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Theatre

The fringe theatre shows you should book

By Lucy Brooks on 15/2/2018

From bold fringe shows to foreign language gems, here is the smaller theatre worth knowing about

The Writer, Almeida Theatre

Up and coming playwright Ella Hickson returns to the Almeida after 2016's Oil, with 'a hugely ambitious, deeply political play that consistently challenges what theatre can and should be'. Stage and screen star Romola Garai plays the titular writer.

WHEN

14 Apr 2018 – 26 May 2018, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

WHERE

Almeida Theatre
Almeida Street, Islington, London, N1 1TA

Jubilee, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

Anarchy comes to the Lyric Hammersmith stage in a new, contemporary, stage adaptation of Derek Jarman's cult film, Jubliee. Capturing the music, fashion, sex and rebellion that shaped the 1970s Punk movement, it tells the surreal story of a murderous girl gang and a time-travelling Tudor.

WHEN

15 Feb 2018 – 10 Mar 2018, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

WHERE

Lyric Hammersmith
Lyric Square, King St, W6 0QL

The B*easts, Bush Theatre

BAFTA-winning actor Monica Dolan's potent debut play The B*easts explores the sexualisation of children. The Edinburgh Fringe premiere was described as a 'stunningly good show', 'full of hard truths and soft edges'.

WHEN

12 Feb 2018 – 03 Mar 2018, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

WHERE

Bush Theatre
7 Uxbridge Rd, London, W12 8LJ

DollyWould, Soho Theatre

This strange, silly and gloriously fun Edinburgh Fringe hit combines a love for Dolly Parton with the story of Dolly the cloned sheep. Dollywould riffs on ideas spanning boobs, fame, legacy and mortality.

WHEN

19 Mar 2018 – 14 Apr 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

WHERE

Soho Theatre
21 Dean Street, Soho, W1D 3NE

Austentatious: The Improvised Jane Austen Novel, London

Austentatious: The Improvised Jane Austen Novel on the West End

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an evening immersed in Jane Austen will bring laughter, romance, meddling and plenty of arch asides. Austentatious takes the hallmarks of Austen's novels and muddles them together into an improvised theatre show.

WHEN

13 Feb 2018 – 20 May 2018, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

WHERE

Savoy Theatre
Savoy Court , Strand, London, WC2R 0ET

Bring It On the musical, Southwark Playhouse

They're sexy, they're cute, they're popular to boot.

They are cheerleaders, and they are coming to London for a peppy new musical. Bring It On – the cult classic noughties teen movie – is transformed for the stage by Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda.

WHEN

02 Aug 2018 – 01 Sep 2018, 7:30 PM – 9:50 PM

WHERE

Southwark Playhouse
77-85 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BD

The Town Hall Affair. Photo-by Steve Gunther

The Town Hall Affair, Barbican Centre Theatre

Video clips, photography, verbatim speech and performance come together in an experimental mixed-media play that takes us back to a historic and all too timely debate on women's liberation.

WHEN

21 Jun 2018 – 23 Jun 2018, 7:45 PM – 8:50 PM

WHERE

Barbican Theatre
Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, E2CY 8DS

Out of Love, Orange Tree Theatre

Out of Love opens at the Orange Tree Theatre after a successful run at the Fringe Festival. The Stage enthused about the 'funny, tender and well-crafted celebration of the richness of female friendship', while critic Lynn Gardner noted how there is 'more than a touch of Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels' in the portrayal of two girls growing up together.

WHEN

27 Jan 2018 – 03 Mar 2018, Performances not every day, and times vary. Check official website for more details.

WHERE

Orange Tree Theatre
1 Clarence Street , Richmond, Surrey, TW9 2SA

Alice Oswald's Memorial: Barbican Theatre

Alice Oswald: Memorial, Barbican Centre

Poet Alice Oswald's strikingly original reimagining of Homer's Illiad is brought to life in a new multi-media monologue, featuring an original score and a chorus of community members.

WHEN

27 Sep 2018 – 30 Sep 2018, 7:45 PM – 9:15 PM

WHERE

Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS

Maly Drama Theatre of St Petersburg season: Uncle Vanya / Life and Fate, Theatre Royal Haymarket

Maly Drama Theatre of Saint Petersburg season, Theatre Royal Haymarket

The Maly Drama Theatre brings two Russian plays to London this May. Established in 1806, the esteemed Saint Petersburg theatre company boasts a hoard of prizes and accolades. Ten years since their last London appearance, Maly Drama bring Russian language productions of Uncle Vanya and Life and Fate to the West End.

WHEN

08 May 2018 – 20 May 2018, Uncle Vanya and Life and Fate will play in rep

WHERE

Theatre Royal Haymarket
18 Suffolk Street, London, SW1Y 4HT

Secret Life of Humans, New Diorama Theatre

Fact and fiction combine in Diorama theatre's new devised play inspired by Yuval Harari's book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. It comes to London after impressing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

WHEN

10 Apr 2018 – 05 May 2018, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

WHERE

New Diorama Theatre
15-16 Triton Street, Regent's Place, London, NW1 3BF