Depends what sort of thing you like and whenabouts in December you're coming, really.
War Horse and
La Cage are generally my number one recommendations for anyone planning to see anything in London, but they're both heading to Broadway so I don't know if that'll affect your viewpoint any. They're both incredibly wonderful beasts, and I'm actually off to see them both again for the fourth time each today. XD
CAUTION: if you're coming for musicals and not interested at all in plays, then you'll DEFINITELY want to skip my play ramblings, but do tune in near the end for ticket advice. :3
The Donmar Warehouse will have
Red for most of December. I know next to nothing about it (about Mark Rothko, starring Alfred Molina), but the creative team at least has me jigging excitedly in my seat, and it's always nice to visit the Donmar. You get theatre geek cred for it if nothing else.
Come the end of December, the RSC will have transferred in
Twelfth Night. No one knows anything about it yet, but everything so far suggests it should be a fairly solid production as long as nothing goes terribly wrong. The Old Vic has
Inherit the Wind going on; I know it's not long since the Broadway revival, but I really do think it's a fantastic play, and the reviews have been more complimentary about the cast than the text, which bodes well indeed.
(Kevin Spacey as Drummond, if that interests you.)
The National appears to be having an interesting time during December. If you're arriving at the beginning, you could catch the end of
Mother Courage and her Children. It's divisive and demented, so do plenty of research if you're thinking about it! Then they're moving onto
Nation, which is this year's Great Big Adaptation of a Children's Novel so should *fingers crossed* be good.
The Pitmen Painters is serviceable but nothing new, and
The Power of Yes is a great big NO, but
The Habit of Art could be worth a look, if the feeling of deja vu you get from the Alan Bennett + Richard Griffiths + Frances de la Tour combo is positive rather than negative. There's also
The Cat in the Hat (which could be awesome or horrible, I don't think there's a middle ground),
Pains of Youth (which I would hesitate to recommend to anyone even though my favourite actor is in it XD), and
Our Class (which is apparently amazing but harrowing).
As for the West End, there's nothing especially that really jumps out.
The Woman in Black is a perennial favourite if you like the sound of an incredibly low-tech but deeply disturbing ghost story. I'm hoping
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is going to be AWESOME, but bear in mind it's a transfer of the Broadway production. I haven't yet decided about
The Misanthrope, previewing from 7th December; Keira Knightley is a BIG turn-off for me, but it reunites director Thea Sharrock with Dominic Rowan and Tim McMullan (all three of whom were at least partially responsible for the Globe's ridiculously awesome
As You Like It this summer), Tara Fitzgerald is good, and Damian Lewis can't be bad. Keira Knightley though. D:
Plays are awesome because it's slightly easier to get cheap tickets than for musicals, plus the top play prices often aren't as pricey as the top musical prices to begin with! You can get into almost anything at the National Theatre for £10/15; if you can't find such a ticket in advance, then queue up on the day for a £10 Day Seat. Donmar does dayseats as well; £15 for sitting, £7.50 for standing. Sometimes you need to queue from frighteningly early in the morning, but it's a possibility. Depending on the production, the standing places can actually offer a better view than the seated ones. XD If you're thinking of the Old Vic, then don't shy away from the restricted-view-due-to-pillar seats; yes, there'll be a pillar in your line of vision, but they're skinny pillars and you can save a lot of money by being willing to put up with that. If you're thinking about seeing a show that isn't selling out enormously, you could always gamble with a cheap seat way up in the balcony or uppermost circle. If the theatre hasn't sold enough tickets, they'll close off the upper level(s) and relocate everyone up there to a much nicer seat. I've had some really cracking seats thanks to relocation policies.
(Although I have been stuck with some stinkers when it hasn't worked; doesn't matter so much in a fine house like the Wyndham's, but somewhere like the Novello almost guarantees you'll not be seeing the stage. People tend to *lean* in the Novello, horrible creatures. XP)
Check www.broadwaybox.com/london as well as www.theatremonkey.co.uk for discounts. I book quite a few things through www.lastminute.com but they won't tell you your seat location until you arrive at the theatre, and while I've had nothing but good times with them, others have been less impressed.
Anyway! Please do continue using us as a sounding board. We'd be happy to offer our collective thumbs-up or thumbs-down or whatever on anything you're thinking of shortlisting, and once we have a better idea of you, we can offer better recommendations for you. :)
(Have you considered seeing a pantomime? It's certainly the season for it, although if you're not used to such things, it could be a terrifying, baffling experience rather than a hilarious, festive one. XD)
Updated On: 10/10/09 at 06:22 AM
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