UK BLOG

Garrick Theatre: Pygmalion
The Chichester Festival Theatre in West Sussex is well worth a visit in its own right but it is also a welcome and regular contributor to London's West End. High-calibre directors and star talent make the journey to and fro, including Philip Prowse, whose production of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion has a tremendous cast. Rupert Everett is a shoe-in as the self-obsessed Professor Higgins and Kara Tointon makes her West End debut as Eliza Doolittle. With Diana Rigg also in the cast, it is one to book early. 12 May - 3 September 2011 (nimaxtheatres.com)

Duchess Theatre: Ecstasy
In a little over a year as its artistic director, Edward Hall has taken the Hampstead Theatre ahead by leaps and bounds. One of his biggest coups in a season full of excellent productions was the revival of Mike Leigh's 1979 play Ecstasy. A simple story of bedsit life, it's the auteur's favourite piece and the first time he has returned to one of his works. After rave reviews, this transfer to the West End promises 100 tickets each night sold at Hampstead Theatre prices, making it an unmissable bargain.
12 April - 28 May 2011 (nimaxtheatres.com)

Jermyn Street Theatre: A Cavalier for Milady
With all the fuss over Terrence Rattigan this year, it has been easy to forget another important anniversary for theatre — the 100th birthday of Tennessee Williams. The Cock Theatre in Kilburn did its best to remind us, but health and safety regulations closed down the venue. The Jermyn Street Theatre has come to the rescue and Gene David Kirk's world premiere of A Cavalier for Milady will transfer there. The play is even more autobiographical than Williams' usual work, so it could easily be one for only die-hard fans, but you have to credit the team's dedication — and reviews have been positive.
7 - 25 June 2011 (jermynstreettheatre.co.uk)

Hampstead Theatre: RSC World Premieres and the Propeller Theatre Company
Edward Hall's new home again — he really has been busy! The summer sees the RSC visit from Stratford with a collection of new plays including Silence, in association with the very hip Filter Theatre Company, and American Trade, by the even hipper Tarell Alvin McCraney. After this, Hall puts on his other director's hat by bringing another of his projects to visit — Propeller, the all-male company renowned for its energetic reworking of Shakespeare, performs Richard III and The Comedy of Errors.
Hampstead Theatre and the RSC World Premieres, 16 April-18 June 2011 and Propeller's Richard III and The Comedy Errors 22 June - 9 July 2011 (hampsteadtheatre.com)

Trafalgar Studios 2: Irish Blood, English Heart
This tiny space might be the smallest theatre in the West End, but it's still in the West End, and transferring a play from the fringe to the bright lights of central London is no mean feat and a sure sign of quality. Darren Murphy's play moves from the excellent Union Theatre in Southwark and, described as a taut thriller, is all about legacies, both familial and political.
2 - 21 May 2011 (theambassadors.com/trafalgarstudios)

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