London theatre June highlights: Game of Thrones stars tread the boards and a bumper crop of celeb spots
05/07/2018
June was a big month for new production and casting announcements, here are the ones that caught my eye including two Game of Thrones actors heading to the stage.
• Angela Carter novel Wise Children has been adapted for the stage by Emma Rice for the Old Vic Autumn Season. Rice will also direct and previews start on October 8.
Kit Harington previously appeared in the bloody Doctor Faustus and is set to star in True West.
• After Donmar's The Way of the World at the Donmar earlier this year, there is more restoration comedy to look forward to, this time William Congreve's play The Double Dealer which opens at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond on December 7.
• And talking of the Donmar, Michael Longhurst has been announced as the replacement to Josie O'Rourke as artistic director. He takes over in March 2019.
• Hollywood star Cate Blanchett is going to be treading the boards at the National Theatre with Stephen Dillane. Yay. What is tempering my excitement is it's a Martin Crimp play with a pretentious title and directed by marmite director Katie Mitchell. So torn about whether to see this one.
• Game of Thrones' Jon Snow aka Kit Harington is following up his turn in the bloody Doctor Faustus starring in Sam Shepherd's True West with Johnny Flynn at the Vaudeville Theatre. Previews from November 23.
Almeida Theatre's Summer and Smoke transfers to the West End
• It earned a spot on my 'best of the year so far list', so naturally I'm delighted the National Theatre's Nine Night is getting a West End transfer. It'll be at the Trafalgar Studios from December 1. This is why I thought it was so good.
• Summer and Smoke, which was also on my best of list, is transferring from the Almeida to the Duke of York's Theatre from November 10 and this is why I thought it was so good.
• One of PolyG's favourite actors, Paul Higgins has been cast in Aristocrats at the Donmar Warehouse which begins previews on August 2.
• Elizabeth Berrington and Phil Daniels join the cast of Martin McDonagh's new play A Very, Very, Very Dark Matter, Bridge Theatre. Always excited by anything written by Martin McDonagh - Aidan Turner is very good in the current production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore.
• Arinzé Kene's Misty transfers to Trafalgar Studios 2 in September following a sold-out run at the Bush Theatre.
• Jon Snow's half-sister Aria aka Maisie Williams is making her stage debut in I and You at the Hampstead Theatre as part of the Autumn Season. Previews begin October 23.
Theatre celebrity spots
Sasha Dharwan, Ophelia Lovibond, Jim Broadbent, Jeff Rawle, Lindsay Duncan, Adrian Lester, Lolita Chakrabarti, Sam Barnett, Maggie Smith and Jim Carter were all along to see Laura Linney at the opening night of My Name is Lucy Barton at the Bridge Theatre.
Adrian Schiller was sat on the front row at a mid-week matinee of Killer Joe.
At the National Theatre watching An Octoroon: John Heffernan, Mark Ravenhill, Juliet Stephenson and Adelle Leonce
Then behind Polyg and I in the queue to collect tickets for Sea Wall at the Old Vic was Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
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