Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44THE RIVER SUMMER 2016 • CULTURE • 29 Macbeth 18 June – 1 October On a barren heath, three sisters tell the great and bloodied Macbeth that he is fated to be King of Scotland. And so begins a terrifying series of events that lead to the murder of Kings, friends, mothers and their children. Macbeth and his Lady fall prey to a soul-corroding guilt as they desperately try and cling to the defiled crown. The title role is Shakespeare’s most brutal and poetic creation and the play his most unsettling engagement with the supra-natural and the nature of evil. Enter the unique intensity of the Globe as this cycle of wondrous horrors captures our imagination once again... THE OLD VIC 103 THE CUT SE1 8NB 020 7928 2651 Groundhog Day 11 July – 17 September A new musical directed by Old Vic Artistic Director Matthew Warchus. The story of Phil Connors (Andy Karl), a cynical Pittsburgh TV weatherman who is sent to cover the annual Groundhog Day event in the isolated small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, when he finds himself caught in a time loop, forced to repeat the same day again and again…and again. As each day plays out exactly the same as before Phil becomes increasingly despondent, but is there a lesson to be learnt through his experiences, will he ever unlock the secret and break the cycle? THE YOUNG VIC 66 THE CUT SE1 8LZ 020 7922 2922 Blue/Orange 12 May - 2 Jul By Joe Penhall Christopher has been confined to a psychiatric ward for a month. He wants out. The problem is he still thinks oranges are blue. His doctor, convinced he needs help, wants to section him. The senior consultant thinks it’s all a question of culture: at home in Shepherd’s Bush Christopher will be amongst ‘people who think just like him’. And besides, it costs taxpayer money to keep Christopher in care. Yerma 28 July – 24 September by Simon Stone after Federico García Lorca This achingly powerful story of a young woman desperate to become a mother expresses the anguish of a society battling to free itself from its past. Simon Stone’s new version re-imagines Lorca’s original for London today. MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY 53 SOUTHWARK STREET SE1 1RU 020 7378 1713 David Baddiel My Family: Not the Sitcom 10 May - 25 June My Family: Not the Sitcom is a massively disrespectful celebration of the lives of David Baddiel’s late mother, Sarah, and dementia-ridden father, Colin. It’s a show about memory, ageing, infidelity, what we can and can’t say in an over-policed moral culture, and gay cats. Come and be offended on David’s behalf. Into The Woods 1 July - 17 September Following great critical success in New York, innovative and ground breaking theatre company Fiasco bring their enchanting reinvention of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s masterpiece Into The Woods to the Chocolate Factory this Summer. UNICORN THEATRE 147 TOOLEY STREET SE1 2HZ 020 7645 0560 Double Double Act 20 June - 9 July By Christopher Brett Bailey, Tim Cowbury and Jessica Latowicki Directed by Dominique Collet Two children are performing their famous comedy routine. But they keep being interrupted by a pair of pesky grownups who are trying to perform their own act. The man looks like the boy. The woman looks like the girl. This can only end one way: CHAOS! Tom Burke in rehearsals for The Deep Blue Sea. Image by Richard Hubert Smith