Andrew Garfield photo by Gage Skidmore on Flickr

It's only February and already we've had the excitement of Jamie Lloyd directing Kit Harington in Dr Faustus and Dominic Cooper treading the boards again but this week, while I was buried under a ton of work, @Polyg sent me a text that put a huge, huge grin on my face. The text said: "Andrew Garfield in Angels in America at the NT".

The grin was because Garfield is on my list of actors I long to see on stage. I think he's one of the best actors of his generation; there are too many fantastic performances in his body of work to mention individually but I have some highlights.

First up is Kid A a TV drama in which he played Jack who is trying to rebuild his life after being release from prison for a crime he committed as a child.

Then there is Never Let Me Go, a film that has me rocking backwards and forwards sobbing on the sofa every time I watch it. There is one particular scene in which his character finds out that the one thing he's been striving towards for years is a myth. He doesn't say anything, he just lets out a scream so full of hurt and disappointment it breaks your heart. The trailer is one of those that pretty much gives away the entire story but it has the scream.

Looking forward to this one, it's a comedy based on a 1930's French play but in this version the action is moved to cold war era America. A soldier, missing presumed dead, returns home but is he really Captain Fox?  Lots of sitting and leaning going on in the rehearsal pics...but doesn't Rory Keenan look cute? Cast also includes Michelle Asante, Barnaby Kay, Katherine Kingsley, Trevor Laird, Sian Thomas, Danny Webb, Fenella Woolgar and Daniel York.

Welcome Home, Captain Fox! previews at the Donmar from Feb 18 and the first tranche of £10 Barclays Front Row tickets go on sale on Monday at 10am.

Photos are by Manuel Harlan, click on the thumbnails for bigger versions.

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David Crellin and Dan Parr as Sam and Jim in Weald, Finborough Theatre. Photo courtesy of Alex Brenner

Daniel Foxsmith's play Weald is set on a livery yard in rural England. Jim (Dan Parr) has returned there looking for work after six years away and Sam (David Crellin) reluctantly agrees. His reluctance speaks silently of past trouble between the two and Foxsmith's play slowly unravels their history. But there is more to it than that.

 Sam is steady and methodical but grumpy, there is an underlying toxic mix of betrayal and regret which gradually comes to the surface. Jim is full of youthful exuberance, a whirlwind in Sam's quiet routine, but it is an emotional ruse to hide or deny his true feelings.

Ironically Jim needs the stability of the work with the horses in order to move forward, while his return seems to push Sam deeper into the past. There is also bitter irony in that what Sam wanted most in his life but couldn't have, Jim achieves by accident and doesn't really appreciate or not initially at least.

Adrian Lester is Ira Aldridge. Photo Johan Persson

Four years after it was first performed at the Tricycle Theatre Lolita Chakrabati's play about 19th century black actor Ira Aldridge gets its West End opening. Adrian Lester reprises his role as Ira, who finds himself standing in for the famous Edmund Kean to play Othello in Covent Garden.

The narrative arc is bookended by two scenes in which we see Ira as an old man; grumpy and irascible but still much in demand as a performer. Fame has given him a diva-ish attitude. A visit by a young Polish journalist hints at events surrounding his Othello performance that are obviously painful to recall. And it is those events from his early career that form the heart of the play.

It is a multi-layered story. Ira is no doubt a creative actor, dedicated and driven to succeed to the point where it blinds his judgement with almost tragic consequences. But this is also a story about culture and racism. At the time the play is set the campaign to end slavery is in full swing and while there are those in the Othello acting company who support abolition (others don't), liberal attitudes are tested when Ira turns up. The vicious strength of prejudice at the time is revealed in the reviews of the production. It isn't an easy part of the play to watch.

The role of theatre in society is also explored. When Ira turns up there is much discussion among the company about whether the audience is ready for such 'realism'. Once again the company fall into two camps those that think theatre should reflect true life and those that think it shouldn't be quite so 'provocative' when people just want to be entertained. It is here that director Indhu Rubasingham really brings out the humour of the piece, the acting style of the 19th century 'actors' is somewhat different to what we are used to and Ira further rattles some cages by suggesting a different approach.

Ira's story is a fascinating one and it is easy to think that attitudes towards black performers have moved on by some great distance and yet, with all the controversy surrounding the Oscar's white-dominated nominee list, it still has some resonance today.

Red Velvet is funny, shocking and moving and Adrian Lester gives a gripping performance. If you didn't catch it at the Tricycle then go and see it.

It's 2 hours and 15 minutes long including an interval and is getting five stars from me.

2016 has kicked off in fine style with a close run competition between Alex Hassell and Sam Marks who were in the RSC's King and Country cycle at the Barbican.

Now Alex was a runner up last year and he was on my phwoar list the year before for the same role (Prince Hal). And while I'd love to honour Alex again, he's going to have to work a bit harder because I want to give January's honour to Sam. Now he was also in Henry IV and appeared slightly dressed but he's not winning for that. He's winning for Richard II and in particular a scene with David Tennant when the two share a very long kiss.

I already know that Sam is no stranger to the gym but there was something in that kiss that spoke a thousand words and was, well, just hot.

Sam Marks and David Tennant in Richard II. Photo: Keith Pattison