2015 Theatre Preview: Verity Wilde's Picks

For me, 2014 has been a bumper year of theatre and I'm not sure how 2015 is going to top it. But there are some interesting shows coming up, both in the West End and further afield - and I've still got some catching up to do as well!

I'm really excited about Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - previews are underway, but the show doesn't open until January so I'm including it here - it ticks a lot of boxes for me. Firstly I'm always intrigued by Broadway flops - and I remember all the debate that went on about this show on BWW's own messageboards at the time of its original Broadway run. This has obviously been reworked - and I'm interested to see if it can do a "Legally Blonde" and be a better show (by all accounts) in London than it was in New York. I'm also a big fan of Tamsin Greig and have been since Debbie-in-the-Archers days. I saw her in Little Dog Laughed a few years back and am looking forward to seeing her in her first musical role.

Talking of Little Dog Laughed, I'm still yet to see Greig's co-star in that production, Gemma Arterton, in Made In Dagenham - which is one of a list of musicals in the West End that I still haven't got to see. I operate a (fairly) strict policy about ticket expenditure which means that I wait for offers - so I'm often a bit behind on the popular new musicals - although I see a fair few which close quickly! Also on the list with Made in Dagenham are shows like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Commitments, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Memphis and Sunny Afternoon. I'm hoping that 2015 will be the year that I get around to ticking some more of these shows off the list.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical also arrives in London in 2015 and I'm interested to see how it gets on in the West End. I've heard a lot about this show's Broadway incarnation - and I'm interested to see if it captures the imagination in London, particularly as the show's Tony-winning star Jessie Mueller isn't coming with it. I'm hoping I'll get to see it early in the run - but given my track record, I'm not putting any money on it!

It's not a show - but I am looking forward to seeing what happens at the Palladium in 2015 - after 2014 was thrown into chaos by the rapid departure of I Can't Sing. I'm hoping that something exciting and new will turn up there at some point in the next year. It's one of the West End's biggest houses - and most famous names - and Theatreland needs it to have something exciting in it. I'm also keeping half an eye on the Dominion and its occupants as I try to get used to the idea that the statue of Freddie is gone from the frontage.

Regionally, my local theatre - Royal and Derngate in Northampton - sent me their new brochure the other day and it's looking very enticing. Their Made in Northampton season in 2015 includes Shakespeare's King John in a church where King John used to hang out and a world premiere of an Arthur Miller play, alongside things like Cyrano de Bergerac and a new version of Brave New World. I'm particularly excited about King John - which is a co-production with Shakespeare's Globe and will tour before a run at the Globe itself.

So there you are - I've got a nagging feeling that there's something important that I've forgotten, but if I have, I can't have been that excited about it happening, can I?

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