Ryan Calais Cameron's RETROGRADE Leads Our Top Ten Shows for April

April has some truly exciting theatre in store. From Ryan Calais Cameron's new play about Sidney Poitier to a revival of Brian Friel's Olivier Award-winning play and one of Noël Coward's darkly comic masterpieces, BroadwayWorld has some brilliant recommendations for your theatrical delectation.

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1. Retrograde, Kiln Theatre

From the writer of award-winning, sold-out, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy, Ryan Calais Cameron's new play based on a true event in 1950's Hollywood explores the reality of a Black actor's journey to become one of the world's most influential voices.

The Golden Age of Hollywood. Behind closed doors, aspiring actor Sidney Poitier is offered a lucrative contract that could make him a superstar. But what is he willing to do to achieve fame?

Directed by Kiln Associate Director Amit Sharma (The Boy with Two Hearts), this explosive world premiere explores a moment in a career which paved ways and changed minds and perceptions, cementing the legacy of a Hollywood icon.

Retrograde is at the Kiln Theatre, London from 20 Apr - 27 May. Buy tickets here.

2. Dancing At Lughnasa, National Theatre

Brian Friel's Olivier Award-winning play is an astonishing evocation of a family's world on the brink of change. In County Donegal, 1936, outside the village of Ballybeg, the five Mundy sisters battle poverty to raise seven-year-old Michael and care for their Uncle Jack.

During the Festival of Lughnasa, Pagan and Christian meet and collide. The sisters fight each other, love each other, dance, yearn and survive.

Josie Rourke directs this striking revival, with a cast including Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls), Ardal O'Hanlon (Father Ted) and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Translations).

Dancing At Lughnasa is at The National Theatre from 6 April - 27 May. Buy tickets here.

3. The Secret Life Of Bees, Almeida Theatre

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Sweat, the Tony Award-winning composer of Spring Awakening, and Tony Award-nominated lyricist of Jelly's Last Jam, comes a captivating new musical about a group of women ignited by rebellion and longing for acceptance.

1964, South Carolina. Rosaleen is fighting for her right to vote, and Lily is escaping her violent father. When this unlikely pair flee their small town, they seek salvation at a remote honey bee farm run by the remarkable Boatwright sisters. But will their past catch up with them?

The Secret Life Of Bees is at Almeida Theatre from 19 April until 27 May. Buy tickets here.

4. Private Lives, Donmar Warehouse

Featuring a stellar cast, starring Stephen Mangan, Rachael Stirling, Laura Carmichael and Sargon Yelda this fiercely intimate revival of Noël Coward's dark comedy directed by Donmar Artistic Director Michael Longhurst, asks can you love someone too much, or too many times?

Private Lives, Donmar Warehouse from 7 April - 27 May. Buy tickets here.

5. little scratch, New Diorama Theatre

After its wildly acclaimed, total-sell-out premiere at Hampstead Theatre, little scratch transfers to New Diorama for a strictly limited run.

Directed by Katie Mitchell, this breath-taking ensemble performance follows the life of a woman across a single day. The show is adapted by Miriam Battye from Rebecca Watson's astounding debut novel, with a mesmerising sound score by Melanie Wilson.

little scratch is at New Diorama Theatre from 12 April - 13 May. Buy tickets here.

6. Wonderland In Alice, Theatre Peckham

CTC Dance Company will unpick the timeless story of Lewis Carroll's classic Alice in Wonderland and reveal an eerie transcendent adaptation, displaying a constantly evolving world of: 'No Rules. No Time. No Binary'. 

Wonderland in Alice  challenges you to open your mind to a world free from binaries, preconceptions, and societal expectations. The show will employ a universal emotive language to convey empathy and empowerment toward gender awareness and self-authenticity.

Delving into the complexities of expressive movement theatre, spoken word, this performance transitions costumes to depict transformative characters, and composing an all-encompassing original soundscape.

Wonderland In Alice is at Theatre Peckham from 6 -22 April. Book tickets here.

7. The Dry House, Marylebone Theatre

Eugene O'Hare's play is set on the Irish border town of Newry. Chrissy promises her sister Claire that after one final drink she will go to The Dry House to get sober. Does she mean it this time?

Follow the sisters as they attempt to overcome the devastating impact of alcoholism on their family in this powerful and timely exploration of grief, family, addiction - and the immense and redemptive power of hope.

An all-female cast featuring Derry Girls' fan-favourite Aunt Sarah, Kathy Kiera Clarke as Claire. Award-winning stage and screen actress Mairead McKinley takes on the role of Claire's sister Chrissy. Critically-acclaimed actress Carla Langley is Chrissy's daughter Heather bring to life this powerful and emotionally searing new play about love, loss, and the potential for hope after years of self-destruction.

The Dry House is at Marylebone Theatre until 6 May 2023. Book tickets here.

8. Blue, London Coliseum

Asking ever relevant questions of race, duty and the extent to which loyalty can hold before breaking, Blue follows an African-American family as the patriarch's job as a policeman clashes with his activist son's notions of equality and justice.

Marking the UK debut of Blue, the acclaimed Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori's score will be fused with the direction of 'fast-rising' (The Guardian) star of British theatre Tinuke Craig, to produce an intimate family drama with a devastating emotional core.

Blue is at London Coliseum from 20 Apr - 4 May. Buy tickets here.

9. The Meaning of Zong, Barbican Theatre

Olivier Award-winner Giles Terera's boldly inventive debut play celebrates the power of the human spirit against adversity, and the journey to understand our place in the world.

Based on real life historical events, set two hundred years ago, Olaudah Equiano read the harrowing reports of a massacre aboard the slave ship Zong, where 133 Africans were thrown overboard. Joining forces with anti-slavery campaigner Granville Sharp to publicly condemn these actions, he helped set in motion events which led to the abolition movement in the UK.

The Meaning of Zong, Barbican Theatre from 20 - 23 April. Book tickets here.

10. Jules And Jim, Jermyn Street Theatre

Stella Powell-Jones directs her first production as Artistic Director of JST of Henri-Pierre Roché's autobiographical novel.

Three friends. Three decades. One great story of love. Jules and Jim live a bohemian existence in pre-war Paris, where despite their different backgrounds and nationalities they vow to live a life in pursuit of love. But with the approaching rumble of war, time is running out. Until one day Kath walks into their lives - wild, dangerous, and irresistible. Together, the three embark on a whirlwind adventure across Europe.

Jules And Jim is at the Jermyn Street Theatre from 20 April - 27 May. Book tickets here.

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