Laura Jones - Page 4

It's been an exciting few months for Noma Dumezweni. At the end of last year she stepped into the lead role of Linda at the last minute, replacing Kim Cattrell, it was announced that she would be playing the role of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opening this summer and in I See You she makes her directorial debut. In the intimate setting of the Jerwood Theatre upstairs in the Royal Court Theatre, a gripping play by South African writer Mongiwekhaya.

Following its hugely successful premiere in Bath and sold out shows in London at the Tricycle and Wyndham's Theatre last year, Florian Zeller's The Father has returned to the West End for a second time. Having just been nominated for three Oliviers, the production focuses on eighty-year-old Andre and his daughter Anne as they struggle to cope with Andre's mental decline due to Alzheimer's.

It's been 13 years since Matthew Perry was last in a West End production, and The End of Longing marks his playwriting debut. Currently running at The Playhouse Theatre, it tells the story of four friends in their late 30s living in LA, whose lives become entwined after meeting at a bar.

Following a ten-year hiatus from the London stage, A Christmas Carol at the Noel Coward Theatre marks Jim Broadbent's return to the West End. Patrick Barlow's take on the Charles Dickens classic is unlike anything I've ever seen before - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Although Broadbent's Scrooge is still somewhat cold-hearted, he is by no means as cruel as other depictions.

Irish writer and director Martin McDonagh is well known for his black comedies and Hangmen, his first play in 10 years, proves that he has definitely not lost his touch. Transferring to the West End from the Royal Court where it had a sell-out run in the summer, the play is set in 1965 on the day that hanging is abolished in the UK.

Urinteown writer Greg Kotis' latest production Pig Farm, is set, unsurprisingly, on a Pig Farm in small town USA, where farmer Tom lives with his wife Tina and Tim, a teenage delinquent working on the farm as part of his probation.

Following a sold-out run at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe earlier this year, Claire van Kampen's first play, Farinelli and the King, has transferred to the Duke of York's for a limited run this autumn. Starring Mark Rylance as King Philippe V of Spain, it tells the story of Farinelli, an exquisite castrato singer who was brought to Spain to sing for the King and the production focuses on the special relationship that formed between the two.

Following a successful sell-out run at the Almeida earlier this year, Robert Icke's reworking of Aeschylus's Oresteia has transferred to the West End, making its home at the Trafalgar Studios. Bringing the story into the 21st century, the production portrays Agamemnon (Angus Wright) as a modern day politician working hard to win the war while trying to maintain life as a family man.

Bakkhai is the second of the Almeida's trilogy of the Greeks, following on from Oresteia and coming before Medea. Euripides' 5th century BC play has been boldly recreated by Robert Icke, translated by Anne Carson and is directed by James Macdonald.

I first saw To Kill a Mockingbird on stage at my first ever visit to Regent's Park Open Air Theatre two years ago and Christopher Sergel's adaptation directed by Timothy Sheader did not disappoint. Now having transferred back to the London stage following a successful UK tour, the production is once again joined by Robert Sean Leonard who took on the role of Atticus Finch at the Open Air Theatre.

Teddy is the newest production at the Southwark Playhouse's The Large venue, from promising duo composer Dougal Irvine and playwright Tristan Bernays. Set in 1956 on a Saturday night in Elephant and Castle, Teddy and Josie are hoping for a night to remember and with superstar Johnny Valentine in town, the night certainly promises to be an interesting one.

Alan Ayckbourn's time-travelling 1994 play Communicating Doors is not just a typical sci-fi production. It is filled to the brim with tension, comedy and real heart as a dominatrix named Poopay is given the chance to change the lives of a number of people.

Lindsay Posner's latest West End transfer is Noel Coward's 1924 comedy Hay Fever which is playing at the Duke of York's Theatre, following a run at the Theatre Royal, Bath and an Australia tour. Starring Felicity Kendal as retired actress Judith Bliss, Hay Fever sees each member of the Bliss family (made up of Judith, her husband and two adult children) invite a guest to their home for the weekend resulting in a weekend full of drama.

Following a successful run at the Young Vic Theatre, 1927's production Golem has moved to the West End, running at the Trafalgar Studios. The show is not in any way related to Tolkein's disturbing character from The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings - although the theme of obsession is a thread that links that Gollum to this Golem.

In Three Lions, writer William Gaminara asks a very simple question - what happened in the Swiss hotel when David Cameron, Prince William and David Beckham gearing up for the World Cup 2018 bid? The result is a farcical comedy, which had the audience laughing loudly in the St James Theatre auditorium.

Game is the latest production from Mike Bartlett, currently running at the Almeida Theatre. This immersive production splits the audience in to four different zones marked A-D, offering people the chance to gain different and unique experiences. Upon entering your designated zone, audience members are handed wireless headphones which they need to wear throughout the production.

The Ruling Class starring James McAvoy sees Peter Barnes' production being revived by Jamie Lloyd for the first time since it played the West End in 1969. Peter O'Toole starred in the 1972 film version, but Barnes' black-comedy from 1968 has once again been brought to the London theatre scene by Lloyd as the crux of the story is still relevant today and is being performed as part of his ongoing Trafalgar Transformed season at the Trafalgar Studios.

Islands at the Bush Theatre is both written by and stars Caroline Horton as the grotesque character Mary, a self-proclaimed god who lives in Haven with her two very camp assistants Swill (Seiriol Davies) and Agent (John Biddle). Floating safely 30 feet in the air above Shitworld, the inhabitants are free to make their own rules as they look down on the citizens below them through a drain in the floor.

Contact.com at the Park Theatre follows fortysomething married couple Matthew (Jason Durr) and his wife Naomi (Tanya Franks) as they prepare to open their home to young couple Ryan (Ralph Aiken) and Kelly (Charlie Brooks) whom they met after replying to their online advertisement. Both couples are stuck in a bit of a rut and are hoping that swapping partners might help them recreate the electric chemistry they initially had together.

One of my earliest memories is sitting on my grandfather's lap watching Morecambe and Wise on one of his VHS tapes and quickly his favourite comedians became my favourite comedians, and they still are to this day. I'm a fan of modern comics such as Lee Evans and Michael McIntyre, but not even these modern day comedians can knock Morecambe and Wise off the top spot for me. Eric and Little Ern is now playing at the St James Theatre, following a successful nationwide tour. Jonty Stephens and Ian Ashpital as Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise respectively, are able to bring back the magic of the double act which makes for a night of nostalgia and hilarious comedy.