Find out about all the latest London theatre news! We’ve rounded up this week’s biggest stories to bring you up to date on what’s happening. From casting news to the Royal Shakespeare Company’s new London season, don’t miss a single detail.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is renaming the New London Theatre after Cats choreographer Gillian Lynne. It makes sense, as the original West End production of Cats ran at the theatre for 20 years. This will be the first West End theatre to be named after a woman. We’re totally on board with that.
The Royal Shakespeare Company announces its new winter season at the Barbican, which will include many transfers from Stratford-upon-Avon: notably, an RSC production of Macbeth starring Christopher Eccleston. (We hear it will be fantastic!) Niamh Cusack plays Lady Macbeth. Also in the line-up are Romeo and Juliet – starring Bally Kill and Karen Fishwick – and The Merry Wives of Windsor starring David Troughton.
Also transferring to London is the RSC’s IMPERIUM: a two-part stage adaptation of Robert Harris’ best-selling Cicero trilogy. Directed by Gregory Doran (RSC Artistic Director), the historical thriller stars Richard McCabe and Joseph Kloska.
Another op’nin! Another cast! Opera North’s production of Kiss Me, Kate at the London Coliseum announces casting: with Stephanie Corley as the shrewish Lilli Vanessi/Kate, Quirijn de Lang as her ex Fred Graham/Petruchio, Zoë Rainey as the lovely Lois Lane/Bianca, and Alan Burkitt as the love-struck Bill Calhoun/Lucentio.
And we have our full Chicago cast at last! Joining Cuba Gooding, Josefina Gabrielle, Ruthie Henshall, and Sarah Soetaert will be Paul Rider in the role of Amos Hart. Rider is no stranger to either Chicago or Amos, having played “Mr. Cellophane” previously at the Adelphi and Cambridge Theatres.
Zippos Circus returns to the West End for a limited engagement of its jaw-dropping spectacular Cirque Berserk! 19 April through 7 May.
The Young Vic’s acclaimed production The Jungle, by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, will transfer to the West End this summer. Developed in the middle of a Calais refugee camp, the play details the camp’s creation and destruction.
This could be the greatest day of our lives! New musical The Band, featuring the music of Take That, will touch down in London this December at the Royal Theatre Haymarket.
A new theatre is always a good thing, right? The Granada cinema, a historic building in Walthamstow that’s hosted groups like The Beatles and The Who, is set to get an upgrade. Soho Theatre plans to purchase it for £2.6 million and convert it into a 1000 seat venue for comedy, theatre, and community education.
Nox! Anyone who went to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Sunday probably got more dark magic than they bargained for when the power went out, causing Part Two to be cancelled. It wasn’t Harry’s fault: power got cut in all of Soho for about one hour Sunday evening. Audience members who didn’t get to see Part Two because of the power outage are advised to contact their point of purchase for an exchange or refund.
And speaking of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the show’s new 2018 cast has been announced! Starting on 23 May, the production will feature new cast members Jamie Ballard as Harry, Susie Trayling as Ginny, and Jonathan Case as Scorpius Malfoy. They’ll join continuing cast members Thomas Aldridge as Ron, Rakie Ayola as Hermione, Helen Aluko as Rose Granger-Weasley, and James Howard as Draco Malfoy.
