Thursday, 6 February 2020
Welcome back to The Ephemeric's 2020 Hot List. This week we will be having a look at the most exciting theatrical productions coming to the stage in the coming year.
The London stage in 2019 inevitably seemed a reflection of the times in which we live, a funny old mix of nostalgia and ennui at the plight of the working man. No play better embodied the mood than the Donmar's award winning Sweat, although Roger Allam receives great credit for gamely bringing the excellent Rutherford and Sons to the National. London remains the world capital of theatre, and 2020 promises another dazzling array of productions featuring some of the biggest names of the stage and beyond.
Here's our list of the top 15 theatrical productions to keep an eye on in 2020, starting with number 15:
15. "Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer" by Tom Morton-Smith, at the Hampstead Theatre
Let's start things off with the Hampstead Theatre's telling of a cold war classic. Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer is a retelling of the events surrounding the 1972 chess match between then world champion Boris Spassky and his American challenger Bobby Fischer.
Seen globally as a form of proxy war between the two cold war powers, Ravens delves more into the personalities behind the propaganda: two ambitious and hungry men more concerned with personal excellence than politics.
Robert Emms is electric as Fischer in this Annabelle Comyn production. A timely story at a time when everything seems to get filtered through the lens of politics. Ravens is running now.
14. "Albion" by Mike Bartlett, at the Almeida
Mike Bartlett's piercing Brexit parable, Albion was one of our Debbie runners up back during its original run in 2017. Now returning to the Almeida to commemorate the UK's departure from the EU, and it seems more relevant than ever.
This new production brings back Victoria Hamilton after her previous award winning turn in the role, while Rupert Goold will direct once again.
Albion will run throughout February. If you did not have the opportunity to see this excellent piece of theatre the first time around, this is your chance.
13. "The Seven Streams of the River Ota" by Robert Lepage, at the National Theatre
The Ex Machina theatre company is bringing their production of The Seven Streams of the River Ota on a world tour, including a limited run this year at The National Theatre.
Robert Lepage's grand opus, originally staged in 1996, traces the story of survivors of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima across five decades, exploring the way one event can change human history.
Ex Machina's tour is timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the bombing. It doesn't make for easy watching, but it is an indelible theatre experience. This limited run begins in March.
12. "Life of Pi" by Lolita Chakrabarti and Yann Martel, at Wyndham's Theatre
A new adaptation of Yann Martel's novel, Life of Pi, which was famously made into the award winning film. It's an ambitious production from director Max Webster that will tell the story of the marooned Pi and his animal companions through elaborate puppetry and special effects that have earned comparisons to War Horse and His Dark Materials.
After this adaptation of Lolita Chakrabarti premiered in Sheffield theatres last summer to rave reviews, it was only a matter of time before it made a switch to the West End.
The Wyndham's new production promises to be quite the visual spectacle. This will run over the summer, starting in June.
11. "Force Majeure" by Tim Price, at the Donmar
The highlight of new Donmar artistic director Michael Longhurst's upcoming season, Force Majeure is the state adaptation of the acclaimed 2014 film of the same name.
A black comedy set in the alps, Force Majeure follows a family whose carefully constructed world is fractured by the shock of a near-miss, and the tragically hilarious consequences that ensue.
Longhurst will direct this production, which is set to hit the stage in the second half of the year, with the first tickets on sale for August.
10. "Endgame" by Samuel Beckett, at the Old Vic
Who doesn't like a bit of Samuel Beckett? The Old Vic is bringing his existentialist classic Endgame to the stage this spring, and have an all-star cast along for the ride.
Daniel Radcliffe needs no introduction, the former Harry Potter star who, for all his early stardom, has reinvented himself as a stage actor of some notoriety. He is joined by the always excellent Alan Cumming, best known for his recent turn in the Good Wife but will be known to others for his long career in cinema and stage.
The cast is sure to generate hype, but expectations are high for Richard Jones' production which runs throughout the spring.
9. "Manor" by Moira Buffini, at the National Theatre
Moira Buffini is a writer developing some reputation with the National Theatre following Greenland and Wonder.land. Her latest is Manor, a story of disparate folks banding together to survive a violent storm in an old manor house. It's a dark comedy with clear nods to the current climate crisis.
Nancy Carroll and Ben Daniels star, two actors with extensive stage pedigree and a number of recognisable TV and film credits to their name. Moira's sister Fiona Buffini will direct, their first collaboration since Dinner.
Manor begins on the Lyttleton stage in April and will run until the summer.
8. "The Haystack" by Al Blyth, at the Hampstead Theatre
A duo of debuts, as Al Blyth's first full length play and the directing debut of Roxana Silbert as the Hampstead Theatre's artistic director.
