Theatre: The Five Best Plays In London
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The Real Thing Donmar Warehouse
Tom Stoppard's witty, thoughtful disquisition on love looks even better now than it did in 982. To 7 Aug
2
Hay Fever Savoy Theatre
Collectors of scandalously enjoyable camp should rush to see Geraldine McEwan, who is sublime as the not-so-retired actress heroine in Declan Donnellan's wittily over-the-top Coward revival. To 4 Aug
3
Candide Olivier Theatre, National
Exhilarating staging by John Caird of the wittiest and trickiest of all possible musicals. Alex Kelly is a delectably funny Cunegonde, and Simon Russell Beale turns in a trenchant tour de force doubling as Pangloss and Voltaire. Booking to Oct
4
Three Sisters Whitehall Theatre
Remarkably fresh (if unevenly cast) production by Dominic Dromgoole with a deeply touching performance from Tom Smith as the unloved Baron Tuzenbakh. To 3 July
5
Holy Mothers Ambassadors Theatre
Blocked lavatories, visions of the Blessed Virgin and a last-minute beheading all feature in this hilarious extravaganza of epic bad taste by Werner Schwab. To 3 July
... AND BEYOND
Enjoy West Yorkshire PLayhouse, Leeds
Thelma Barlow's wonderfully sunny and touching performance underlines how close Alan Bennett's characters often come to those of Beckett. A first-rate revival of his prescient, blackly hilarious 980 play about the humbug of the heritage industry. From Mon to Sat 26 June
2
Tales from Ovid Swan Theatre, Stratford
Ted Hughes's brilliant adaptation of the Metamorphoses gets the Tim Supple treatment, vividly demonstrating the inherent theatricality of these myths. To 7 Oct
3
Oroonoko The Other Place, Stratford
There's political indignation but a refreshing lack of political correctness in Biyi Bandele's powerful and witty dramatisation of the novel by the 7th-century writer Aphra Behn, which takes a humane look at the slave trade. To 6 Oct
4
Volpone Swan Theatre, Stratford
Comedies don't come funnier or more astringent than Ben Jonson's brilliant dissection of avaricious, over-reaching egotism. To 9 Oct
5
Don Juan Playhouse, Oxford
Stephen Unwin and English Touring Theatre tackle Moliere's mordant take on the libertine from hell. From Tue to Sat 26 Jun
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