Theatregoing in 2020 was really weird.
Or more accurately, it was normal for two-and-a-half months, then the pandemic came and there was no theatre at all for a long time, and then there was an extremely strange ‘season’ running from August to December that involved a few brave shows taking a punt on reopening, that only really began to gather steam and numbers in the run-up to Christmas, at which point they all had to close again.
I’m happy to say that when theatres are allowed to reopen again in socially distanced form on May 17, things will be very different.
The vaccine rollout has obviously changed everything, and the hope is that not only will there be no further lockdowns, but that theatres will be able to ditch social distancing after little more than a month, and get back to normal as of June 21.
But the huge difference compared to the baby steps of last year is that right from the go there will be loads of theatre in London again. Theatres have now learned how to stage socially distanced shows, and perhaps more to the point, loads of government money has finally been awarded to help them do so – most theatres simply couldn’t open last year because they couldn't afford to only sell half their seats, and there was no end to social distancing in sight. Now they can, and there is.
Speaking as somebody who once managed to see 12 shows in a day at the Edinburgh Fringe (not sure I really recommend this), it was painful to endure months without any theatre whatsoever and then months in which only two or three new shows would open. Now I’m happy to report that London once again has Too Much Theatre – and I couldn’t be more excited.
To get you started, here are five great shows opening in the very first week:
1. ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Shakespeare’s Globe, May 19-Oct 30
As somebody who spits on emotion and sneers at sentiment, I am nonetheless fully expecting to cry real man-tears when London’s most iconic theatre finally returns. The Globe couldn’t afford to reopen in 2020, and the need for large casts and long-ish run times meant there was barely any Shakespeare around during the inter-pandemic season, but this month the Globe will be the first of London’s major theatres to launch its programme, ploughing briskly into a revival of Sean Holmes’s riotous take on the ‘Dream’ from 2019. The season – which stretches to the end of October this year – will start with full social distancing, with the £5 groundling tickets seated rather than standing (meaning they’ll be like gold dust, but an astonishing bargain if you can get them).
2. ‘Walden’ Harold Pinter Theatre, May 22-Jun 12
West End superproducer Sonia Friedman has programmed Re:Emerge, an exciting season of socially distanced new writing at the Harold Pinter Theatre, which kicks off with its most eye-catching show. ‘Walden’, by Amy Berryman, stars Gemma Arterton as a Nasa biologist who returns from a year on the moon to try and salvage her relationship with her sister, and is directed by the very great Ian Rickson (who is supposed to be reviving his peerless ‘Jerusalem’ later this year).
3. ‘The Mousetrap’ St Martin’s Theatre, booking May 17-Dec 19
The world’s longest-running show was originally going to return last October to much fanfair until the producers wisely pulled the plug as the autumn lockdown loomed into view. Thanks to all that prep, the iconic whodunnit is returning the first day theatres reopen. Several other West End long-runners will follow it in short order, including the musicals ‘Everbody’s Talking About Jamie’ and ‘Six’.
4. ‘Harm’ Bush Theatre, May 17-Jun 26
The last theatre show I saw was Travis Alabanza’s excellent ‘Overflow’ at the Bush, so I’m psyched to check out its much-delayed successor. Phoebe Eclair-Powell’s satirical monologue ‘Harm’ stars Kelly Gough as an unhappy estate agent who falls under the spell of a social media influencer.
5. ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’ Little Angel Theatre, from May 21
Live kids’ theatre basically didn’t exist last year, which was grim news for children and their parents, but it’s great that London’s most charming theatre the Little Angel will be flinging its doors open straight away for a brand new, puppet-powered stage adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s picture book about a big-hearted giant who gives away his entire wardrobe. London’s other major kids’ theatre the Unicorn is closed for now but will be bringing its hit ‘Anansi the Spider’ to the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre this summer.
When are the big West End musicals coming back?
What’s it like going to a socially distanced theatre show?
0 Comments