{"id":60654,"date":"2026-01-22T09:27:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T09:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=60654"},"modified":"2026-01-22T09:28:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T09:28:05","slug":"a-theatrical-firmament-which-stars-to-see-on-the-london-stage-this-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/a-theatrical-firmament-which-stars-to-see-on-the-london-stage-this-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"A Theatrical Firmament: Which \u201cStars\u201d to See on the London Stage This Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To dine out before the theatre \u2014 dressed up, of course. Champagne, laughter. Then to throw a coat over your shoulders and hurry through the warmly open doors into the stalls, where a star is waiting for you on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019ll have to choose the outfit yourself \u2014 but when it comes to theatrical stars, we\u2019ve got you covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Mark Addy (Mark Ian Addy)<\/strong><br><strong>The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Theatre Royal Haymarket<\/strong><br><strong><br>Haymarket, London SW1Y 4HT<br>29 January \u2013 18 April 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Noah Mullins - Here\u2019s One For The Road (FULL SONG) \" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/C7mm4cI4Fys?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mark Addy often plays characters united by a shared quality \u2014 either a kind of warm, social resonance (that intonation of \u201cLook, I\u2019m just like you\u201d), or a dangerous, carefree recklessness spiced with a booming laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take King Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones: a cuckolded husband, once a victorious warrior, now a brutal ruler \u2014 a loud, laughing glutton. Or Dave Horsfall in The Full Monty: a powerful steelworker who loses his job and, in desperation, joins six friends to create a strip show. For this role, Addy received a BAFTA Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Addy\u2019s theatrical career is no less substantial. At the National Theatre, he played Dogberry in Shakespeare\u2019s Much Ado About Nothing, and Hjalmar Johansen in Tony Harrison\u2019s Fram. In the National Theatre Live production Collaborators \u2014 about Bulgakov and Stalin \u2014 Addy played Vladimir, an NKVD officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And now, in <a href=\"https:\/\/haroldfrymusical.com\/your-visit\/?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23074485248&amp;gbraid=0AAAAA-18TCt5zoh5zqmCtj0oE9OzQXdsY&amp;gclid=CjwKCAiA95fLBhBPEiwATXUsxD9G6zEbFxvv2dFX5Q1kB7Fx3thCFZGy80iBb3Rjx6WQ8QZFgryfURoCRwMQAvD_BwE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry<\/a>, he takes on the title role \u2014 Harold, a pilgrim walking in an attempt to comfort an old friend and atone for years of silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Vanessa Williams (Vanessa Lynn Williams)<\/strong><br><strong>The Devil Wears Prada<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dominion Theatre<\/strong><br><strong><br>268\u2013269 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7AQ<br>All winter 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a ref=\"magnificPopup\" href=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/19.png\" data-lbwps-width=\"1200\" data-lbwps-height=\"800\" data-lbwps-srcsmall=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/19-600x400.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/19-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-60514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/19-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/19-600x400.png 600w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/19-713x475.png 713w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/19.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by devilwearspradamusical.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">American singer, actress, model, dancer, and producer \u2014 and the first African American woman to win the title of Miss America (1984). Williams relinquished that title \u2014 and somehow became even more radiant because of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two years before the pageant, still little-known, she hesitated for a long time before agreeing to pose nude for a photographer. He assured her the images would be silhouettes only, backlit, an art project \u2014 and that no one but him would ever see them. After her coronation, the photographs were sold to Penthouse, which made millions from the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Williams gave up the title \u2014 and chose not to sue. Instead, she moved forward: head held high, heart untainted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A magnificent woman and extraordinarily beautiful actress, she did not break. She became a successful recording artist, released albums, received Grammy recognition, and in the mid-1990s made her Broadway debut, launching a dazzling acting career that brought Tony and Emmy nominations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2014, she has starred in <a href=\"https:\/\/devilwearspradamusical.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The Devil Wears Prada<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Years later, Williams returned to the Miss America stage \u2014 this time as head judge. The ceremony opened with a formal apology from the organization. She accepted it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Jodie Comer<\/strong><br><strong>Prima Facie<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Richmond Theatre<\/strong><br><strong><br>1 Little Green, Richmond TW9 1QJ<br>23\u201324 January 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a ref=\"magnificPopup\" href=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/prima-facie-key-social-sharing.jpg\" data-lbwps-width=\"1200\" data-lbwps-height=\"630\" data-lbwps-srcsmall=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/prima-facie-key-social-sharing-600x315.