Plays we're going to see...
Monday 31st January at 8pm: THE WOMAN IN BLACK by Susan Hill, adapted for the stage by
Stephen Mallatratt, directed by Robin Hereford. A classic ghost story to begin the semester! The
Fortune Theatre, Catherine Street, London. Nearest underground: Covent Garden.
Monday 7th February at 7.30pm: FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley, adapted for the stage by Nick
Dear, directed by Danny Boyle. Film director Danny Boyle, director of Slumdog Millionaire, returns to
the theatre for this new version of the classic horror story. Olivier Theatre, National Theatre, South
Bank, London. Nearest underground: Waterloo.
Monday 14th February at 7.30pm: VERNON GOD LITTLE by D C B Pierre, adapted for the stage by
Tanya Ronder, directed by Rufus Norris. One of Britain’s best young directors offers this fast paced
version of D C B Pierre’s novel. A big hit last year, this is sure to be a provocative evening! The Young
Vic Theatre, The Cut, Waterloo. Nearest tube: Waterloo or Southwark.
Monday 21st February at 7.30pm: ANNA NICOLE, an opera, music by Mark Anthony Turnage and
libretto by Richard Thomas, directed by Richard Jones. Tonight, we visit London’s Royal Opera House
to see a world premiere from the creative team behind Jerry Springer the Opera! Yes, it really is
about Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith, and will offer us a modern and brutally funny take upon the
idea of celebrity. The show contains strong adult themes and language, so not for younger guests/
visitors! Royal Opera House, Bow Street, London. Nearest tube: Covent Garden.
Monday 28th February at 7.30pm: WAR HORSE by Nick Stafford, adapted from the novel by Michael
Morpurgo, directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris. Acting and puppetry combine to tell
Morpurgo’s moving story of a boy and his horse on the battlefields of the First World War. This show
is one of the British National Theatre’s biggest hits of recent years, and is a stunning, epic spectacle.
New London Theatre, Covent Garden, London. Nearest underground: Covent Garden.
Monday 7th March at 8pm: THE 39 STEPS by John Buchan, adapted from the film by Alfred Hitchcock
by Patrick Barlow, directed by Maria Aitken. The hit comedy from the Fringe that does so much with
so little! Prepare to see probably London’s most versatile cast perform a memory act, a chase across
the Scottish Highlands and a biplane crash live on stage! The Criterion Theatre, Piccadilly, London.
Nearest underground: Piccadilly.
Monday 14th March: SEMESTER BREAK.
Monday 21st March at 7.30pm: ECSTASY by Mike Leigh. Another film-maker returns to his theatre
roots with this revival. Set against the backdrop of Margaret Thatcher’s rise to power, it’s a study of
friendship and loyalty. Adult themes. Hampstead Theatre, Eton Avenue, London. Nearest tube: Swiss
Cottage.
Monday 28th March at 7.30pm: IN A FOREST DARK AND DEEP by Neil La Bute. The new play by
one of the US’s top playwrights explores the nature of family and secrecy. The Vaudeville Theatre,
Strand, London. Adult themes. Nearest tube: Charing Cross.
Tuesday 12th April at 7.00pm . THE WIZARD OF OZ, a musical by Harold Arlen and EY Harburg from the novel by Frank L Baum, with additional material by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, directed by Jeremy Sams. A major new
staging of the great American musical. The London Palladium Theatre, Argyll Street, London. Nearest
tube: Oxford Street.
Monday 18th April at 7.30pm: DATAMATICS. As part of the SPILL Festival of international
performance, we will see this Live Art installation by Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda. Using pure data
as a source for sound and vision, Ikeda’s work challenges the nature of performance itself. It’s co-
produced by the Centre Pompidou, Paris. Barbican Hall, The Barbican Centre, London. Nearest tube:
Barbican.
Monday 25th April at 7.30pm: CHEKHOV IN HELL by Dan Rebellato. What if Anton Chekhov, the
greatest Russian dramatist, emerged from a century- long coma to find himself in modern London?
Playwright Dan Rebellato will join us in class to discuss his play, and his other theatre writings
including Theatre and Globalisation. Adult themes. Soho Theatre and Writers’ Centre, 21 Dean
Street, London. Nearest tube: Tottenham Court Road.
Monday 2nd May at 7.30pm: HAMLET by William Shakespeare. Large-scale work by up and coming
English playwright William Shakespeare. Seriously, this new production promises to offer a new take
on the great tragedy, a fitting spectacle for our final evening of play-going. We’ll be outdoors for
this one, so do please wrap up warm! The Globe Theatre, Bankside, London. Nearest tube: London
Bridge.
