| When the weather turns brisk after a wet and | | | | been much acclaimed by critics and audiences. It is |
| none-too-warm summer we Brits well know that | | | | full of life and energy and will leave you singing the |
| now is the time to enjoy London. The winter is | | | | songs and feeling great. |
| too cold and miserable and the summer is | | | | The Donmar Warehouse is known in London for |
| generally blighted by hordes of tourists. But the | | | | its confronting dramas. It is an intimate theatre |
| Spring and Autumn are the highlights of the year | | | | around a horseshoe stage with only three rows |
| with the best cultural events and reasonable | | | | so you can feel the actor's effort and sweat |
| weather to enjoy them. This Autumn there is | | | | throughout. The theatre attracts major stars |
| heaps to do with theatre a particular highlight. | | | | returning to the stage for intellectual refreshment. |
| Recommended London theatre | | | | In its latest production Shakespeare veteran |
| Right now there are a number of particularly good | | | | Kenneth Branagh has cast Hollywood heart-throb |
| productions on stage in London. Whether you are | | | | Jude Law as Hamlet. Will Law succeed in such a |
| interested in musicals or serious theatre there are | | | | cramped domain? Many stars have returned to |
| in excess of 75 plays in production. However, as I | | | | the stage in London to sold-out runs but critical |
| know that many visitors in London are after a | | | | panning. I think Law is cut above the rest and will |
| jolly show I have profiled three musicals below as | | | | enhance his reputation in this performance which |
| well as a serious piece theatre which promises to | | | | is certain to be one of the most talked-about |
| be one of the most talked-about productions of | | | | shows of the year. |
| the decade. | | | | The Phantom is back. Andrew Lloyd Webber's |
| The 39 Steps has just past its second birthday at | | | | classic romance has been revived at Her |
| the Criterion and has just announced that its run | | | | Majesty's theatre. For those who remember the |
| has been extended yet again. The play is adapted | | | | London launch of the musical in the 1980s, relive |
| from the novel by nineteenth century novelist | | | | the magic. |
| John Buchan and the 1935 film of the book by | | | | After the show catch a late supper at Gaucho |
| Alfred Hitchcock. The play is a comedic | | | | Piccadilly. Gaucho is a chain of Argentinean |
| spoof-thriller about Richard Hannay a London | | | | restaurants which are recognised as having the |
| gentleman who is drawn into a foreign plot and | | | | best steaks in London. Try an Argentinean merlot |
| ends up on the run himself after a woman is | | | | with your steak; it should have much more spice |
| found murdered in his flat. I saw the original | | | | and body than the typically soft European and |
| London show at the Tricycle before it opened at | | | | Californian versions of the grape. |
| the Criterion and it is heartily recommended. The | | | | Getting to the theatre district is easy. On the |
| production won "Best New Comedy" at the Olivier | | | | Central Line you have stations at Holborn, |
| Awards in 2006. A Broadway spin-off won two | | | | Tottenham Court Road or Oxford Circus. On the |
| Tony Awards this year. | | | | Piccadilly Line Leicester Square, Covent Garden |
| Grease. London revival of the 1972 Broadway hit | | | | and Holborn (again) may all be helpful. In addition |
| immortalised by Olivia Newton John and John | | | | there are plenty of buses from all over London. |
| Travolta in the 1978 film. This 2007 revival has | | | | |