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ONLINE THEATRE ROUNDUP By Liz Dyer
There’s no denying it’s still an uncertain time, with regulations changing every five minutes and the ever-present threat of local lockdowns - but at last there are signs of hope for theatre fans. Panto season is sadly cancelled for 2020, but for those willing to travel to London, there might just be a few other shows for us to enjoy by the end of this year. Here are just a few of the highlights heading to the capital in the next few months. It’s just been announced that Nimax Theatres, who own six West End theatres - including the Palace Theatre, home to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - will start reopening from October with reduced audiences and full Covid precautions in place. These theatres will open with a special season of shows, which will act as a stopgap
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until their resident shows can reopen at full capacity. The first show in the season is the hilarious This Is Going To Hurt from comedian and former junior doctor Adam Kay (22nd October-8th November at the Apollo), with more to be announced in the coming weeks.
A little further out of the city centre, the Southwark Playhouse, which has been streaming online content throughout lockdown, will be opening its doors to stage The Last Five Years (1st October-14th November), Jason Robert Brown’s much-loved musical about the romantic rollercoaster of two New Yorkers. The show, which will see audience groups separated by screens for safety, has already proved so popular that the run’s been extended by two weeks.
Also announced to reopen soon is Six, the infectious girl-power musical that lets Henry VIII’s unfortunate wives tell their side of the story. The show, which became a massive hit when it was first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and then moved to the Arts Theatre in Leicester Square, will transfer temporarily up the road to And if you’re not quite ready to the larger Lyric Theatre for a socially venture out to the theatre just yet, distanced run from 14th November. don’t worry - there’s still plenty of great content available online. As Agatha Christie fans will be thrilled to always, it’s worth following theatre learn that murder mystery The Mousetrap sites like WhatsOnStage and My - the world’s longest running play - will Theatre Mates for the latest updates be reopening at the St Martin’s Theatre (check out the last issue of Dartford on 23rd October. Again, social distancing Living for more details). will be in effect both on and off stage, and additional measures will be taken to Hope to see you back in a real ensure everyone’s safety. (Well, everyone theatre very soon! except the murder victim, that is.)