London Plays 2015
COMING SOON: Below is the information from 2015 to give you a sense of how our travel worked then. This stays fairly constant from year to year.
Not everyone loves a musical, as hard as that is to believe, but we defy you to give the London theatre a chance and not come away liking plays/the theatre a little more than you did before. We have seen some amazing actors and some amazing shows over the last two decades in London, and each summer surprises us with another gem. Sometimes, we have to go searching in the smallest theatres around town for them; other times, the great show is playing on one of London’s most famed stages. This year is already shaping up to have a little something for everyone!
For some reason, London remains fascinated by the culture and literature of the American South: three years ago, there were four or five Tennessee Williams plays running; since then, we’ve seen a number of writers from the American South show up on the big stages. This summer, a staged production of To Kill A Mockingbird will be showcased on the main stage at the famed Barbican Centre, one of London’s premiere spaces for theatre and music. No doubt, you read Harper Lee’s classic novel in school, but if not, you should. The story centers around a young girl, Scout, and her brother, Jim, and a fateful summer when a South nearly 70 years away from slavery still can’t quite deal with the reality of black and white citizens living together. It’s a heart-breaking story, but one that continues to offer hope for change to readers. We can only imagine it will be a beautiful story to share on stage!
The National Theatre, which consists of four different stages/individual theatres, is always a good bet for excellent theatre. Recent shows that have taken New York by storm (War Horse; One Man, Two Governors) got their starts at the National, and both are still playing in London’s West End, as well. The National does good work! This summer, one classic 18th Century farce and two new shows sound really interesting.
George Farquhar final play, The Beaux’ Stratagem, promises to be a “carnal comedy,” typical of the farcical shows we often get from that time period: “The ‘Beaux’: Mr Aimwell and Mr Archer, two charming, dissolute young men who have blown their fortunes in giddy London. Shamed and debt-ridden, they flee to provincial Lichfield. Their ‘Stratagem’: to marry for money. Lodged at the local inn, posing as master and servant, they encounter a teeming variety of human obstacles: a crooked landlord, a fearsome highwayman, a fervent French Count, a maid on the make, a drunken husband, a furious butler, a natural healer and a strange, turbulent priest. But their greatest obstacle is love. When the Beaux meet their match in Dorinda and Mrs Sullen they are most at risk, for in love they might be truly discovered.” Sounds fun, doesn’t it? Dr. Taylor has taught this play many times over the years and promises us we will have to stitch ourselves up after we explode with laughter!
Of course, it’s hard to go to London and then not see anything at the Globe Theatre, a contemporary reproduction of the theatre Shakespeare spent most of his time writing for and performing in. Located on the South Bank in Southwark, the Globe Theatre is a wonderful place to catch a show. The breeze from the river help keep you cool in this outdoor theatre, and even the noise of that 8:20 British Airways jet overhead is kinda cool. This summer, the Globe is showcasing a two histories (King John and Richard II) and two comedies (As You Like It and Measure for Measure). Most likely, we’ll see one of the comedies as a group, but once you’ve gotten a taste for the Globe, you’ll probably want to go back on your own to another show!
The first of the new shows, The Mother**cker with the Hat (what a title!), will be finishing it’s run in the Lyttelton Theatre in our first week. According to the website, “Steven Adly Guirgis’s play received six Tony nominations on Broadway. Poetic, profane and hilarious, this whip-smart look at love and addiction finds light even in the darkest corners of New York City.” The second, The Red Lion, will be wowing small audiences in the Dorfman Theatre. The Red Lion explores “the dying romance of the great English game [soccer] – and the tender, savage love that powers it.” If you’re into sports/football, this is your year for London theatre!
Another West End option for Summer 2015 is the new(ish) play The Audience by Peter Morgan. When it opened in 2013, we couldn’t get a ticket! Helen Mirren originated the role and every night was sold out. This summer, acclaimed actress Kristen Scott Thomas will be reviving the role of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, in this smart and interesting play by one of London’s best living playwrights. The Queen has famously met with each of her Prime Ministers on a weekly basis for her entire reign; at this point, that’s over 12 different prime ministers, starting with Winston Churchill! Can you imagine what those conversations must have been like? While the unwritten rule is that neither PM not Queen will repeat anything from those meetings, playwright Peter Morgan imagines what those scenes must have been like in a charming, witty, and utterly absorbing play that shows history through some of the great personalities to have lived it.
In keeping with the theme of “great actors on stage,” this summer puts Simon Russell Beale back on stage at the Donmar Warehouse in Temple, a new play by Steve Waters. According to the website, “On 15 October 2011, Occupy London makes camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral. On 21 October 2011, a building that had kept open through floods, the Blitz and terrorist threats closes its doors. On 28 October City of London initiates legal action against Occupy to begin removing them from outside the Cathedral … Steve Waters’ new play is a fictional account of these events, set in the heart of a very British crisis – a crisis of conscience, a crisis of authority and a crisis of faith.”
