October Preview: The Best Theatre To Catch This Month

September has come and gone, bringing with it hope and excitement and a wave of positivity mixed with worry, neglect and crushing disappointment.

October is a new month and while the future for theatre still looks uncertain. thankfully we have a wave of new titles to get us through the dark month. Ever-changing guidelines relating to Covid have forced the much hyped The Mousetrap to delay its planned re-opening date of October 23rd. Hopefully none of the other titles on here have to delay their dates.

Here is what stagey content you can enjoy this month, online and in person, in date order:

THE LAST FIVE YEARS (October 1st - November 14th) - IN PERSON

The Last Five Years is back in London, with a real audience. This production was enjoying rave reviews at Southwark Playhouse before the pandemic made the run finish early, so now it is picking up where it left off, re-opening the brilliant venue with a new run of Jason Robert Browns iconic show. Oli Higginson and Molly Lynch are reprising their roles as Cathy and Jamie - the lovers who tell the story of their five year relationship, one from beginning to end and the other starting at the end and working backwards.

The venue is a minutes walk from Elephant & Castle Station. Tickets are available from southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

THE THEATRE CAFE NIGHT CAPS (Every Thursday from October 1st) - ONLINE

Paul Taylor-Mills and The Theatre Cafe have joined forces to present a series of concerts called 'Night Caps'. These will be available every Thursday at 8pm. The lineup features:

Jodie Steele - October 1st

T'Shan Williams - October 8th

Evie Rose Lane - October 15th

Aimie Atkinson - October 22nd

Jordan Luke Gage - October 29th

Tickets cost £8 from https://www.thetheatrecafe.co.uk/events/

TALKING HEADS (October 1st - 31st) - IN PERSON

The Bridge Theatre in London Bridge continues its season of one person plays. This month Alan Bennett's Talking Heads continues with performances including Tamsin Greig and Imelda Staunton among the lineup.

Tickets are available from https://bridgetheatre.co.uk/performances/?event=talking-heads

THE CRAZY COQS (October 2nd - 31st) - IN PERSON/ONLINE

The Crazy Coqs at Zedel in the heart of London have reduced their capacity to allow for social distancing in the venue, but that hasn't stopped them getting some incredible talent to perform through the month. Highlights this month include:

Funny Gals: Natasha Barnes & Vikki Stone - October 2nd

Sharon Sexton & Rob Fowler: The Grounded Sessions - October 4th, 6th & 7th

Hadley Fraser & Will Butterworth: Together Again - October 11th

Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss - October 15th

Scott Graham & Sophie Isaacs (Crazy Coqs Presents Beyond The Sea) - October 19th

Pippa Evans: Jokes and Songs - October 21st

Clive Rowe - October 22nd

Steph Parry & Ross Harmon - October 25th

Tickets are available to watch most of the shows in person though you can also pay to watch some of the shows live via a stream. Tickets for both are available from https://www.brasseriezedel.com/events/

THE SHOWS MUST GO ON (Every Friday from October 2nd) - ONLINE

The Shows Must Go On' is back with a season with the theme of "The Greats On Tour". The next titles in the series are Michael Ball's Past and Present tour live from the Royal Albert Hall on Friday 2nd October, Alfie Boe's Bring Him Home concert on Friday 9th October and Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds on Friday 16th October. Titles should continue after that but further titles are yet to be confirmed.

Catch them every Friday at 7pm for 48 hours only at https://www.youtube.com/theshowsmustgoon

IN THE WINGS SERIES 2 (Every Friday from October 2nd) - ONLINE

'In The Wings' kicked off its second series last week. The series focuses on brand new musicals that are waiting to be performed on stage. The show will feature performances from a mixture of recent graudates and west end performers. This series features:

You and I - October 2nd

Millennials - October 9th

Terror At The Sweetshop - October 16th

Plan Bea - October 23rd

The Rise - October 30th

Episodes are available every Friday at 7.30pm from youtube.com/InTheWingsLive

TONIGHT AT THE LONDON COLISEUM (Every Friday from October 2nd) - ONLINE

Tonight At The London Coliseum is a series of concerts from some of the West ends finest. Catch a pre-filmed concert from the iconic venue every Friday as well as a brand new musical starring Alexia Khadime and Bradley Jaden on Saturday October 3rd. Shows to look forward to are:

