December Theatre highlights

The Tragedy of King Richard the Second, Almeida Theatre

The Almedia Theatre will tell sad stories about the death of kings as Simon Russell Beale stars in a edgy new production of Richard II.

The irresistable allure of power informs director Joe Hill-Gibbins' new, boldly reimagined production of Shakespeare's history play.

The Cane, Royal Court Theatre

Over 20 years since the incendiary premiere of Shopping and Fucking, Mark Ravenhill finally returns to the Royal Court Theatre with a new play that promises to be just as timely and provocative.

The Cane explores issues of control and comeuppance, as a retiring schoolmaster is confronted by some very uncomfortable accusations.

The Tell-Tale Heart, National Theatre

Macabre comedy meets experiemental theatre, as Anthony Neilson adapts an Edgar Allan Poe short story.

The Tell-Tale Heart combines meta-theatre and twisted comedy. We follow a young playwright plagued by writers' block. She soon forms a relationship with her solitary landlady, who has a life-altering condition and an obsessive streak.

Sweat, Donmar Warehouse

Get into the psyche of disenfranchised, desperate middle America as Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer-winning play Sweat transfers to London after impressing in New York.

It is, according to the New York Times, 'the first work from a major American playwright to summon, with empathy and without judgment, the nationwide anxiety that helped put Donald J. Trump in the White House'. And if the positive reviews from Broadway are to be believed, this 2015 play will feel urgent in the context of current global politics.

The Convert, Young Vic Theatre

Colonialism, choices and power play out at the Young Vic with the revival of Danai Gurira's potent drama The Convert.

Gurira is a familiar face from starring in Hollywood hit Black Panther but she's also a force to behold in the theatre world.

The Convert takes us to 1896 Rhodesia, where a young woman called Jekesai escapes a forced marriage by taking refuge with a Roman Catholic missionary and converting to Catholicism.