October theatre highlights

A Very Very Very Dark Matter, Bridge Theatre

Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent casts a dark spell over our favourite fairytales in a twisted new play by Martin McDonagh. Brace yourself for the most mordant of comedies; with hits spanning Seven Psycopaths, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri and The Lieutenant of Inishmore, McDonagh is known for biting black humour.

Stories, National Theatre

How do you have a baby when you're 39 and single? Playwright Nina Raine has a knack for tapping into the zeitgeist and uncovering the issues that get you deep in the gut. After a searingly smart and compulsively crafted examination of marriage, justice and trust in Consent (National Theatre 2017 then a 2018 West End transfer), she returns to the Dorfman stage with a new story about the complexity of procreation.

Twelfth Night, Young Vic Theatre

New Young Vic artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah starts tenure with the Shakespeare musical that dazzled in NYC. He describes this fresh take on Measure for Measure as a 'show that stands community members shoulder to shoulder with professional artists, it’s filled with joyful, soulful music by Shaina Taub; it’s a celebration.'

The Wild Duck, Almeida Theatre

The youngest winner of a Best Director Olivier award, Robert Icke has reinvented the art of revivals by at once honouring the nuances of great canonical works and making them feel drastically fresh. He returns to the Almeida after the sellout success of Mary Stuart, Oresteia and Hamlet to re-imagine Henrik Ibsen's 1884 play The Wild Duck.

The Wider Earth, Natural History Museum Theatre

The specimens and exhibits of London's Natural History Museum will be joined by a host of actors and hand-made puppets as the voyages of Charles Darwin come to life in a new play. The Jerwood Gallery of the South Kensington Museum will be transformed into a 375-seat theatre, created especially for the production. The Wider Earth tells the fateful tale of Charles Darwin's five-year voyage on the HMS Beagle.