The shows you need to see in April

By Lucy Brooks on 21/3/2019

Hit new theatre shows are springing up all over London. From an epic tale of Windrush immigration to a starring stage role for Maggie Smith, here's what not to miss.

All My Sons, Old Vic Theatre

Distinguished talents and risings stars come together in The Old Vic's All My Sons. Sally Field, Jenna Coleman, Bill Pullman and Colin Morgan star in a revival of Arthur Miller's masterful 1947 story of suburban sadness, guilt and the failure of the American dream.

WHEN

15 Apr 2019 – 08 Jun 2019, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

WHERE

The Old Vic
The Cut, London, SE1 8NB

Maggie Smith to star in A German Life at the Bridge Theatre

Maggie Smith in A German Life, Bridge Theatre

Whether you know her as the Dowager Countess from Downton Abbey, Professor McGonagall from the Harry Potter films, or as more or less any of Shakespeare's heroines, it's certain that you will know Maggie Smith.

Her return to the stage – in a five-week run of A German Life – was an instant sellout. So if you missed out, make time to queue for day tickets.

WHEN

06 Apr 2019 – 11 May 2019, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

WHERE

Bridge Theatre
3 Potters Fields Park, London, SE1 2SG

Small Island, National Theatre

Best-selling book Small Island, by the late Andrea Levy, is transformed into an epic new play at the National Theatre. It explores the experiences of Jamaican immigrants in 1940s London, charting the beginning of Britain's future attitudes towards immigration.

WHEN

17 Apr 2019 – 10 Aug 2019, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

WHERE

National Theatre
South Bank, London, SE1 9PX

Three Sisters, Almeida Theatre

Chekhov's Three Sisters is updated and relocated to 2019 London in a new production starring Patsy Ferran, who dazzled audiences in Summer and Smoke. We predict a bold and thought-provoking interpretation from up-and-coming playwright Cordelia Lynn.

WHEN

08 Apr 2019 – 01 Jun 2019, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

WHERE

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

Sweet Charity, Donmar Warehouse

Artistic director Josie Rourke bids farewell to the Donmar Warehouse in style with a revival of the classic musical Sweet Charity, to star Anne-Marie Duff and Arthur Darvill. Originally produced on Broadway in 1966, it features beloved songs 'Big Spender' and 'The Rhythm of Life'.

WHEN

06 Apr 2019 – 08 Jun 2019, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

WHERE

Donmar Warehouse
41 Earlham Street, Seven Dials, WC2H 9LX

Avalanche: A Love Story, Barbican Theatre

Maxine Peake has an appetite for roles that spark debate and shift perceptions, from searing TV drama Three Girls to a historic female Hamlet at the Manchester Royal Exchange. This spring she makes her Barbican theatre debut with a characteristically provocative role in a timely true story about one woman's struggle with infertility and IVF.

WHEN

27 Apr 2019 – 12 May 2019, 7:45 PM – 10:00 PM

WHERE

Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS