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A host of stars from TV and film are descending this autumn on a West End that is already bursting with fresh ideas and brilliant new dramas, comedies and musicals. There's so much going on that we don't have space here for Maureen Lipmann's latest show 'Glorious', the arrival of Simon Callow in 'The Woman in White', Mike Leigh's sell-out new play at the National Theatre, the Lyric Theatre's critically acclaimed 'Julius Caesar', or a host of other shows. Below, we've listed what we think are the ten most exciting things happening this autumn, but it barely scratches the surface of an amazing season for the most vibrant Theatreland in the world.
 Click Here for Full London Theatre Listings  Mary Poppins Booking until April 2006 It's been a fantastic year for the West End, with the opening of four world-beating musicals that should run well into the next decade. Of the four, Cameron Mackintosh's 'Mary Poppins' is probably the best, if only because it offers entertainment for the whole family. Based on both the 1964 Disney film and PL Travers' darker, more complex novel, this is a flawless musical, with old and new songs integrated perfectly, miraculous special effects and a talented cast giving it their all - including great performances from the child actors. As Christmas draws nearer, it's going to sell out pretty fast, so if you want to check out the wealth of infectious song-and-dance routines, spectacular comic set-pieces and a bravura performance from Laura Michelle Kelly as the magical nanny, you should book your tickets now. Not so much supercalifragilistic, as simply perfect. Venue: Prince Edward Theatre Address: Old Compton Street, W1D Phone: 020 7437 4370 (Box Office) Date: Until April 2006 Time: 19:30 | 14:30 Matinees on Thursday and Saturday Price: £32.50 - £49 Nearest Station: Leicester Square Tube Click Here to Book Online Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information   And Then There Were NoneOpens 14 October 2005 Agatha Christie's most popular, sinister and bloodiest whodunnit returns to the London stage in a new version by Kevin Elyot, the playwright responsible for the recent new Poirot and Marple TV dramas. 'Ten Little Indians' - the book on which this play is based - is less genteel than most of her work. It's set on a mysterious island where ten guests have been lured by an enigmatic figure, and where the bodies drop like flies throughout. When Agatha Christie adapted it for the stage, she decided that the novel's ending was too harsh for wartime audiences and re-wrote it. This new version promises to follow the whole of her convoluted plot, leaving the gruesome conclusion intact, while updating some of the characters for modern sensibilities. Tara Fitzgerald ('Sirens', 'Brassed Off') and Gemma Jones ('Bridget Jones' Diary', 'Harry Potter') star in this autumn's most chilling new play. Venue: Gielgud Theatre Address: Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D Phone: 020 7437 4370 (Information) Date: From 14 October 2005 Time: 19:30 Monday - Saturday | 14:30 Matinees on Wednesday and Saturday Price: £12.50 - £40 Nearest Station: Piccadilly Circus Tube Click Here to Book Online Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  As You Desire Me21 October 2005 - 22 January 2006 Kristin Scott Thomas ('Four Weddings and a Funeral', 'The English Patient', 'Gosford Park') returns to the West End in a role made famous by Greta Garbo's magnificently sultry performance in the 1932 film. She plays Elma, an Italian aristocrat who has had amnesia since a vicious assault during the First World War. Discovered singing in a sleazy Berlin nightclub, she returns to her old life only to find that things are not as easy as they seemed. Pirandello's exploration of memory and desire is the great Italian dramatist's most accessible work. His sometimes wordy and intellectual style will be more than compensated for by the presence of the earthy Bob Hoskins in the cast. And Scott Thomas is never less than electrifying, as proved in last year's award-winning performance of 'Three Sisters'. A mouth-watering prospect. Venue: Playhouse Theatre Address: Northumberland Avenue, WC2N Phone: 0870 060 6631 (Box Office) Date: 21 October 2005 - 22 January 2006 Time: 19:30 | 15:00 Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday Price: £17.50 - £42.50 Nearest Station: Embankment Tube Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  Richard II14 September - 26 November 2005 Kevin Spacey heads an all-star cast in this rare outing for the first of Shakespeare’s historical plays, directed by Trevor Nunn. Richard II was the last Plantagenet king, who Shakespeare portrays as a weak but noble character, and this play is a brilliant examination of power and corruption. Julian Glover plays Henry Bolingbroke, the King’s friend, rival and nemesis. Henry IV has already been on at the National this summer. This prequel offers very different charms, with little comedy (notably, no Falstaff) but scene