Must-see autumn theatre, London 2016
Plan your nights out from now until Christmas with the 13 best plays on in London this autumn — featuring famous faces, radical rewrites and all-female Shakespeare
No Man's Land, Wyndham's Theatre
Global megastars and best friends Sirs Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart star together in Pinter's classic play. Expect absurdism and acting prowess of the highest order.
Read more ...Donmar's Female Shakespeare Trilogy, Kings Cross
Phyllida Lloyd's blockbuster series of all-female Shakespeare is completed with a new take on the Tempest. And the Donmar Warehouse is building a new temporary theatre to stage the trilogy.
Read more ...Amadeus, National Theatre
Peter Shaffer's searing story of the young Mozart returns to the National Theatre's 37 years after its superlative premiere. Director Michael Longhurst has promised a fresh, conceptual take on the classic.
Read more ...The Libertine, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Dominic Cooper plays history's most rakish rogue in Stephen Jeffreys' 'warts and all' play about Restoration era playboy, the Earl of Rochester. Don't blame us if his steamy antics make you blush.
Read more ...The Children, Royal Court
'Britain's brightest young stage writer' Lucy Kirkwood returns with an eerie new tale about dysfunctional family ties in an unstable world.
Read more ...Lazarus, Kings Cross Theatre
David Bowie's musical comes to London. With a song book by the Starman himself and direction from maverick Ivo van Hove, it's set to be every bit as weird as you'd expect.
Read more ...Mark Rylance in Nice Fish, Harold Pinter Theatre
It's offishal, after making a splash across the pond, Mark Rylance's oddball comedy Nice Fish is transferring to London… and aquatic fancy dress could hook you free tickets
Read more ...The Red Barn, National Theatre
Mark Strong returns to the stage to star in a taut new thriller based on the French novel La Main, adapted by David Hare.
Read more ...King Lear, Old Vic
It might not be enough to redress a history of male dominance, but London's new trend for all-female Shakespeare is certainly exciting. Especially when it means the legendary Glenda Jackson will play King Lear.
Read more ...Saint Joan, Donmar Warehouse
Gemma Arterton plays the original feminist mistress of war, performer of miracles and martyr in Josie Rourke's radical reworking of Bernard Shaw's play.
Read more ...Mary Stuart, Almeida Theatre
Rival queens Mary and Elizabeth are brought to life by Juliet Stevenson and Lia Williams, switching parts each performance at the flip of the coin. We predict the Almeida at its bold, boundary-breaking best.
Read more ...Rent, St James Theatre
Updating the timeless story of impoverished artists in New York's Alphabet City, Rent the musical brings bohemian excess and 80s charm to London this winter.
Hedda Gabler, National Theatre
Visionary director Ivo van Hove makes his National Theatre debut in this modern version of Hedda Gabler, starring Ruth Wilson (The Affair, Luther).
Read more ...