Backing a winner ... War Horse at the National. Photograph: Simon Annand
It's not an easy week if you are a serious theatregoer. I'm off to the Barbican tonight for Ursula Martinez and Christopher Green's Office Party and will be reporting back on whether it leaves me with a hangover. I'm also looking forward to seeing Kneehigh's Rapunzel at the Southbank Centre on Wednesday. It was a joy at BAC last year and should have played at Bristol Old Vic this Christmas, but the sudden closure of Bristol meant it was without a home until the canny Southbank picked it up. And the people of Bristol won't miss out, it's at Circomedia from mid-January before heading out on tour and then to New York.
I have high hopes too for Potted Potter which I caught a couple of years ago in Edinburgh but has been developed since. A seat is kept at the theatre every night in case JK Rowling turns up.
If you're looking for quality in London, I'd opt for Dealer's Choice at Trafalgar Studios and Women of Troy at the National. Mitchell treats Euripides like a musical score, not a text. Also at the National it is your last chance to catch up with the superb Chatroom/Citizenship double bill from Enda Walsh and Mark Ravenhill. It's good to see that more plays from the NT's Connections season are getting a further life in the spring when works by Roy Williams, Dennis Kelly and Lin Coghlan are remounted with professional casts.
Michael Billington really enjoyed Noughts and Crosses in Stratford and I'm looking forward to catching up with it next week with child in tow, who happens to be Malorie Blackman's number one fan. A Christmas Carol and the Magic Flute are both delights at the Young Vic, and it is well worth queuing for day seats for War Horse.
And if you are the last person left on the planet who hasn't seen it, remember that The History Boys is back at Wyndhams for the Christmas season.