upon scene of brilliant psychological drama. Richard II is a tragic and moving tale, not least because of the nobility and virtue on both sides of the warring factions, and the inevitable decay of this valiant code under the strains of political expediency. In the years before Spacey arrived at the helm of the Old Vic, the theatre has offered some superlative adaptations of the Bard. This slice of Shakespearean political intrigue should keep audiences absolutely riveted. A rather serious piece, but still one of the hottest tickets of the early autumn, Richard II is sure to triumph at the Old Vic. Venue: Old Vic Theatre Address: 103 The Cut, SE1 Phone: 020 7437 4370 (Information) Date:14 September - 26 November 2005 Time: 19:30 Monday - Saturday | 14:30 Matinees Wednesday and Saturday Price: £40 - £52.50 Nearest Station: Waterloo Tube / Rail Click Here to Book Online Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  Guys and DollsBooking until 4 March 2006 This autumn is your last chance to see Ewan McGregor prove he's not just our biggest international movie star, but also a brilliant musical performer. Set in the tough-talking, hard-gambling New York underworld, and featuring characters with names like Big Jule and Harry the Horse, Guys and Dolls is a superb comic evocation of the gangster era.  The plot is simple: Nathan Detroit bets that Sky Masterson (Ewan McGregor) can't get uptight Sarah Brown to go to Havana with him. Of course, Sky falls for Sally and the rest is musical history. The lyrics and music, written by Frank Loesser, are magic, and even if you don't know the plot, you're sure to recognize the tunes, which include Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat and Luck Be A Lady Tonight. Frankly, you could put a plank of wood in the lead and have a chimp directing, and this would still be a great show. The songs, plot and dialogue are so good that you simply can't go wrong. With the brilliant Michael Grandage in charge, and Ewan McGregor putting in the sexiest performance of his life as Sky, this is scintillating stuff. The choreography is captivating, the comedy 'laugh outloud' and the romance sweet enough to leave you misty-eyed. Ewan's last show is on 3rd December, so you should book fast. Venue: Piccadilly Theatre Address: Denman Street, W1V Phone: 020 7437 4370 (Information) Date: Until 4 March 2006 Time: 19:30 Monday to Saturday | 14:30 Matinees on Wednesday and Saturday Price: £20 - £55 Nearest Station: Piccadilly Circus Tube Click Here to Book Online Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  Blue Man Group10 November 2005 - 25 March 2006 Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink are the bizarre geniuses who comprise the Blue Man Group - the designers of this astounding production. Originally a novelty HIV fundraiser, this completely unique show ran and ran in New York thanks to ecstatic audience reaction - it's unlike any theatrical experience you will ever have. This is certainly the most accomplished multimedia show in the world, a truly enveloping and utterly exhilarating experience. Blue Man Group perform on a selection of ingenious home-made instruments. They bounce into the audience to select real members for some terrifying stunts. They move seamlessly from Beckett-style dry physical comedy to frenzied dancing under strobe lighting. Wordless and mischievious, these guys really play with the audience... Kicking off with boredom, through gentle laughter, then nervous laughter, then genuine terror, then a huge, laughing rush of exhilaration and a finale that has every member of the audience dancing about with hands in the air... it's easy to see why this incredible troupe struck a chord with the clubbing generation. Blue Man Group are scary and brilliant - if you have the slightest interest in the performing arts, music, media or dance, you have to see this slice of theatrical mayhem that blends science, Vaudeville, dance and musicianship into a heady burst of entertainment you will never forget. Unique and utterly brilliant. Venue: New London Theatre Address: Drury Lane, WC2B Phone: 0870 890 0141 (Information) Date: 10 November 2005 - 25 March 2006 Time: 20:00 Monday - Thursday | 18:00 and 21:00 Friday - Saturday | 15:00 Sunday Price: £40 - £50 Nearest Station: Holborn Tube Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  High SocietyOpens 1 October 2005 | Booking until 25 March 2006 Cole Porter's light-hearted musical is a celebration of the wealthy, the foolish and the frivolous, with heiress Tracy Lord battling through a thoroughly silly selection of difficulties to achieve true love. The film starred Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly and Louis Armstrong, and, while this production can't quite compete with that, we do have another opportunity to see the wonderful Jerry Hall on a West End stage, playing Tracy's formidable mother. Of course, the real stars of the show are the songs, including Who Wants to be a Millionaire, True Love and Swell Party. Making allowances for