Looking Ahead: 5 Shows That Should Be On Your Radar
Posted on 2 August 2015
2015 has been an incredible year for West End theatre! We have been spoilt for major West End openings and there is still plenty to look forward to over the coming months! Below are five shows that should certainly be on your theatrical radar:
Kinky Boots
Opens at the Adelphi Theatre on 21st August 2015
Kinky Boots is the most anticipated opening of the year. With an incredibly exciting cast – led by Killian Donnelly, Matt Henry and Amy Lennox - Kinky Boots transfers to the West End from Broadway where the show triumphed at the Tony Awards. The best feel-good show since Legally Blonde, Kinky Boots is uplifting, inspiring and empowering. The touching British story will work even better in London; the show has huge heart as well as incredible music and choreography. It's looks set to become the show everyone will be fighting to see, so make sure you get your Kinky Boots tickets now!
Cats starring Beverley Knight
Opens at the London Palladium on 23rd October 2015
When Cats returned to the West End last year audiences fell in love with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical like never before. Due to overwhelming public demand, the show is returning to the London Palladium once more in October for its final season at the iconic venue. Soul Queen turned West End superstar Beverley Knight is set to take on the iconic role of Grizabella, following in the footsteps of Kerry Ellis, Nicole Scherzinger and Jane McDonald. Fresh from bringing audiences to their feet night after night in Memphis and The Bodyguard, Knight looks set to blow the roof off the Palladium with her powerful rendition of ‘Memory’.
Dawn French: 30 Million Minutes
Opens at the Vaudeville Theatre on 11th November 2015
Later this year Dawn French will be hitting the West End with her solo show 30 Million Minutes, following a successful UK tour. Dawn says the show is “not a play, it's not stand up, it's not a monologue, it's not a slide show, but it's something a bit like all of those with some alarming extreme striptease thrown in.” She has written the show herself, basing it on her life and career. Dawn is working alongside a stellar creative team, including renowned stage director Michael Grandage.
Photograph 51
Opens at the Noel Coward Theatre on 5th September
You do not want to miss Academy award-winning actress Nicole Kidman making a spectacular West End return this autumn! Kidman will star in the UK première of Anna Ziegler’s play Photograph 51 which will also be directed by Michael Grandage. The production reunites Nicole and Michael following their recent collaboration on the forthcoming feature film Genius. The show also stars Stephen Campbell Moore who recently appeared in Chimerica and famously starred alongside James Corden and Dominic Cooper in Alan Bennett's The History Boys.
In The Heights
Opens at the King’s Cross Theatre on 3rd October 2015
Last year In The Heights received its UK premiere at the Southwark Playhouse. Word of mouth couldn’t have been stronger and the run sold out within days of opening. At long last it has been confirmed that the show will return for a limited run at the brand new King’s Cross Theatre. Every element of In The Heights hit me like a breath of fresh air; I have never jumped to my feet so quickly at the end of a show, its energy is unique and the creative team are top notch. It’s always great to see off-West End hits being given a new lease of life.