Theatre To Look Out For Right Now
There's a lot going on right now in theatre-land, so here are some of my top picks from across the boards.
Welcome to The Solo Trip, your favourite new digest of recommendations from yours truly. This time - we’re going to the theatre. Put on your good suit, because I won’t be seen in the audience with anybody in athleisure. That’s a sackable offence.
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Midnight Cowboy
At Southwark Playhouse Elephant, this intimate and murky show takes Oscar Winning X rated best picture Midnight Cowboy and transforms it into a racy musical experience. Not only are we treated to the vocal stylings of Paul Jacob French as Jack and Max Bowden as Ratso, the bold styling and smaller venue means audiences can’t escape the potency of shame, poverty and bleakness the musical exudes.
Perhaps a little longer than it needed to be, with some generically waffle-laden ‘musical’ musical numbers, it picks up post interval resulting in a moving and well performed show.
With the Criterion Closet being mined for musicals, it’s no surprise that hits from yesteryear are continuing to be turned into musicals. From Olivier Award winning The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to Mean Girls, the early 00s are truly being creatively milked - with 10 Things I Hate About You just announced and 13 Going On 30 starring Lucie Jones premiering in Manchester in September, the West End is set to look like your old DVD rack for many years to come.
Get tickets to Midnight Cowboy here.
Press Invite
The Fifth Step
As two men embark on a new relationship as sponsor and sponsee, Jack Lowden as Luka and Martin Freeman as James must battle their demons as they approach ‘The Fifth Step’ in their Alcoholics Anonymous journey. A duo not to miss, Lowden and Freeman directed by Finn Den Hertog comes to Soho Place from 12th May. Tickets starting at £25.
Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story
The one and only Awkward Productions returns to the UK after a stellar stint in the States to tour their breakout show Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story. Starring Linus Park as Diana, Joseph Martin as Charles/Camilla, Zina Badran as God and Rob Madge as the voice of Mother Teresa (naturally), it’s set to have audiences standing at full attention with royal jubilation.
Starting in Manchester in May, you can find all the UK Tour Dates here.
1536
Another area of time mined within an inch of its life is the Tudors, but this ‘fiendishly smart’ play explores what happens when misogyny is in fact state sanctioned. How does girl power stand up to the rule of King Henry VIII? Directed by Lyndsey Turner, Liv Hill, Tanya Reynolds and Siena Kelly take to the stage in their finely tightened corsets to re-frame a period we have become so familiar with.
Performances start Tuesday 6th May 2025 through to 7th June.
Here We Are
F*gs listen up - this is a cast and a half. Jane Krakowski, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Denis O’Hare and Rory Kinnear to name a few are taking Stephen Sondheim’s final piece of work and creating what looks to be a spectacle. Set within a restaurant at brunch, it’s a gay paradise of calamity, hilarity and camp new songs unheard on British shores. A new (and posthumous) musical from king of the stage Mr Sondheim is a rarity, perhaps even more spectacular than this calibre of talent all in one room. Run don’t walk.
Previews start Friday 25th April 2025 with performances until the 28th June.
After The Act
Call me a cynic but plays about queer strife remind me of when you’re trying to get the last scrapes of the toothpaste out of the tube - sometimes we just need to pause and throw it away and start again because it’s all been used. But After The Act looks like it could just slap me around the face and render me irrelevant. Why? Because this lively cast are bringing a ‘fantastically daring’ and ‘deeply political’ show to the Royal Court immersing audiences into what life was like during Section 28. Personally I’m glad to see something diving into the moment rather than analysing the repercussions - and this looks set to hit every emotive note possible.
Chilled and access performances available during its run from 21st May 2025 - 14th June.
Special Recommendations…
The Great Gatsby: A New Musical at Coliseum, London until 7th September
How To Fight Loneliness at Park Theatre, London until 24th May
Personal Values at Hampstead Theatre, London until 17th May
Mary Poppins at Palace Theatre, Manchester until 17th May
Handbagged at Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne until 17th May
The Beautiful Future Is Coming at Bristol Old Vic until 7th June.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester until 14th June
