Your guide to London Theatre: best plays July 2021

Anna X, Harold Pinter Theatre

Anna X is a new play by writer Joseph Charlton, whose previous show Brilliant Jerks earned positive reviews in the nationals when it ran at VAULT Festival in 2018. Directed by Daniel Raggett (The Human Voice), Anna X is set in the elite world of New York City’s fashion shows, private parties and exclusive openings – a world which fresh-faced workers Anna (Emma Corrin) and Ariel (breakthrough artist Nabhaan Rizwan) are struggling to keep up with. The fact the story is a fictional imagining inspired by real events, makes it all the more intriguing.

Bagdad Cafe, Old Vic Theatre

Having dazzled at the Old Vic with Wise Children, the 2018 debut production from her company of the same name, director Emma Rice (of Kneehigh acclaim) returns to the venue, this time with an all-new adaptation of Percy and Eleonore Adlon’s 1987 movie Bagdad Cafe.

Constellations, Vaudeville Theatre

Constellations, Nick Payne’s celebrated two-hander that draws on advanced physics to illustrate the infinite possibilities facing a relationship, returns to the West End this summer with four diverse and starry casts portraying the focal couple.

Bad Days and Odd Nights, Greenwich Theatre

Greenwich Theatre has reopened with a quadruple bill of playwright Caryl Churchill’s rarely staged works under the umbrella title Bad Days and Odd Nights. The line-up features Churchill’s short play Abortive (1971) – celebrating 50 years since it was first broadcast on BBC Radio 3 – a prescient adaptation of 1971 radio drama Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen, and rarely staged revivals of one-act plays Seagulls (1978) and Three More Sleepless Nights (1980). Actor Paul McGann (of Withnail and I, Doctor Who and Luther fame) stars.

Romeo & Juliet, Shakespeare’s Globe

Postponed from 2020 because of the pandemic, this Romeo & Juliet is in the trailblazing hands of award-winning director Ola Ince (Appropriate at Donmar Warehouse, Poet In Da Corner at the Royal Court), who is currently artistic associate at the Royal Court.

The casting is equally exciting, with Alfred Enoch (Harry Potter, Red) stepping into the lovesick shoes of Romeo three months after impressing in The Picture of Dorian Grey. Rebecca Murrell, whose stage credits include the Royal Court’s Scenes with Girls and Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp., is playing the equally infatuated Juliet, and Beth Cordingly (The Merry Wives of Windsor with the RSC) her mean mother Lady Capulet.

Changing Destiny, Young Vic Theatre

Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri, architect Sir David Adjaye and Young Vic Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah are behind an ‘epic’ new adaptation of a 4,000-year-old Egyptian poem about the warrior king Sinuhe. One of the earliest known literary texts, the story continues to feel prescient today with its exploration of humanity and the complexities of immigration. The production is being staged in-the-round and, in keeping with the Young Vic’s commitment to making its productions accessible to at-home audiences, is also being streamed online.

The Two Character Play, Hampstead Theatre

Tennessee Williams’ psychological thriller about two actors and siblings from a troupe left to perform their play alone is being revived in the hands of Olivier-nominated director Sam Yates at Hampstead Theatre, where the show first premiered in 1967. Kate O’Flynn (The Glass Menagerie, Blank) plays Clare and Zubin Varla (Fun Home) her brother and fellow actor Felice.

Extinct, Theatre Royal Stratford East

While the pandemic has taken centre stage this past year, the climate crisis has continued to rage on. Hoping to ensure it’s not forgotten is a new urgent play by April De Angelis, Extinct. Premiering at Theatre Royal Stratford East, the play tackles the climate emergency head on, using real-life testimonials from environmental activists, while telling the tale through the fictional story of a woman with one hour to avert a catastrophe and change the future.

Romeo & Juliet, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre review ★★★★★

If one classic play is later remembered for dominating London’s recovering theatre scene in 2021, it will likely be the Bard’s story of feuding Veronese gentry, star-crossed lovers and an elaborate pseudocide gone horribly wrong. Sandwiched between the National Theatre via Sky Arts’ production and Ola Ince’s take at Shakespeare’s Globe is director Kimberley Sykes’ Romeo & Juliet, which recreates the story in the leafy confines of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

Under Milk Wood, National Theatre review ★★★★★

Dylan Thomas’s ‘play for voices’ is reframed and revived in a vibrant medley of poetry and memory with a shining performance from Michael Sheen.