Curtains up: the must-see plays coming to London this Summer
Since March, the answer to the theatrical question of ‘do you hear the people sing?’ has been continuously met with a resounding ‘no’. But after a series of false starts, the cast and crew of productions across the capital can warm up their vocal cords and don their costumes because, at long last, the show can go on.
For those, who can’t wait to sit in a darkened theatre – regardless of the compulsory masks and sanitiser – here is a guide to what London has to offer this summer:
Where: St Martin’s Theatre
When: 17th May 2021 – 30th January 2022
Okay, it’s The Mousetrap but Agatha Christie’s play is the world’s longest-running production and the West End version of the genre-defining classic has become as famous as Big Ben or Buckingham Palace. The show starts with the news of a murder sweeping through 1950s London as seven strangers find themselves snowed in at a stately home in the countryside. When a police sergeant arrives, they discover – to their horror – that the killer is among them. For 70 years Christie’s classic has kept audiences guessing until the final scene and now St Martin’s Theatre welcomes us back to try our luck at cracking the case. Cassidy Janson, Danny Mac and Alexander Wolfe star.
Where: Criterion Theatre
When: 25 May – 25 September 2021
Following a critically acclaimed sell-out tour in 2019, a Grammy nomination and 3 Olivier Award nominations, Amélie The Musical arrives in the heart of the West End. The five-time Oscar-nominated film is brought to life on stage with a critically acclaimed cast. Amélie (played by Audrey Brisson) secretly improvises small but admirable acts of kindness as she aims to bring happiness to all whom she encounters. When the chance of love comes her way, she realises that to find contentment she must put everything at risk and reveal what is truly in her heart.
Where: Hampstead Theatre
When: 28th May – 10th July 2021
In 1975, at the Hampstead Theatre, Alfred Fagon’s Black British classic was performed for the first time. Now, after the unfortunate delay caused by Covid-19 restrictions, it returns for a revival as part of the venue’s ‘Classics’ section. Directed by Dawn Walton, this witty satire on post-colonial attitudes in Britain follows friends Shakie and Stumpie as they embark on their numerous money-making schemes in the heart of fashionable London. Nickcolia King-N’da, Natalie Simpson and Toyin Omari-Kinch star.
Where: Linbury Theatre
When: Until 10th June 2021
The Royal Opera House presents a historic first in producing a 15-minute hyperreality operatic experience. Combining virtual reality with a multisensory set and historic stagecraft, it invites audiences to view opera in a radically new way. Inspired by the liberation of Ariel at the end of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, it takes four people at a time in a magical new universe as they journey through the night discussing ideas of connection and isolation.
Where The Barn Theatre & Arcola Theatre
When: Until 12th June 2021
The Barn Theatre in Cirencester and Arcola Theatre in London come together for an unlikely collaboration to co-produce the world premiere of Cat Goscovitch’s new play, A Russian Doll. Based on a true story, it follows the life of 20-something year old Masha who becomes entangled in the world of data, deceit and misinformation as a part of the Russian disinformation campaign around the time of the EU referendum.
Where: Harold Pinter theatre
When: Until 12th June 2021
Starring Gemma Arterton and Lydia Wilson, this debut play from Amy Berryman sees Cassie (Wilson), a NASA botanist, return from a year-long Moon mission. She then finds herself in a remote cabin with her sister Stella (Arterton), a former NASA architect, who has found a new life with climate activist Bill. Soon, bigger issues than space and climate change are at play and old wounds resurface when they pick up the rivalry that tore them apart where they left off.
Where: National Theatre
When: 16th June 2021 – 24th July 2021
The National Theatre has reopened twice and closed again three times during the pandemic. Hopefully, it’s third reopening will prove the charm as Lyndsey Turner directs a large cast spear-headed by ‘lockdown legend’, Michael Sheen. He stars in a stage adaptation of Dylan Thomas’s radio drama about the weird and wonderful inhabitants of a fictional Welsh village, Llareggub. Only 500 socially distanced seats will be available per performance for this anticipated watch, so book tickets pronto.
Where: Vaudeville Theatre
When: 18th June – 12th September 2021
In 2012, The Royal Court scored a big hit with Constellations, Nick Payne’s sad yet witty drama about a couple’s relationship. Now, Michael Longhurst revives Payne’s cosmic tragicomedy with four different, yet equally impressive casts: Sheila Atim and Ivanno Jeremiah, Peter Capaldi and Zoë Wanamaker, Omari Douglas and Russell Tovey, and Anna Maxwell Martin and Chris O’Dowd.
Where: London Coliseum
When: 21st June – 29 September 2021
Set in Baltimore, 1962, Tracey Turnblad is a big girl with big hair and even bigger dreams. Can she make it as a dancer on the local TV show, win the affections of Link Larkin and bring a community together in the process? As Tracey discovers, sometimes to make a change you have to ruffle a few feathers – or even a few hairs. As lockdown lifts, spirits are equally in need of a boost. What better to do just that than a performance of the smash-hit musical, with Michael Ball returning for his Olivier Award-winning performance of Edna Turnblad?
Where: Bridge Theatre
When: 23rd June – 11th September 2021
Johann Sebastian Bach, a turbulent man and creative genius, wrote music that gave pleasure to the aristocrats and shed light on his deep faith and connection to the church. In Nina Raine’s beautiful and humorous reimagining of his life, he was also a touchy and rude individual with impossibly high standards. Music is the family business, with sons Wilhelm and Carl each possessing musical skill sets of their own. As the years pass, rifts emerge between the boys as they aim to answer one question: why do they play? Is it for pleasure or to offer some divine meaning of life? Audiences are invited to watch Raine’s profound interpretation of how Bach and his sons resolve this existential conundrum.
Where: Gillian Lynee Theatre
When: 25th June – 13th February 2022
Welcome to Belleville, the most aggressively picturesque town in the world, full of inhabitants who will stop at nothing to achieve ultimate perfection. All, that is, except one – Cinderella (played by Carrie Hope Fletcher). The infamous protagonist wants to escape and with the help of Prince Sebastian, Prince’s Charming’s younger and often overlooked brother, she might do just that. Composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber it is a reinterpretation of the traditional fairy tale set to become a classic in its own right. But, written by Emerald Fennell (Killing Eve and Promising Young Woman), it will likely be more gritty than the usual children’s story.