CURTAINS UP Theatre returns
FROM MUSICALS TO TV ACTORS TREADING THE BOARDS, ALL EYES ARE ON THE STAGE
‘Theatre gives everyone an opportunity to exchange and explore ideas and leave transformed,’ says
Ola Ince, National Theatre Sir Peter Hall Bursary recipient and director of Romeo and Juliet at The Globe (until 17 Oct). ‘A world without theatre means stories are lost. Expression is lost. Creativity and live connection are lost.’ It’s true: a theatre gone dark is heartbreaking. Film releases can swap to the small screen, but you can’t replicate the buzz of a live show, or the thrill of storytelling happening in front of you. Thank goodness, then, that a host of productions are taking to the stage.
The Crown’s Emma Corrin and
Industry’s Nabhaan Rizwan star in
Anna X at Harold Pinter Theatre (until 4 Aug). Inspired by the story of fake heiress Anna Delvey, two outsiders are addicted to the world of parties, but struggle to keep up with New York’s elite. How far will the they go to construct the identities they crave?
At the National Theatre, poet Kae Tempest has updated a revengefuelled Greek legend in Paradise (from 4 Aug), with an all-female company and Lesley Sharp as exiled war hero Philoctetes.
The Good Fight’s Cush Jumbo leads a reimagined Hamlet (25 Sept to 13 Nov) at the Young Vic, interpreting the classic themes of power, politics and desire.
In Manchester, Alice in Wonderland (16 July to 7 Aug) gets an Eighties twist at outdoor theatre space HOME. If you thought Lewis Carroll’s fairy tale couldn’t get trippier, try adding a Stone Roses and Happy Mondays soundtrack.
And, at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella (opens 14 July) is an ingenious reinvention, written by Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell. Set in a tourist trap town in 18th-century France, Cinderella is rude and disliked. Instead of Prince Charming, she falls for his nerdy brother, and the royal family does not approve. Prepare for your joy to be sparked by dazzling costumes and hilarious lyrics.
“There’s no way to REPLICATE the buzz of a live stage SHOW”