4 saturday review Saturday January 1 2022 | the times
as India was forging a new identity as an
independent nation. The piece is directed
by Indhu Rubasingham, who has just
scored an overwhelming success at the
Kiln Theatre with her inspired
staging of Zadie Smith’s The
Wife of Willesden, an
update of The Wife of
Bath’s Tale by Chau-
cer. Olivier, National
Theatre, London
SE1 (nationalthea-
tre.org.uk), May 12-
Jun 18Playboy of the
West Indies —
the Musical
It’s nearly 40 years since
Mustapha Matura un-
veiled his captivating stage
adaptation of Synge’s classic The
Playboy of the Western World. Matura’s
exuberant play, set in a sleepy village in
Trinidad, has now been fitted out with
songs by Clement Ishmael, Dominique Le
Gendre and Matura’s collaborator Nicolas
Kent. Birmingham Rep (birmingham-
rep.co.uk), Jun 10-Jul 3Theatre
Spike
A wild and wilful genius, Spike Milligan
was the inspiration for generations of
comedians and writers. Ian Hislop and
Nick Newman — who previously won
acclaim with their First World War play
The Wipers Times — explore the writer
and performer’s struggle to push the
boundaries of comedy during his time as
the driving force behind that anarchic
1950s radio programme The Goon Show.
Watermill Theatre, Newbury (water-
mill.org.uk), Jan 27-Mar 5
Cyrano de Bergerac
This is frankly unmissable, a chance to
revisit James McAvoy’s extraordinary
portrait of Edmond Rostand’s lovelorn
cavalier (first seen in 2019) as a streetwise,
leather-jacketed hero who speaks in rap
rhythms (and has a normal-sized nose
to boot). It’s not just a hipsterish conceit;
Martin Crimp’s adaptation, brilliantly
directed by Jamie Lloyd, is a thing
of beauty. Harold Pinter Theatre,
London SW1 (thejamielloydcompany.com),
Feb 3-Mar 12; Theatre Royal Glasgow,
Mar 18-26
Henry V
The Battle of Agincourt is squeezed into
the Donmar’s intimate space as Game of
Thrones star Kit Harington heads to war in
director Max Webster’s modern vision of
Shakespeare’s pageant. We’re promised
that the production will shine a light on
“what it means to be English and our rela-
tionship to Europe, asking: do we ever get
the leaders we deserve?” Fingers crossed
it’s not another Brexit lecture. Donmar
Warehouse, London WC2 (donmar-
warehouse.com), Feb 12-Apr 9
To Kill a Mockingbird
Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harp-
er Lee’s novel racked up box office
records on Broadway. It now
makes the Atlantic crossing, with
Rafe Spall taking over the role of
the principled lawyer Atticus
Finch. Sorkin’s version beefs up the
courtroom drama and, to fend off
justified accusations of white saviour-
ism, gives the novel’s black characters a
stronger voice. Gielgud Theatre, London
W1 (tokilla-mockingbird.co.uk), Mar 10-
Aug 13
Straight Line Crazy
Robert Moses was the man who shaped
the landscape of 20th-century New
My Fair Lady
One of the most sumptuous musicals of
them all returns to the West End for the
first time in a couple of decades. Bartlett
Sher’s production of the Lerner &
Loewe classic previously
pulled in the audiences at
the Lincoln Center in
New York. Based on
George Bernard
Shaw’s Pygmalion, it
is the perfect mar-
riage of musical
theatre and oper-
etta, so it ought to
make a good fit for
the home of English
National Opera. Coli-
seum, London WC2
(myfairladymusical.co.uk),
May 7-Aug 27The Father and the Assassin
After hitting a low with that disastrous
state-of-the-nation play Manor, the
National aims to gets its mojo back with
Anupama Chandrasekhar’s new play
about Nathuram Godse, the Hindu na-
tionalist who killed Mahatma Gandhi justhighlights of 2022
Diary at the ready!
Our critics pick 50
shows to book now
From Mark Rylance’s return to Jerusalem, to a retrospective
of Raphael, to Alan Partridge live: our picks for the new year
York. An all-powerful urban planner
who presided over the city for 40 years,
putting cars ahead of people in his pursuit
of a modern utopia, he was the subject of
an enthralling biography by Robert “LBJ”
Caro, and now gets the David Hare treat-
ment in a drama starring Ralph Fiennes.
Bridge Theatre, London SE1 (bridge-
theatre.co.uk), Mar 16-Jun 18Jerusalem
How does it look more than a decade later?
Jez Butterworth’s mystical drama about a
collection of ne’er-do-wells in the West
Country backwoods achieved cult status
after its premiere at the Royal Court in- Mark Rylance’s performance as
Johnny “Rooster” Byron hoovered up
much of the acclaim, and he is now
back in harness alongside his original
co-star Mackenzie Crook. Ian Rick-
son directs once again. Apollo
Theatre, London W1 (jerusalemthe-
play.co.uk), Apr 16-Aug 7
Oklahoma!
Here’s your chance to catch a
Tony award-winning production
of the Rodgers and Hammerstein
warhorse, which caused a stir on
Broadway in 2019. The director
Daniel Fish reins in the wholesomeness
and sentimentality in a stripped-down
version of the show, which uses spartan
arrangements that have an almost
country-and-western feel. And an
array of guns is a prominent part of
Laura Jellinek’s set design. Young Vic,
London SE1 (youngvic.org), Apr 26-
Jun 25loverly A previous cast
of My Fair Lady, which
comes to the Coliseum,
London. Below: Henry V
star Kit Harington.
Right: James McAvoy in
Cyrano de Bergerac in
London and GlasgowROBBIE JACK/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES; VICTORIA ART GALLERY; THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON; SARA KRULWICH/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX/EYEVINEstaging of
Wife o
updat
Bath
cer
Th
SE
tr
JuPl
We
ttthe M
IIItI’s nea
MMMMustaph
vvvveiled his
adadaddaptation of Sy
PlayboyoftheWesterneviously
ces at
in
nh
li-
WC2
o.ukk),Assassin