This Is London 23 September 2016

20
Dominic Cooper as The Libertine.
Photo: Johan Persson.
PLAYS
THE GO-BETWEEN
Michael Crawford returns to the West End in a
new stage adaptation of L.P Hartley's classic
novel which lyrically captures the wit and
humour of Hartley's novel of romantic tragedy
wrapped up in the loss of innocence.
APOLLO THEATRE
Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (0330 333 4809)
THE COMEDY ABOUT A BANK ROBBERY
One enormous diamond, eight incompetent
crooks and a snoozing security guard. What
could possibly go right?
CRITERION THEATRE
Piccadilly Circus, (020 7492 0810)
THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG
A Polytechnic amateur drama group are
putting on a 1920s murder mystery and
everything that can go wrong... does!
DUCHESS THEATRE
Catherine Street, WC2 (0330 333 4810)
Theatre last year. The company now come to
the National, offering a unique chance to
explore the birth of a revolutionary dramatic
voice.
THE THREE-PENNY OPERA
Simon Stephens’ vivid and darkly comic new
translation of Brecht’s book and lyrics meets
Kurt Weill’s extraordinary score. Rory Kinnear
plays Macheath. Until 1 October.
LYTTELTON THEATRE
THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS
Sean O’Casey places a fixed lens to watch as
a dozen vivid characters come and go –
selfless, hilarious and desperate by turns –
while the heroic myth of Ireland is fought over
elsewhere.
DORFMAN THEATRE
OUR LADIES OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR
The story of six girls on the cusp of change.
Funny, sad, rude and beautifully sung.
NATIONAL THEATRE
South Bank, SE1 (020 7452 3000)
DOMINIC COOPER IN
THE LIBERTINE
Dominic Cooper is starring in
Stephen Jeffreys’ sexually charged
masterpiece The Libertine at Theatre
Royal Haymarket, directed by Olivier and
Tony Award-winning Terry Johnson. He
makes a return to the stage to play
debauched 17th Century rake the Earl
of Rochester alongside Jasper Britton
as King Charles II, Mark Hadfield as
Etherege and Ophelia Lovibond as
Elizabeth Barry.
John Wilmot, the second Earl of
Rochester is a charismatic poet,
playwright and rake with a legendary
appetite for excess. Yet this most ardent
of hedonists is forced to reconsider
everything he thinks and feels when a
chance encounter with an actress at the
Playhouse sends him reeling. With flair
and wit, this wild romp through 1670s
London offers an incisive critique of life
in an age of excess.
The Libertine was first performed at
the Royal Court Theatre alongside the
Restoration comedy, The Man of Mode. It
later transferred to Chicago’s Steppenwolf
starring John Malkovich and directed by
Terry Johnson before Johnny Depp took
the title role in the 2004 film adaptation.
HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES
Alan Ayckbourn’s hilarious tale of matrimonial
mishaps receives its first West End revival.
DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE
St Martin’s Lane, WC2 (020 7492 1552)
THE WOMAN IN BLACK
An innocent outsider, a suspicious rural
community, a gothic house and a misty marsh
are the ingredients of this Victorian ghost story.
FORTUNE THEATRE
Russell Street, WC2 (0844 871 7626)
THE ENTERTAINER
Set against the backdrop of post-war Britain,
John Osborne's modern classic conjures the
seedy glamour of the old music halls for an
explosive examination of public masks and
private moments.
GARRICK THEATRE
Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0330 333 4811)
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG
IN THE NIGHT-TIME
Based on Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel,
the play follows a 15 year-old maths genius
who tries to unravel the mystery of his
neighbour’s murdered dog.
GIELGUD THEATRE
Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (020 7452 3000)
Royal National Theatre
Plays in repertory
OLIVIER THEATRE
THE YOUNG CHEKOV SEASON
The Young Chekhov trilogy opened to
overwhelming acclaim at Chichester Festival
HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED
CHILD PARTS I & II
A brand new stage play based on the Harry
Potter franchise written by Jack Thorne based
on an original story by J.K Rowling.
PALACE THEATRE
Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (0844 412 4656)
1984
Following a sell-out international tour, the
five-star smash hit production of Orwell's
dystopian masterpiece 1984 is back in the
West End.
PLAYHOUSE THEATRE
Northumberland Ave, WC2 (0844 871 7631)
THE LIBERTINE
Dominic Cooper returns to the stage to play
the debauched 17th Century rake the Earl of
Rochester in this major revival, directed by
Terry Johnson.
THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET
Haymarket, SW1 (0845 481 1870)
MACBETH
The title role is Shakespeare’s most brutal and
poetic creation and his unsettling engagement
with the supra-natural and the nature of evil.
IMOGEN
In this thrillingly raw and modern production,
created by young Londoners, Shakespeare’s
Cymbeline is vividly re-told.
SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE
Bankside, SE1 (020 7902 1400)
t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g a z i n e • t h i s i s l o n d o n o n l i n e