What's good at the theatre in London

[SlipSlidinAway]

Any recommendations? Have seen Cabaret and Operation Mincemeat. Wondering about The Ocean at the End of the Lane (or is that for kids?) or the Enfield Haunting.

For those who've seen Dear England, would you say its suitable for an 11 year old ? We have several teenage boys in the group who are sports fans but nephew is just 11.

They are all used to the theatre and very well behaved.

Hamnet is v good, have you read the book? Not all of the interior voice comes across, but the acting is lovely.

@slipslidinaway Mark Gatiss was very good as you'd expect, but Johnny Flynn just lacks the charisma for Burton - and how can you be Burton without that mellifluous voice! The Guardian review was spot-on, 3* and okay-ish. Worth a punt if you see a cheap ticket offer, maybe.

Yes, very suitable. It's a very clean, wholesome play. Tbh I might not have gone to see it if my teen son wasn't a football fan as I know nothing about football, but I enjoyed it in his company. Joseph Fiennes is very good as Gareth Southgate.

It doesn’t really have anything to do with football except as a brief reference tbh. It has racism, family, relationships at the heart of it. It’s a fabulous play, exceeded my expectations which were high.

Guys and Dolls is utterly wonderful, you’ll never see another show like it. We were standing and were literally part of the action - we even had to wave streamers etc in Havana and move around as stages popped up and down. We sat at the tables in the club and at the end we were dancing with the cast. My teen was blown away!

@PuppyMonkey it was amazing, wasn't it? The original book is one of favourites, and it was so great to see characters like Nicely Nicely in the flesh.

@Lentilweaver - “Sit down you’re rocking the boat” was so fantastic I actually started crying!!

No it's not, but agree it was good

Crazy for You is fantastic.

@PuppyMonkey that was marvellous! Such amazing coordination.

I think they would love it, there were lots of teen and pre teen aged boys in the audience when we saw it and they looked as though they enjoyed it. It is something pretty amazing when you present 2000 people with a show which is basically about defeat and they come out smiling !

Matilda is fabulous.

We saw this a few months ago. Bits of it were just mind blowing. Got lots of 5 star reviews.

Oh. Just ignore me! I got confused. I thought you were talking about Showman, which as on earlier this year and was completely brilliant. On the back of that, we went to see Unbelievable last week which was no-where near as good. It was ok. Teens may enjoy it. I think the gimmicks is it's magic done by actors not magicians.

Guys and Dolls, yes. Stand if you're fit enough, but it's great even if you can't. I've been twice, once with Daniel Mays and once without because I wanted to take DD who was home from uni, and it really stood up to repeat viewing. DD loved salsaing with the cast at the end.

Yes!

Thanks to everyone who gave such quick feedback on Dear England. I've just booked!

Guys and Dolls
Hamilton
The Motive and the Cue (transfer from the National)
Crazy For You
Hamnet (RSC)

Witness for the prosecution
Mousetrap
Back to the future
Phantom
2.22 a ghost story

Glad it wasn't just me it had that effect on!

One of the most joyous performances ever. Especially as they have to perform in all directions.

Joining in the love for Guys and Dolls. Standing tickets, mind. And, not to diss the bloke who's in it at the moment, but I saw Daniel Mays as Nathan Detroit and am planning to go again with different friends, and am waiting until he's back. He was that good.

Vanya is jaw-dropping.

The Motive and the Cue is fine, Mark Gatiss is superb IMO, but Johnny Flynn a bit hampered by seeming to have been directed to 'do' Richard Burton; his attempt at the accent and embodiment of him just get in the way of his actual acting.
Tuppence Middleton seemed to have been directed to play Liz Taylor rather 'light', not smouldering or knowing enough.
The whole thing seemed a bit underpowered, I thought, considering the calibre of the cast, writer, director, set designer etc.

Saw Dear England recently and loved it. So much energy from the young actors, it's funny, it's got great music. I'm not much of a football fan but as a play about ambition it's amazing.

Hope you enjoy it. I think it is a very good introduction to “ grown up theatre” , showing how ideas can be developed, characters established, and serious topics made accessible by humour and clever dialogue. Not that I would necessarily discuss this with young theatre goers, but rather let them enjoy the experience and come to their own conclusions!