwright but also a trained lawyer, and she clearly knows her subject. Her previous hit play Prima Facie also took its name from a legal term meaning \u201cat first glance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you’re expecting another dry courtroom drama \u2014 think again. The legal setting here serves more as an authentic backdrop. Placing her heroine like a fish in familiar waters, Miller zooms in on her inner world. The director, Justin Martin, reunites with Miller after Prima Facie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Parks is a high-flying London judge \u2014 brilliant, sharp, successful. But she\u2019s also a mother, a wife, a friend, and a karaoke enthusiast. Suddenly, her world starts to collapse. Tenderness and rage, guilt and love, despair and hope begin to blur and clash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can this fragile bird in a wig and robes survive? Rosamund Pike, remembered for her role in Saltburn as the icy matriarch of a grand estate, takes to the stage as Jessica Parks. This marks Pike\u2019s National Theatre debut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also worth noting: Inter Alia was recently a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the world\u2019s oldest and most prestigious playwriting award honoring women+ in theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Girl from the North Country<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Old Vic, 103 The Cut<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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The Old Vic<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Yes, it\u2019s named after the 1963 Bob Dylan song from The Freewheelin\u2019 Bob Dylan. So many women have claimed to be the girl in that song, but Dylan himself always insisted she was an archetype \u2014 a song about love, and its loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, Girl from the North Country isn\u2019t really about romance \u2014 though that, too, is part of the mix.
This acclaimed musical returns to The Old Vic, where it premiered in 2017 before enjoying an incredibly successful international run. Now it\u2019s back, a reunion of sorts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this is a jukebox musical, a beloved subgenre. And naturally, the more than 20 Dylan songs in the show are familiar from first note to last. But the story?
Set in Depression-era Duluth, Minnesota, in a rundown guesthouse owned by a man named Nick, whose life is falling apart. One daughter is pregnant by an unknown man. His son drinks and dreams of becoming a writer. Guests drift through, weighed down by griefs and ghosts too heavy to bear. Then comes a mysterious preacher named Marlowe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


It\u2019s practically an American The Lower Depths \u2014 remember that line from Gorky\u2019s Luka: \u201cA man can do anything \u2014 if he wants to.\u201d This roaming tale of human struggle, wrapped in Dylan\u2019s genius songwriting, is masterfully woven by playwright Conor McPherson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Girl from the North Country is the winner of both Tony and Olivier Awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good Night, Oscar<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Barbican, Silk Street<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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 London Theatre<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A rare treat \u2014 a guest production from across the Atlantic. A biographical play rooted in a real 1958 event. TV host Jack Paar invites pianist and provocateur Oscar Levant onto his NBC late-night talk show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who was Oscar Levant? Too little known today. A brilliant supporting actor whose performances often eclipsed the leads. A world-class pianist and composer who filled concert halls. A razor-sharp wit whose jokes offended celebrities \u2014 and eventually got his own show cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The play was written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Doug Wright, and premiered in Chicago in a production directed by Lisa Peterson. It transferred to Broadway in 2023, earning three Tony nominations, including Best Actor in a Play, which went to Sean Hayes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hayes \u2014 best known for his comedic role in Will & Grace \u2014 here reveals profound dramatic range. Of course, Good Night, Oscar is a tragicomedy. Audiences laugh first, and cry later. Hayes doesn\u2019t impersonate Levant \u2014 he explores him: his genius, his pain, his spiraling mind. No judgment, no pity \u2014 just deep, human compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Merry Wives of Windsor<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Shakespeare\u2019s Globe, New Globe Walk<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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 London Theatre<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

“When night-dogs run, all sorts of deer are chased” \u2014 such is the epigraph to this summer\u2019s new Shakespearean comedy at the Globe.
Yes, it\u2019s high summer, and the Globe stage is alive again with raucous, unfiltered Shakespeare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the real deal \u2014 raw, unrefined, full-bodied Shakespeare.
He wrote for everyone \u2014 for actors, for nobles, for commoners. That means half a pound of jokes for all tastes: witty, dirty, clever, chaotic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So maybe don\u2019t bring a first date (unless they\u2019re a historian), or small children. Remember: Falstaff is a scoundrel and a lecher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Falstaff is played by George Fouracres, a Globe regular known for his comic chops, mimicry skills, and uncanny ear for dialect. He\u2019s been seen on radio, onstage (even as Hamlet), and in multiple productions directed by Sean Holmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holmes returns to direct here, having proven his command of Shakespearean comedy in past productions like Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors, and Twelfth Night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Daughter of Time<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Charing Cross Theatre, Villiers Street<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Charing Cross Theatre<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Josephine Tey\u2019s genre-blending historical detective novel first appeared in 1951 and immediately captivated readers and critics alike.
The story follows Inspector Alan Grant, laid up in hospital, as he tries to solve a \u201ccold case\u201d from the 15th century \u2014 the alleged murder of the Princes in the Tower by Richard III.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the third book in Tey\u2019s Inspector Grant series, and arguably the most compelling. What starts out like a puzzle or a crossword becomes something rich, layered, and urgent.
Characters flood in: Shakespearean scholars, nurses, historians\u2026 The past merges with the present. And yes, Grant’s own life is changed in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playwright M. Kilburg Reedy, who also produced the adaptation, has reimagined the novel with an unexpected romantic undercurrent \u2014 without sacrificing the depth of its historical mystery or its myth-busting view of medieval England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directed by Jenny Eastop, known for her work with contemporary drama.
And no \u2014 there\u2019s no \u201cdaughter\u201d in the plot. The title comes from a quote by Francis Bacon: \u201cTruth is the daughter of time, not of authority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P.S. <\/strong>Let\u2019s not waste too many words \u2014 this show needs no introduction, but simply must be mentioned:
NYE<\/strong> returns to the National Theatre, starring Michael Sheen as Aneurin Bevan, the Labour politician and founder of the NHS.
Written by Tim Price and directed by Rufus Norris, the play is as powerful as it was last season.
If you\u2019ve already seen Sheen in the role, go again. A monumental actor. A monumental production. Worth seeing live again and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olivier Theatre
National Theatre, South Bank<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n
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 Olivier Theatre<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Very soon, the heat will break, our minds and imaginations will kick back into gear, and our souls will start craving nourishment (the horror!). No, seriously \u2014 summer is theatre time too, and London’s theatre scene doesn\u2019t go quiet, despite all the holidays and seaside getaways. Here\u2019s a list of must-see July productions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":51674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"type_post":[184],"column":[],"class_list":["post-51684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51684"},{"taxonomy":"type_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_post?post=51684"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=51684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}