Hope, London
Director John Tiffany and writer Jack Thorne are collaborating once again at the Royal Court, their last big success there being the teenage vampire story Let The Right One In. This time, Thorne offers an original piece in Hope, which looks at this age of austerity – at least for the average Briton – through a couple of council leaders forced to save £22m in a working-class town. Director Tiffany, an Olivier award-winner for the National Theatre of Scotland production Black Watch, is becoming a regular at the Sloane Square theatre, having also directed Russell Tovey in The Pass, a play about homophobia in football, earlier this year.
The Royal Court: Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, SW1, Wed to 10 Jan
MC
Flying Into Daylight, Newcastle upon Tyne
If there is one thing that Strictly Come Dancing tells us, it’s that dancing can lead to self-discovery and change lives. It can also bring real joy. Based on a true story, this new show tells the story of Virginia (Summer Strallen) who leaves behind her humdrum life in England and travels to Buenos Aires to learn how to dance the tango. The writer is Ron Hutchinson who has worked both at the Royal Court and as writer-in-residence at the RSC, as well as in Hollywood. This is an evening that’s likely to transcend genres as it mixes theatre with live music (created by tango specialist Julian Rowlands) and dance. Hutchinson co-directs with Live’s Max Roberts who will ensure everyone puts their best foot forward.
Live Theatre, Thu to 20 Dec
LG
Merlin, Northampton
No, not the television series brought to the stage, but a brand-new version of the Camelot tale adapted by Ella Hickson, who last year reinvented Peter Pan for the Royal Shakespeare Company with a version that gave Wendy a stronger and less drippy role. Hickson should give Arthur a bit of a kicking, too, as she plunders myth and legend to explore sorcery, chivalry and heroic deeds, questioning what those terms might mean for a modern audience in the process. A co-production with the Nuffield in Southampton, this should provide an alternative seasonal treat for those who prefer wizards to dames.
Royal Theatre, Wed to 4 Jan
LG
Mistletoe & Crime, Belfast
It’s a long time since Northern Irish playwright Marie Jones emerged as a noteworthy talent with Charabanc Theatre Company in the 1980s. Since then, she’s gone on to pen some really significant successes, including the County Kerry-set worldwide hit Stones In His Pockets. Jones’s writing is all heart and she always writes very well for women, who are the focus of this show set in Belfast on the night before Christmas. While the locals are doing last-minute Christmas shopping, two PCs are trying to keep both order and their Christmas spirit among the chaos. For one it is her last night on duty; for the other it’s her very first. For both, it will turn out to be a night to remember.
Lyric Theatre, Sat to 11 Jan
LG
Visitors, London
Barney Norris’s first full-length play, Visitors sold out its run at the Arcola Theatre in the spring, and now the Bush offers another chance to catch this mature work from a young writer. Set in a farmhouse on the edge of Salisbury Plain, it focuses on a couple in their 70s: she is suffering from dementia, he is getting too old to run the farm. Enter a kindly care worker and the couple’s son, who wants to put his mum in a home and sell the farm. Not as predictable, or as gloomy, as it sounds, this is tender, sad and funny. It paints a lovely picture of an enduring marriage between two people, beautifully acted by Linda Bassett and Robin Soans, under the direction of Alice Hamilton for the Up In Arms company.
Bush Theatre, W12, Wed to 10 Jan
MC
Swallows And Amazons, Bristol
Bristol Old Vic’s 2010 staging of Arthur Ransome’s 1930 children’s novel set during a Lake District summer was a huge triumph, and the following year set off on a successful UK-wide tour. Now it’s back in Bristol where the Walker children and the Blackett children will once again be joining forces against Captain Flint. It’s an old-fashioned story, very much of its time, and by rights this wholesome tale of sailing, camping, buns for tea and “duffers” might look quite quaint to modern children. But, in fact, by keeping things strictly in period while using a very modern theatrical language for the staging, director Tom Morris has unlocked a story that seems as exciting today as when it was first written.
Bristol Old Vic, Thu to 17 Jan
LG