Grace Kelly's terrible voice, Cole Porter wrote few songs for his lead character. To allow Katherine Kingsley to use her lungs to the full, they've imported some favourites from other Cole Porter musicals including I Love Paris. They've also beefed up the role of the lecherous Uncle Willy, and Royston Kean has a great time with the part. Superb costumes made up for a rather limited set while this was on tour. Hopefully, now that it has a permanent London home, it will gain some suitably glamorous scenery as well. A delightful piece of fluff from the golden era of musicals. Venue: Shaftesbury Theatre Address: 210 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H Phone: 020 7437 4370 Date: 1 October 2005 - 25 March 2006 Time: 19:45 Monday - Saturday | 15:00 Matinees on Tuesday and Saturday Price: £17.50 - £47.50 Nearest Station: Tottenham Court Road Tube Click Here to Book Online Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  Otherwise Engaged25 October 2005 - 28 January 2006 Witty publisher Simon Hench, a man of superior taste and total disregard for friends and family, is settling in for a quiet night with his new recording of Wagner's Parsifal. Unfortunately, things do not quite go to plan, and as one acquaintance after another turns up, his well-planned existence begins to crumble. Simon Gray's portrait of a smug man laid low by ill fortune and his own selfishness is a wonderful play, which depends heavily on its lead. In this case, the discerning opera-lover is played by Richard E Grant, an actor who should enjoy himself immensely with this meaty comic part. We can never, ever forgive him for those Argos adverts, but this is the perfect role for him. Anthony Head ('Buffy the Vampire Slayer') also stars in what promises to be a fine production of a fine play. Venue: Criterion Theatre Address: 2 Jermyn Street, SW1Y Phone: 0870 060 2313 (Information) Date: 25 October 2005 - 28 January 2006 Time: 19:45 Monday - Saturday | 15:00 Matinees on Tuesday and Saturday Price: £10 - £40 Nearest Station: Piccadilly Circus Tube Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  A Few Good Men Until 17 December 2005 A Few Good Men arrives in the West End after an acclaimed short run in Edinburgh, and with a genuine Hollywood Star, Rob Lowe, taking on the role played in the film by Tom Cruise. This slick adaptation was written by Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing, and skillfully maintains the tension and drama of the original film. A Few Good Men is a classic courtroom drama centering on the killing of a marine by fellow soldiers at Guantanamo Bay. The original was a brilliant 1992 thriller, combining slick script, cute performers in Tom Cruise and Demi Moore, and a searing central performance from Jack 'You Can't Handle the Truth' Nicholson. Sorkin and director David Esbjornson have brought the script right up-to-date, but the underlying conflicts between "Truth, Justice and the American Way" remain as sharp as ever. A topical and furiously intense drama with a great cast. Venue: Theatre Royal Address: Haymarket, SW1Y Phone: 020 7437 4370 (Information) Date: Until 17 December 2005 Time: 19:45 Monday - Saturday | 15:00 Matinees on Wednesday and Saturday Price: £13 - £45 Nearest Station: Piccadilly Circus Tube Click Here to Book Online Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  Billy ElliotBooking until 2 April 2006 When Elton John attended the first screening of Billy Elliot at the Cannes Film Festival, he was reduced to tears. Six years later, the low-budget Britflick has been transformed into a show acclaimed as the greatest British musical of all time. A second young cast drawn from the 'Billy Elliot Academies' in the North of England arrive this autumn and, with the extra year of preparation, should be even better than the first generation. The musical has the same tensions that drove the film, with Billy's successes measured against the failure of the miners' strike and the end of the traditional way of life for his family and friends. It's even more affecting on the stage, driven by Peter Darling's thrilling choreography. Like a modern West Side Story, the song-and-dance numbers are intimate parts of the plot, expressing the characters' inner feelings in a way that dialogue never could. A triumphant tale of personal achievement, a moving social study, and a celebration of the sheer joy of dance, this is a rare combination of intelligence and pure pleasure. NOTE: This show is not suitable for small children as it contains some strong language. The producers recommend that children be aged 12 years or above. No under 8s will be admitted. Venue: Victoria Palace Theatre Address: Victoria Street, SW1E Phone: 020 7437 4370 (Information) Date: Until 2 April 2006 Time: 19:30 Monday - Saturday | 14:30 Matinees on Thursday and Saturday Price: £17.50 - £50 Nearest Station: Victoria Tube / Rail Click Here to Book Online Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information |
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