The Haystack is billed as an spy thriller for the modern day. Oliver Johnstone and Enyi Okoronkwo star as two twenty-somethings with a taste for Netflix and videogames, who also happen to be computer whizzes at GCHQ. The story that follows is sure to get political and challenge the notion of "nothing to hide nothing to fear" that has been practiced by the nation's espionage apparatus in recent years.
The Haystack runs January through March.
7. "Uncle Vanya" by Conor McPherson and Anton Chekhov, at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Another year, another exciting Chekhov adaptation at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Uncle Vanya has all the great Chekhov tropes: faded glory, a big country house, and the death throes of old wealth against the tides of a changing world.
Olivier Award winning writer Conor McPherson collaborates with Ian Rickson, a director with some track record in Chekhov following his successful production of The Seagull. The highlight of the cast is the great Toby Jones, though he is joined by an able cast of Ciaran Hinds, Aimee Lou Wood, and Richard Armitrage.
Uncle Vanya will run at the Harold Pinter Theatre until May.
6. Untitled Punchdrunk Theatre Production
Immersive theatre is increasingly becoming a modern industry staple, but arguably no one has quite managed to match the high standards in the genre set by the trailblazing Punchdrunk production company, best known for their acclaimed London production of The Drowned Man, as well as the ongoing Sleep No More in New York.
As the company moves into their new production home in Woolwich, there are whispers of a major new London production in the making, expected to debut some time in 2020.
At the time of writing, this production is still shrouded in mystery. Punchdrunk have a record of drawing from a wide array of classics, from Shakespeare to Buchner and Aeschylus. Whatever form it takes, this is one to keep an eye on.
5. "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Bryony Lavery and Philip Pullman, at the Bridge Theatre
Director Nicholas Hytner accomplished something remarkable back in the rosy tinted days of 2003 in successfully adapting the infamously tricky Philip Pullman series His Dark Materials to the stage.
Twenty years later and we have a new novel in the series, The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, and Hytner is duly returning to the world of Lyra and Pan to provide an adaptation that features the same top production values and state of the art stage wizardry that made the original such a roaring success. A cast has not yet been announced, but if it is anything like the star-studded lineup of the original (Ben Whishaw, Patricia Hodge, Timothy Dalton and Dominic Cooper starred) it could be quite the curtain call.
Unlike its predecessor, La Belle Sauvage will run at the Bridge Theatre, where Hytner is now artistic director. The His Dark Materials production still shines brightly in the memory, commonly held by many as one of the National's very best productions. This is definitely one to watch.
4. "The House of Shades" by Beth Steel, at the Almeida
The House of Shades promises a working class epic, told over five generations of a family struggling through the industrial landscape of 20th Century Britain.
This world premiere at the Almeida comes courtesy of Hampstead Theatre regular Beth Steel, best known for her productions of Wonderland and Labyrinth on that stage. Here, she collaborates with director Blanche McIntyre, a familiar face for patrons of the Almeida following her star studded production of The Writer.
The House of Shades will run over the summer, with previews commencing in May this year.
3. "Leopoldstadt" by Tom Stoppard, at Wyndham's Theatre
Arguably the hottest ticket of the year so far. Leopoldstadt is the new production of Tom Stoppard, whose name alone has propelled sales (and indeed prices) for the Wyndham's new play into the stratosphere.
Set in the Jewish quarter of Vienna in 1900, this promises to be one of the most personal pieces of work yet from the legendary playwright, much of whose family died at the hands of the Nazis during world war 2. Stoppard collaborates with producer Sonia Friedman, who is responsible for some of the West End's biggest hits of recent years, including Harry Potter and The Ferryman.
Leopoldstadt could be a tricky one to get tickets for, but if you can, you will want to see this.
2. "The Visit" by Tony Kushner and Friedrich Dürrenmatt, at the National Theatre
Tony Kushner brings this latest adaptation of the Dürrenmatt play to the National Theatre, directed by Jeremy Herrin, who frequent visitors of the National will remember from the excellent This House, and starring two genuine stars in Lesley Manville and Hugo Weaving.
Kushner adapts the original tale of revenge to a 20th Century setting, post-war in the town of Slurry, New York.
The Visit is set to be the National's first big tentpole of the year, running over the spring on the Olivier stage.
1. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Aaron Sorkin and Harper Lee, at the Gielgud Theatre
But our number 1 play to see in 2020 is the Gielgud's superstar production of the classic Harper Lee novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
This is a production of the adaptation by legendary screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, previously a mega-hit on Broadway that has earned rave reviews from the critics. The London production will star the great Rhys Ifans, best known to casual audiences for Notting Hill and Pirate Radio.
It is sad that in 2020, the 60th anniversary of the novel's original publication, its themes of racial injustice remain so pertinent, hopefully this production can serve as a timely reminder, and stir some fresh impetus into solving some of the problems that we still face as a society.
So there you have it folks: 2020 in theatre. Tune in soon for our next instalment of the Hot List, covering the essential new music coming up in 2020!
