%20Nicola%20Turner,%20Nancy%20Allsop,%20Lara%20McDonnell,%20Sophia%20Ally%20-%20The%20Hills%20of%20California%20(Harold%20Pinter%20Theatre)%20-%20The%20Hills%20of%20California-feb24-pr-Photo%20by%20Mark%20Douet.JPG?w=810&resize=810&ssl=1 "Best London theatre shows to see in 2024")
Where: National Theatre, London SE1 9PX
When: 10 April – 22 June 2024
Website: nationaltheatre.org.uk
Dr. Strangelove
Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, the Cold War comedy about a nuclear crisis, gets its first-ever stage adaptation at the Noël Coward Theatre from 8 October. The film, released two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, starred Peter Sellers, who memorably took on three roles. Steve Coogan will follow suit in this stage production, playing a trio of parts: German scientist Dr. Strangelove, a British officer, and the US president. Adapted by Veep creator Armando Iannucci and Sean Foley, who also directs, the staged satire looks like a sure-fire hit.
Where: Noël Coward Theatre, 85-88 St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4AP
When: 8 October – 21 December 2024
Website: delfontmackintosh.co.uk
Hello, Dolly!
A huge success when it premiered on Broadway in 1964, winning 10 TONY Awards – the perennially popular musical comes to The London Palladium this July with Imelda Staunton as the titular meddler, Dolly Levi. Travelling to Yonkers, New York, searching for a match for ‘half-a-millionaire’ Horace Vandergelder, things turn when Levi decides to make herself a match. Jerry Herman’s hummable tunes – ‘Put On Your Sunday Clothes’, ‘Before the Parade Passes By’, and, of course, ‘Hello, Dolly!’ – are reason enough to book a ticket, but it’s Staunton that’s the biggest draw here. Her Momma Rose in the Olivier-Award-winning Gypsy at the Savoy Theatre was sensational. (The was coincidentally produced by Michael Harrison, now producing Hello, Dolly!). The musical also reunites Staunton and director Dominic Cooke (following the critically acclaimed Follies at the National Theatre).
Where: The London Palladium, 8 Argyll Street, London W1F 7TF
When: 6 July – 14 September 2024
Website: hellodollyldn.com
Romeo & Juliet
Following the seismic successes of The Jamie Lloyd Company‘s Sunset Boulevard, which saw Nicole Scherzinger play Norma Desmond, and The Effect, starring Paapa Essiedu and Taylor Russell, at the National Theatre, Lloyd’s next step was always going to be met with much curiosity and anticipation. Now, his latest show has been announced: Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, starring Tom Holland as Romeo Montague. Directed by Lloyd, this new production promises to be a ‘pulsating new vision of Shakespeare’s immortal tale of wordsmiths, rhymers, lovers, and fighters’. Tickets for its summer run at Duke of York’s Theatre are already all but sold out, and further casting has yet to be announced.
Where: Duke of York’s Theatre, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4BG
When: 11 May – 3 August 2024
Website: romeoandjulietldn.com
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Nachtland at the Young VicSebastian Nevols
Nachtland
An invented German word, Nachtland ‘suggests a place of eternal darkness’. Set in modern-day Germany, contemporary playwright Marius von Mayenburg’s satirical play (translated by Maja Zade) excavates myriad subjects, including marriage, human impulse, legacy, and the rise of the right. While clearing out their late father’s house, Nicola (Romola Garai) and Philipp (John Heffernan) discover an old painting in the attic depicting a 1920s Viennese street scene. The work appears to be by Adolph Hitler. ‘Nicola wants to sell it. Philipp wants to keep it. Philipp’s wife Judith wants to burn it.’ Patrick Marber (Leopoldstadt) directs.
