Children's Shows Comedy Dance & Physical Musicals Theatre ThisWeek In London

Three To See 30 Aug-5 Sep: Theatre, Funny Stuff, Musicals

By | Published on Friday 26 August 2022

LONGER RUNS STARTING THIS WEEK

The Cherry Orchard | The Yard | 5 Sep-22 Oct
I begin writing these tips this week with a vague sense of sadness, to be honest, for the fact that we’re talking about shows happening in September means that the summer is kind of over, and things like edfringe and Camden Fringe are over too. On the upside, theatres that have been a bit quiet over the last few weeks will be starting their autumn seasons, which is nice. Anyway, here’s our first pick from longer runs starting this week, ‘The Cherry Orchard’ at The Yard, a fab re-imagining of the Chekhov classic, written by Vinay Patel. It’s set on a space ship, travelling through space in search of a habitable planet, and if that doesn’t pique your interest I don’t know what will. Click here.

Yellowman | Orange Tree Theatre | 5 Sep-8 Oct (pictured)
“Alma and Gene have grown up together. She dreams of a life beyond the confines of their small town. But when their friendship develops into something more serious, Gene’s fate becomes tragically intertwined with hers and they can’t escape the legacy of racism and the tensions within their own community”. The excellent Dael Orlandersmith’s 2002 Pulitzer nominated play, set in America’s deep south in the 1960s. If you can’t make it to the venue for this one, you’ll have an opportunity in October to see it online, but we may well remind you of that closer to the time. For more information and to book tickets, head to the venue website here.

Help! We Are Still Alive | Seven Dials Playhouse | 5 Sep-15 Oct
Aaaand now, let’s head over to the Seven Dials Playhouse for ‘Help! We Are Still Alive’ by Imogen Palmer, a two hander of a gig-style musical about “keeping the romance alive when everything else is dead as a doornail”. It promises us catchy, heartbreaking songs, and to resemble something like ‘28 Days Later’ meets ‘When Harry Met Sally’, for yes, it’s set in a post-global disaster sort of world. “Jass and Finn have survived the apocalypse – but can their relationship take the strain? What do you do when the last person on earth no longer floats your boat?” So, that sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Head to this page here for more info and to book your tickets.

FUNNY SHOWS

Hayley Ellis: The Invisible Mam | Bloomsbury Theatre | 30 Aug
I thought it was probably imperative to have a bit of a funny section this week, because I feel sure there are many among our readership who’ve spent a bit of time up at the old edfringe this summer, and may well be suffering something like withdrawal from all the good quality comedy stuff they probably saw. So, time for some tips focused on hilarity, and first up, it’s Hayley Ellis, who heads to the Bloomsbury Theatre this week with a show harvesting comedy from the very ripe and fertile ground that is motherhood. “Becoming a mum and then going into lockdown is not how Hayley Ellis imagined maternity leave. For starters no one could babysit”. Click here to find out more.

Live At The Chapel With Phil Wang | Union Chapel | 3 Sep
And now for the sort of show where you get a number of comedians for your hard-earned money, a number of whom you may well have missed (or seen, in fact, if we are going to be positive rather than negative about it) at the Fringe these past few weeks. Topping the bill (as you may already have worked out, because you can read) is the excellent Phil Wang, and he is joined by three other acclaimed acts, one of which is a past winner of one of our ThreeWeeks Editors’ Awards. Of course, he’s gone on to much bigger things now, so I daresay we don’t need to use that to try and sell him. Anyway, that’s John Robins, and the other two highly respected artists are Suzi Ruffell and Josh Pugh. Head to the venue website here.

Attenborough And His Animals | Wilton’s Music Hall | 30 Aug-3 Sep (pictured)
“A blue whale swims through the depths. Racer snakes pursue an iguana across the desert. Two hapless fools recreate wonderful scenes of the natural world”. A departure, now, for this show isn’t stand-up, but it is very funny – or so I am told, for I have not yet had the pleasure of seeing it, but have heard immensely good things about it. And what’s fabulous about this one is that it would make a great family outing because younger people (aged six and up) will love it too. It’s done incredibly well at both the Adelaide and Edinburgh Fringes in recent years (and was up in the Scottish capital again this summer) and offers “an epic display of clowning, physical theatre and the largest range of animals you will ever see on stage”. See this page here to find out more and book your tickets.

MORE INTERESTING SHOWS

Persephone | Jack Studio Theatre | 30 Aug-17 Sep
This section is all theatre, really, but one pick is musical theatre, which is why I decided to call this the ‘interesting’ section rather than the ‘more theatre’ section. First up is ‘Persephone’ at the Jack Studio Theatre, a retelling of a classic Greek story from the excellent Arrows & Traps Theatre. “Sister-Goddesses Demeter and Hestia are just trying to get by. They have bills to pay and little Persephone to care for. The reign and rules of Zeus seem far behind them until young Persephone makes a fateful decision and runs away into the arms of Hades, keeper to the Underworld. Demeter and Hestia must now return to the mountain kingdom they left millennia ago, to save what remains of their family, before time runs out”. More here.

Rehab: The Musical | The Playground Theatre | 1-17 Sep
“It’s 1999 and jaded 26 year-old pop star, Kid Pop, finds himself in court, after being caught red handed in a drug fuelled tabloid sting. An understanding judge gives Kid the choice between jail time or a rehabilitation centre for six weeks. It’s a no-brainer for Kid: rehab will be a holiday. But how could he have got it so wrong?” A new, darkly comical musical that promises to “sweep you up on an emotional journey of the soaring highs and tragic lows of the ‘guests’ of the Glade Rehab Centre”, and to entertain you with “thumpingly memorable songs”. It’s all brought to you by a great team – creators Grant Black, Murray Lachlan Young and Elliot Davis and director Gary Lloyd – so hopefully the show will make good on that promise. All the details are right about here.

Angel | The Hope Theatre | 30 Aug-17 Sep (pictured)
And finally, another edfringe success, which was on at the Festival this summer, but which has been around for a while – I think we first gave it a 5/5 review back in 2016. Anyway, it’s a very successful and award-winning one-woman play by Henry Naylor, and it deals with a very compelling subject: “In 2014 Kurdish families were fleeing Kobane to avoid the inevitable ISIS onslaught; Rehana stayed to fight and defend her town; as a sniper, she allegedly killed more than 100 ISIS fighters. When her story came out, she became an internet sensation and a symbol of resistance against Islamic State and dubbed the ‘Angel of Kobane’”. To find out more about the show and to book tickets, see the venue website here.

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