Laura Jones - Page 4

The movie Black Panther was one of the most talked about films of 2018, becoming the highest-grossing solo superhero film and the ninth-highest-grossing film of all time. Now two of the stars of the film are working together again in The Convert at the Young Vic.

In the intimate candle-lit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe, Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus has once again been brought to life on the London stage. In this version however, director Paulette Randall has switched the lead's gender, with Jocelyn Jee Esien taking on the role of the ambitious and knowledgeable Faustus.

It's been six years since the release of Magic Mike, produced by and starring Channing Tatum as the lead stripper of a Florida strip club. Since then, Magic Mike has spawned a sequel, a live show in Las Vegas in 2017 and now a live show at the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square, created and directed by Tatum himself.

First seen in Stratford more than two years ago, the RSC's production of Don Quixote has finally transferred to London's West End.

Joanna Murray-Smith's play Honour has enjoyed a run on Broadway and was first staged at the National Theatre in 2003 before it was revived again in 2006 at the Wyndham's Theatre. The latest production is staged at the Park Theatre's larger 200 capacity venue.

Watching any of the Harry Potter movies is a magical experience, loved by children and adults of all ages. But watching the film while the music is played by a live orchestra in the majestic setting of the Royal Albert Hall is an event like no other.

Hugh Whitemore's slow-burning dramedy Pack of Lies, is based on the real life events that surrounded a family living in Ruislip who discover that their best friends and neighbours may not be who they think they are.

Following a successful off-Broadway and Broadway run in 2011 and 2013 respectively, and Tony Award nominations, Sharr White's The Other Place has transferred to London's Park Theatre for its UK Premiere.

Entering the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court, you're suddenly in a dark, damp forest. Trees are all are around and there's wood chipping, leaves and sticks all over the floor as you make your way to your seats, thanks to Naomi Dawson's innovative and atmospheric design.

Stephen Karam's The Humans won numerous awards during its off-Broadway and 2016 Broadway run, picking up four wins out of six nominations at the Tony Awards. Now the New York cast and director, Joe Mantello, have transferred over to the Hampstead Theatre for its autumn term.

Love's Labour's Lost is one of Shakespeare's earlier comedies and has never been one of his more popular plays. Even attempts to make it more appealing by Kenneth Branagh in 2000 by turning it into a musical did little to sway public opinion. Nick Bagnall's production focuses more on slapstick comedy than it does on passion and romance.

Following on from a hugely successful run at Chichester, Sir Ian McKellen is back in the title role of King Lear, in the same theatre in which he made his West End debut in 1964. The Duke of York's is decidedly bigger than the Minerva, but with the addition of a walkway through the centre of the auditorium reducing the theatre capacity substantially, there's a much more intimate feel.

Playwright Rory Mullarkey is back with another show at the Royal Court Theatre, following on from his 2014 production, The Wolf From the Door. At the start of Pity, it seems like an ordinary day in a quiet town somewhere in England but, as the synopsis on the back of the play text quite literally warns, 'what happens next verges on the ridiculous'.  

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first test tube baby, and Jemma Kennedy's new play at the Hampstead Theatre, Genesis Inc., centres around a group of people seeking the much sought after (and costly) help of one of the leading experts in fertility.

In this latest production of The Winter's Tale at Shakespeare's Globe, director Blanche McIntyre takes on the tricky task of guiding the audience from tragedy and despair to comedy and finally a classic fairy tale ending.

Nina Raine's Consent first premiered last year at the National Theatre, before the #MeToo movement happened and the change that it has brought about in society. The topic of consent is extremely relevant today and the production's transfer to the West End is timely, offering those who may have seen it at the National a whole new perspective.

Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel's production of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan returns to Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, three years after it first captivated audiences - young and old.

Even those who have never seen a Harry Potter movie will recognise Hedwig's Theme, the song that has become an anthem for Potter fans around the world. The second in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, recently stopped at the Royal Albert Hall following a hugely successful live concert of the first movie (The Philosopher's Stone) last year.

A coin toss at the start of each performance determines whether Lia Williams or Juliet Stevenson plays the role of Mary Stuart. The winner plays Queen Elizabeth I, while the loser takes on the role of Mary Queen of Scots. At the performance I saw, Stevenson was Elizabeth and Williams Mary. Both women appear as mirror images of each other, both dressed identically until the toss of the coin decides their fate.

Twenty years after it first premiered off Broadway, Jonathan Larson's iconic musical Rent has made a much anticipated return to the London stage. Following a group of artists living in New York City's East Village in the 1990's, struggling to pay the Rent, maintain their relationships and friendships and a number of them dealing with their HIV diagnosis, it is often wondered if audiences will still connect with the tribulations the characters go through. However the themes of loss, community, friendship and love are as prominent now as they were over two decades ago.