The Mentalists, London
After co-creating The Office and Extras with Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant is carving out an increasingly diverse career for himself. He now makes his West End debut in The Mentalists. This Pinter-esque comic two-hander from the pen of Richard Bean – staged at the National in 2002, way before his mega-hit One Man, Two Guvnors – finds two men holed up in a hotel room in Finsbury Park; one (Merchant) is an eccentric fanatic intent on sending out a utopian message to the world, the other is a hairdresser and fantasist. Merchant’s opposite number is Steffan Rhodri, of Gavin & Stacey fame. Bean says his piece has taken on new relevance with the rise of fringe parties in this election year.
Wyndham’s Theatre, WC2, Fri to 26 Sep
MC
Around The World In 80 Days, Bristol
New International Encounter is a company that puts storytelling, clowning and music at the heart of its shows. It had a significant hit at this address with a really gorgeous version of Hansel And Gretel, and now it turns its attention to Jules Verne’s adventure story about Phileas Fogg, a man who makes a bet at his gentlemen’s club that he can circumnavigate the globe in just 80 days. Verne was a visionary science-fiction writer, and although 80 days to get around the world would be slow travel by today’s standards, NIE’s production – which was mounted in an earlier version at Cambridge Junction at Christmas – plays neatly on the idea of a Victorian age on the brink of many discoveries.
Tobacco Factory Theatre, Wed to 18 Jul
LG
Theatre at Manchester International Festival
Alex Poots is departing the Manchester international festival this year, but his final festival looks like a cracker. First up is Damon Albarn and Moira Buffini’s new musical Wonder.land (Palace Theatre, Mon to 12 Jul), co-produced with the National Theatre and inspired by Lewis Carroll’s tale. Rufus Norris directs a show that tells the story of Aly, bullied at school and unhappy at home, who escapes into a virtual world where you can be exactly who you want to be. A shape-shifter is at the heart of the festival’s other big production, The Skriker (Royal Exchange Theatre, Wed to 18 Jul), a new version of Caryl Churchill’s compelling fairytale, a mix of ancient and modern that tells of two sisters who meet a strange creature. Maxine Peake plays the title role in Sarah Frankcom’s production.
Various venues, Thu to 19 Jul
LG
The Invisible, London
Of the many government-imposed financial cuts we face in the coming months, one of the biggest is the £350m that will vanish from provision for legal aid. This assault on the system has impelled Rebecca Lenkiewicz to write The Invisible, which focuses on those most affected. Based on interviews with people from all levels of the British justice system, it aims to highlight the broad impact the cuts will have. With the 2008 play Her Naked Skin, Lenkiewicz was the first living female playwright to have original work staged on the Olivier stage of the National Theatre, a fact as embarrassing as it is extraordinary. More recently, she co-wrote with director Pawel Pawlikowski the Polish movie Ida, which won this year’s Oscar for best foreign language film.
Bush Theatre, W12, Fri to 15 Aug
MC
Hijinx Unity Festival, Cardiff
There is plenty to enjoy at this year’s Hijinx Unity festival, which brings together some of the best inclusive arts from around the world. One of the highlights will be Beneath The Streets (secret location, book via Chapter, to Fri), a co-production between Hijinx and Punchdrunk Enrichment that takes audiences on a journey into a subterranean world, and is performed by a large cast of actors with and without disabilities. There’s street theatre and circus, but also some work tackling serious themes, such as Panaibra Gabriel Canda’s Borderlines (Wales Millennium Centre: Weston Studio, Wed & Thu), a piece from Mozambique looking at the legacy of civil war.
Various venues, Wed to 5 Jul
LG
Pink Mist, Bristol
Taff, Arthur and Hads are three Bristol lads with few prospects who join the army and get sent to Afghanistan. Only two of them return – and in many ways coming home proves harder than going off to war in the first place. An amalgam of the experiences of several young soldiers interviewed by poet Owen Sheers, Pink Mist is a highly acclaimed and award-winning dramatic poem that’s already been heard on Radio 4 and is now getting its stage premiere in a production directed by John Retallack. It’s not simply the battles of the young men which are detailed, but also the struggles of the women they have left behind, the mothers, wives and girlfriends who are patiently waiting to pick up the pieces.
Bristol Old Vic, Wed to 11 Jul
LG