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/prima-facie-key-social-sharing-1024x538.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-60658\" srcset=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/prima-facie-key-social-sharing-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/prima-facie-key-social-sharing-600x315.jpg 600w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/prima-facie-key-social-sharing-902x475.jpg 902w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/prima-facie-key-social-sharing.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by primafacieplay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jodie Marie Comer was born in 1993 in Liverpool, into a family far removed from show business \u2014 her father was a football physiotherapist, a fact that would later prove deeply influential in her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From a young age, she displayed a rare ability to hear speech and accents with absolute precision. She is what we might now call an empath \u2014 uncannily attuned to a character\u2019s psychology and emotional rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At school, Jodie danced in an amateur troupe. One day, rehearsals clashed with a family trip \u2014 and her former friends expelled her from the group. Instead of despairing, she chose another path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She performed at a school talent competition with a self-written monologue about the Hillsborough stadium disaster. Here, her football-rooted upbringing mattered: she understood not only the game, but its social and emotional weight. The tragedy claimed nearly 100 lives and remains one of the darkest chapters in British football history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She did not win the competition \u2014 but her performance so impressed her drama teacher that he recommended her for a small role in a BBC Radio 4 play. She was noticed. And that was the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her role as Villanelle in Killing Eve made her a global star. With virtuosic ease, she shifted personas, accents, languages, costumes, masks. The result was unforgettable. For this work she received Emmy, BAFTA TV, and Critics\u2019 Choice Awards, as well as a Golden Globe nomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prima Facie is a one-woman play telling the story of Tessa Ensler, a young, successful lawyer who, after experiencing sexual assault herself, discovers how the justice system truly works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Prima Facie, Comer won both the Olivier Award and the Tony Award. There is a beautiful symmetry here: she began with a school monologue \u2014 and reached triumph in Suzie Miller\u2019s devastating play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In winter 2026, Jodie Comer once again performs Prima Facie on tour across the UK and Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Hugh Bonneville (Hugh Richard Bonniwell Williams)<\/strong><br><strong>Shadowlands<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Aldwych Theatre<br>49 Aldwych, London WC2B 4DF<br>5 February \u2013 9 May 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a ref=\"magnificPopup\" href=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/shadowlands_1440x580px_na_full_ttg.jpg\" data-lbwps-width=\"1440\" data-lbwps-height=\"580\" data-lbwps-srcsmall=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/shadowlands_1440x580px_na_full_ttg-600x242.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"412\" src=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/shadowlands_1440x580px_na_full_ttg-1024x412.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/shadowlands_1440x580px_na_full_ttg-1024x412.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/shadowlands_1440x580px_na_full_ttg-600x242.jpg 600w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/shadowlands_1440x580px_na_full_ttg-902x363.jpg 902w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/shadowlands_1440x580px_na_full_ttg.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by londontheatre.co.uk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bonneville\u2019s roles form something like an encyclopedia of English life. His characters are deep, contradictory, tender \u2014 all beneath an exterior of restraint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Say Hugh Bonneville, and one immediately thinks of Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, from Downton Abbey. The role brought him global fame and revealed the full range of his talent. In no small part thanks to his work, the series garnered countless awards and nominations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also played Mr Brown, the father in both Paddington films \u2014 gentle, bewildered, tradition-bound, and utterly devoted to his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Interestingly, he was originally known as Hugh Williams, but to avoid confusion with a mid-20th-century actor of the same name, he rearranged his middle names \u2014 eventually becoming Hugh Bonneville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bonneville holds a Cambridge degree in Theology, which may well have helped him understand the inner world of C. S. Lewis in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shadowlandsplay.