1 Bird
Like a fragile bird whose fiercely beating heart can be detected in your cupped hand, Katherine Chandler’s Bruntwood prize-winning play is small and delicate. Yet it still manages to capture all the dizzying exuberance of life on the edge of adulthood with its tale of Ava and Tash, two girls in care negotiating the inadequacies of the adults in their lives. There are terrific performances, too, in Rachel O’Riordan’s tough yet adroitly pitched production.
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, Wed to 25 Jun
2 Beyond Caring
The world of work has produced some terrific plays, but few are quite as devastating as Alexander Zeldin’s devised piece, which first appeared at The Yard in 2014, subsequently popped up at the NT, and now goes out on tour. Set in a meat-packing factory, it follows a quartet of workers on zero-hours contracts under the eye of a self-important supervisor who humiliates them at every turn. Watch it and weep at how capitalism and a Tory government have made mincemeat of some of the most needy in society.
Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Tue to 11 Jun; touring to 16 Jul
3 Show Boat
It may be closing earlier than slated, but that’s not to say that Daniel Evans’s revival of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein’s 1927 show – often considered the first modern musical – isn’t a thing of many splendours. See it for a production that boasts astonishing performances, refuses to prettify its subject matter – which includes racial prejudice, violence and addiction – and, of course, has a breathtaking score that is as lush as the banks of the Mississippi itself and features classics such as Ol’ Man River.
New London Theatre, WC2, to 27 Aug
4 People, Places And Things
Denise Gough’s Olivier award-winning performance as actor Emma, who is addicted to drink and drugs, has deservedly been praised to the heavens. But Duncan Macmillan’s drama, set largely in a residential rehab centre, is very clever too, and the whole thing is neatly packaged by director Jeremy Herrin.
Wyndham’s Theatre, WC2, to 18 Jun
5 The Flick
You could fall into the pauses in Annie Baker’s remarkable play, set in a small Massachusetts movie theatre where three people work. Stay with it, though, because Sam Gold’s production develops its own distinctive rhythm over its three-hour duration, as it examines our relationships with ourselves and the digital age.