Cassidy Janson - October 2nd

After You: A new Musical - October 3rd

Kerry Ellis - October 9th

Sexton & Fowler - October 16th

Ramin Karimloo - October 23rd

Tickets cost £15 and can be purchased from https://www.stream.theatre/coliseum

WEST END MUSICAL DRIVE IN (Every Saturday from October 3rd) - IN PERSON

The series of West End Musical Drive In concerts continue this month with some of the greatest talents from the West End and unique cast reunions every Saturday and a Godspell concert on Sunday following the recent online broadcast. Line ups confirmed so far are:

October 3rd - Oliver Tompsett, Jenny O'Leary, Lauren Samuels and Amy Bartolomeo

October 4th - Godspell including Darren Day, Jodie Steele, Danyl Johnson & Alison Jiear

October 10th - Jamie Muscato, Sam Tutty, Luke Bayer and Caroline Kay

October 17th - Wicked reunion starring Louise Dearman and Rachel Tucker

The drive in is located near Enfield and tickets are available from https://www.westendmusicaldrivein.co.uk/

THE NEW TOMORROW (October 3rd - 4th) - ONLINE

The Young Vic are re-opening for the first time since March with a free weekend of shows featuring short commissioned performances and activist speeches exploring what the next fifty years might hold.

Stream it from https://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/the-new-tomorrow

SETH RUDETSKY CONCERT SERIES (Every Sunday from October 4th) - ONLINE

Seth Rudetsky has been entertaining theatre fans on both sides of the Atlantic with his weekly concert series over the past few months. Some of the biggest names on Broadway have been taking part with past guests including Stephanie J Block, Kelli O'Hara and Audra McDonald. This month he has got some incredible guests performing. The line-up includes:

Orfeh & Andy Karl - October 4th/5th

Beth Leavvel - October 11th/12th

Keala Settle - October 18th/19th

Lachanze - October 25th/26th

Each show takes place live on Sunday at 8pm ET which is 1am in the UK but is repeated the following day at 3pm ET or 8pm in the UK with tickets costing $25 for each show.

Tickets are available at https://events.broadwayworld.com/

SHOWSTOPPER! (Every Friday from October 9th) - ONLINE

Improv comedy troupe Showstopper! are back for a series of online streams this month, Get your suggestions in and what how they transform them into full length inprovised musical with hilarious results.

You have four chances to catch them this month on Friday 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th October.

Book your tickets here

HAIR (October 9th-11th) - IN PERSON

Following performances in London earlier this month, the outdoor concert of Hair is moving to Norwich for a handful of performances. Featuring cast members including Jordan Luke Gage, Jodie Steele and Layton Williams, let the sun shine in even during bleaker weather with this limited engagement.

Tickets are available from https://norwichtheatre.org/whats-on/hair-the-musical/

THE REUNION (October 10th - 11th) - IN PERSON & ONLINE

The Original West End cast of Six are reuniting for a special online concert. Aimie Atkinson, Alexia McIntosh, Jarneia Richard-Noel, Maiya Quansah-Breed, Millie O’Connell, Natalie Paris and Grace Mouat will be sharing the stage together for the firt time since they were all in the show.

The concert, available for both in-person audiences and live-stream, will take place on Saturday 10th October at 9.30pm BST at the Oval Space in east London.

Tickets are available from https://thespie.com/london/the-reunion-tickets-london-oval-space/2506

SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD (October 11th) - IN PERSON

The Palladium is opening its doors to the public for the first time since the pandemic with social distancing and safety measures galore. First up at the venue is an in person performance of the online triumph that was Lambert Jackson's Songs For A New World.

Rachel John, Cedric Neal and Rachel Tucker reprise their performances from the online broadcast and are joined by David Hunter for what will surely be an unforgettable performance. Catch them for 2 performances only.

