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<\/a>Playwright John Millington Synge, born in Dublin, studied philology and music, co-founded modern Irish theatre with W. B. Yeats \u2014 and then wrote the most scandalous play of the decade. Audiences didn\u2019t merely boo the poor actors; they stormed the stage, ready for a fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This new production<\/a> is notable, first, for its powerful cast (Nicola Mary Coughlan alone is worth the ticket!), and second, for its reinterpretation. In 2011, John Crowley staged a somewhat modernised version at the Old Vic, and the reviews ranged widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So: an Irish pub at the beginning of the 20th century. A mysterious young man, Christy Mahon, arrives in a remote rural village and claims he has killed his brutal father and is now on the run. The story instantly gives him the aura of a hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The play marries the tragic and the comic, light and darkness \u2014 no wonder that in the 1920s in the Soviet Union Marc Chagall, designing a production at the First Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre, attempted to embody a Christ-like image on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Synge, who studied Irish linguistics, wrote the play in Hiberno-English; how the actors will navigate this musical dialect is something we\u2019ll soon find out in director Caitr\u00edona McLaughlin\u2019s production (look out for our review in the first week of December).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Duke of York\u2019s Theatre<\/p>\n\n\n\n St Martin\u2019s Lane, London WC2N 4BG<\/p>\n\n\n This play by the hugely popular English dramatist and children\u2019s writer Alan Ayckbourn premiered in 1985 in Scarborough and, after roaring success, transferred to London\u2019s West End the following year. Ayckbourn\u2019s most personal play was shrouded in secrecy \u2014 no one outside the theatre knew what it was about until opening night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For 1985 it was astonishingly progressive, but forty years later \u2014 will it still speak to audiences? There\u2019s something of Alice and her Looking-Glass here, but Ayckbourn drew on events from his own life (greatly reworked), as well as Oliver Sacks\u2019 The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat \u2014 a dramatic homage to the famous book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is the story of a quiet, unnoticed tragedy: a woman whose real life is far from happy. Her husband ignores her, her son has broken off contact, her daughter-in-law bullies her. But in her imagination Susan has a different life entirely \u2014 a different, perfect family \u2014 and gradually the imagined and real begin to intertwine until she can no longer tell them apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Michael Longhurst\u2019s new production at the Duke of York\u2019s<\/a>, Susan is played by Sheridan Smith, and Romesh Ranganathan makes his West End debut as Bill, her husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith plays the dissolution of identity meticulously, almost clinically. It is painful to watch \u2014 as any descent into madness is. This is not light entertainment, but it is unquestionably powerful theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Theatre Royal Haymarket<\/p>\n\n\n\n Haymarket, London SW1Y 4HT<\/p>\n\n\n Two and a half hours of Othello<\/a>, with David Harewood in the title role. This is not Harewood\u2019s first Othello \u2014 he played the part at the National Theatre in 1997 and became the first Black actor to perform this tragic role there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tom Morris\u2019s new production, however, is not an epic fresco; it is the intimate story of private individuals, of love, jealousy and passion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iago is played by the celebrated Toby Jones \u2014 the voice of Dobby, the magnificent Vanya (his 2020 Uncle Vanya earned him an Olivier nomination).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This production is fundamentally a duel between two men \u2014 mature, experienced \u2014 whose souls are ravaged by dangerously youthful passions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A crucial element is the music by PJ Harvey, who a couple of seasons ago wrote the astonishing score for London Tide at the National Theatre (based on Dickens\u2019s Our Mutual Friend).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Desdemona, played by the exquisitely beautiful Caitlin FitzGerald, seems to breathe love towards Othello, who is ensnared by Iago \u2014 that cunning, cold, calculating little demon. Othello is caught like a trusting fly in a deadly web. A psychological thriller, no less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Time is shown fluidly \u2014 vague military uniforms, green trousers \u2014 this is a timeless tragedy. Meanwhile the set and costumes by Ti Green give the production a power that is remarkable even for the West End.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hampstead Theatre<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eton Avenue, London NW3 3EU<\/p>\n\n\n What is Indian ink? It is a type of ink known for its deep, saturated black. Basic Indian ink is created from extremely fine soot ground with water. No binder is needed: the carbon particles create a waterproof film once dry. Quality is tested brutally: a sheet written with ink is placed under running water \u2014 if the text survives, the ink is good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Indian Ink is also a play by the extraordinary playwright Tom Stoppard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is director Jonathan Kent\u2019s first time working with Stoppard. For actress Felicity Kendal, however, it is a return: she played Flora in the original 1990s production, and now plays Mrs Swan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kendal is a Stoppard actress \u2014 their collaboration began in the 1980s; she appeared in most of his major plays. Intellectual, subtle, clever, she is beloved by audiences and critics alike. Indian Ink was, in fact, written for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The action begins in 1930s India: English poet Flora Crewe (Ruby Ashbourne Serkis) enters a complex, emotionally fraught relationship with painter Nirad Das (Gavi Singh Chera). What exactly happened between them? Forty years later, Das\u2019s son, now living in London, tries to uncover the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kent\u2019s production is the first staging of Indian Ink since its premiere. How will the themes of colonialism resonate today, thirty years on? What does cultural identity mean to a 21st-century audience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stoppard\u2019s plays are never simple \u2014 and Indian Ink<\/a> is no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And very soon, in January next year, we will see another Stoppard play \u2014 Arcadia at the Old Vic, directed by Carrie Cracknell. Again, time layers, difficult questions, human drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trafalgar Theatre<\/p>\n\n\n\n 14 Whitehall, London SW1A 2DY<\/p>\n\n\n Cole Escola\u2019s dark comedy<\/a> premiered in the United States: first Off-Broadway, then on Broadway, where Oh, Mary! earned critical acclaim and multiple awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now it comes to the West End. Many elements of the Broadway concept and design have been preserved, and the director is the same \u2014 Sam Pinkleton, a Tony Award winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sharp, satirical, utterly irreverent. Chaos, wild humour, gags. The delirious insanity of farce and the unrestrained glitter of camp. Everything is deliberately artificial, stylised, theatrical. Not overacting \u2014 but style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story is told from the perspective of Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln, set in the weeks before his assassination. Yet this is not about politics \u2014 it is about Mary\u2019s feelings: torn between desire, longing for her past life as a performer, and the suffocating role of a politician\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She is haunted by dissatisfaction and the yearning for something greater than being First Lady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary is played by Mason Alexander Park, who thrives in this comedy at the crossroads of camp and absurdism. Recently Ariel in The Tempest and Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing in Jamie Lloyd\u2019s Shakespeare productions, Park radiates ferocious energy and inexplicable magnetism \u2014 you sympathise with them the moment they appear onstage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, Mary! is a one-act production lasting a little over an hour, and it presses the audience back in their seats with the sheer velocity of its manic theatricality. Historical accuracy? Not here. But irony and tenderness \u2014 mixed, whisked, and peaked to sharp, gleaming heights \u2014 are abundant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Savoy Theatre<\/p>\n\n\n\n Savoy Court, Strand, London WC2R 0ET<\/p>\n\n\n We all know Michael Bond\u2019s beloved story: a small bear arrives from Peru at Paddington Station, gets lost, but doesn\u2019t panic. Searching for a home, the furry traveller finds the Brown family \u2014 and the adventures begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWoman in Mind<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Othello<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Indian Ink<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Oh, Mary!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Paddington: The Musical<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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