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Shadowlands<\/a>. Grief, faith, doubt \u2014 all are present here, played with warmth and honesty by Hugh Bonneville, Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Ben Daniels<\/strong><br><strong>Man and Boy<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>National Theatre (Dorfman)<\/strong><br><strong><br>London Southbank SE1 9PX<br>30 January \u2013 14 March 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Man and Boy | Official Trailer | National Theatre\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/t0WzRIryVdE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A recipient of the Evening Standard Theatre Award and Olivier Award, and a Tony Award nominee, Ben Daniels always knew he was an actor \u2014 and simply kept moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even at school, he took drama as an exam subject. He later trained for three years at LAMDA. Daniels\u2019 work is not so much a career as a journey \u2014 in the most philosophically saturated sense of the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Countless roles, large and small, approached with rigor and care \u2014 from Beckett\u2019s Waiting for Godot to The Crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, Daniels appears in Terence Rattigan\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationaltheatre.org.uk\/productions\/man-and-boy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Man and Boy<\/a>. Written in 1964, the play feels alarmingly contemporary: a dialogue between a small boy and his father \u2014 a dazzling financial tycoon accustomed to winning. And what does that require? Exactly \u2014 stepping over others, again and again, instead of listening to conscience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Daniels plays Gregory Solomon not as a villain, but as a broken, cold, emotionally numb \u2014 and therefore impeccable \u2014 man. He was not always this way. He simply learned not to feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A devastating portrait of a human being crushed by the system and the hunger for big money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Beverley Knight (Beverley Anne Smith Knight)<\/strong><br><strong>Marie and Rosetta<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>@sohoplace<\/strong><br><strong><br>4 Soho Place, Charing Cross Road, London W1D 3BG<br>28 February \u2013 11 April 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Marie &amp; Rosetta @sohoplace | Official Trailer\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AcuxIQ22nTc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to the arts, an Olivier Award winner, and a multiple MOBO Award laureate, Beverley Knight \u2014 often called the Queen of British Soul \u2014 was born in the early 1970s to Jamaican parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her first encounter with music took place in church. Her family was deeply religious, strict in its routines, and church attendance was a weekly obligation \u2014 it was there that Knight first tested her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She began writing songs at 13, recorded her first demo at 19, and rose to prominence in the mid-1990s, paving the way for solo albums and numerous accolades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She came to theatre as a mature artist, with a vast musical background and lived experience. By the 2000s, she was already a musical theatre star (Memphis, Cats, The Drifters Girl, Sylvia) \u2014 all while continuing to release albums, including covers of classic songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sohoplace.org\/shows\/marie-and-rosetta\/?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23068681375&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAozHdPXIyh-jdKzOh-BfNGT0FKwey&amp;gclid=CjwKCAiAssfLBhBDEiwAcLpwfk1dXht6cCcnkwzgmbi8DmonvdXjLnK4hgfIUJptFrSQY6olAOdo_xoCxV4QAvD_BwE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Marie &amp; Rosetta<\/a> is the musical in which Knight plays Sister Rosetta Tharpe, one of the most influential musicians of the first half of the 20th century. She began with pure gospel, but her art evolved into what would later be called rock \u2019n\u2019 roll\u2014 long before Elvis, Chuck Berry, or Little Richard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She takes a young singer, Marie Knight (performed by the young actress Ntombizodwa Ndlovu), under her wing, sharing not only musical and stage experience, but life itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a remarkable work \u2014 a new path in Beverley Knight\u2019s creative journey: intimate, quiet, and profoundly moving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<style>.featured-image img, .featured-image-mobile img {object-position: center 70%;}<\/style>\n<p>Few days ago was Blue Monday \u2014 supposedly the most depressing day of the year.<br \/>\nNew Year\u2019s Eve and Christmas are behind us. It\u2019s cold. Wishes have been made, but the gilding has already flaked off the dream, like needles falling from a lonely Christmas tree abandoned on the pavement. On days like these, one longs especially for luxury. The kind straight out of a picture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":60656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86,178],"tags":[],"type_post":[184],"column":[185],"class_list":["post-60654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-raznoe","column-letters-from-the-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60654","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=60654"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60662,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60654\/revisions\/60662"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60654"},{"taxonomy":"type_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_post?post=60654"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=60654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}