Tickets are available from https://lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/songs-for-a-new-world-2/

A NIGHT AT THE MUSICALS (Every Sunday from October 11th) - IN PERSON

Southwark Playhouse will be hosting a series of live concerts from Christina Modestou every Sunday from October 11th.

Christina will also be joined by some special guests each week with Oliver Tompsett joining her on the 11th and Waylon Jacobs joining her on the 18th, with the special guest for the 25th to be announced.

Tickets cost £22 and are available from https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/show/a-night-at-the-musicals/

BUYER & CELLAR (October 14th - November 8th) - IN PERSON

Buyer & Cellar is a hilarious one man play telling the (fictional) story of what happened when someone was employed to run Barbra Streisand's (real) shopping centre in her basement.

Starring Aaron Sidwell, the show takes place at the Above the Stag theatre with tickets costing £25. Tickets are available from https://abovethestag.org.uk/whatson/buyer-and-cellar/

MARRY ME A LITTLE (October 16th - November 8th) - IN PERSON

The Barn Theatre in Cirencester have two brilliant shows occupying October. Catch their online show later in the list but if you venture to the theatre itself, you can see a celebration of Stephen Sondheim's best loved works starring Rob Houchen and Celinde Schoenmaker.

Tickets are available from http://barntheatre.org.uk/marry-me-a-little-booking

HOW TO LIVE A JELLICLE LIFE (October 20th - 24th) - IN PERSON

Any show that boasts about life lessons from the 2019 hit movie musical Cats is just what the doctor ordered after this nightmare year. Catch Linus Karp in his new one man show Linus Karp returns with a new one-man show which hopes to teach you how to live a jellicle life.

It will play at The Lion & Unicorn Theatre from 20th – 24th October. Tickets are available from https://www.thelionandunicorntheatre.com/whats-on#/event/how-to-live-a-jellicle-life-life-lessons-fr

THIS IS GOING TO HURT (October 22nd - November 8th) - IN PERSON

Nimax Theatres announced the re-opening of all six of their theatres earlier this month. Most of them re-open in November but the first to open its doors again will be the Apollo Theatre. Prior to the (hopeful) return of Everybody's Talking About Jamie in November, Adam Kay is bringing his show This Is Going To Hurt for a limited season at the venue.

Tickets are available from https://www.nimaxtheatres.com/shows/adam-kay-this-is-going-to-hurt-secret-diaries-of-a-junior-doctor-apollo-theatre/ with a special show for NHS employees on October 22nd.

FIRST DATE (October 22nd - 24th) - ONLINE

Samantha Barks, Simon Lipkin and Danielle Steers are among the amazing talents coming together for this virtual show. Filmed at the Crazy Coqs in London, First Date gleefully pokes fun at the all too familiar dating mishaps we’ve all experienced and gives hope that there could be that one special person out there for all of us.

Tickets are on sale from https://www.fane.co.uk/our-shows/first-date-the-musical/about-the-show.

P.S. I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON (October 23rd - 24th) - IN PERSON

A new musical workshop will take place in October. Dark comedy P.S. I'm A Terrible Person is nspired by true events and features a cast including Nicole Raquel Dennis and Piers Bate.

Two performances are taking place in October on the 22nd and 23rd at 7.30pm. The bad news is they are by invitation-only. This is still one to keep an eye for in the future as new musicals are always welcome.

SUNSET BOULEVARD (October 25th) - IN PERSON

Alexandra Palace are hosting two performances of a concert production of Andrew Lloyd Webber classic Sunset Boulevard on Sunday 25th October, Starring Mazz Murray as Norma Desmond, this is sure to be an amazing evening and is the show I am personally most looking forward to this month.

Tickets are available from https://www.alexandrapalace.com/whats-on/sunset-boulevard/

THE 2020 OLIVIER AWARDS (October 25th) - ON TV/RADIO

The delayed Olivier awards will finally take place on a digital broadcast on October 25th. The ceremony will air on both ITV and Magic FM. It will be filmed in the London Palladium and feature unique performances and interviews, filmed next month ahead of the broadcast. The show will be hosted by Jason Manford.

The main show will be broadcast on ITV with a special pre-show broadcast on Official London Theatre's YouTube channel showing winners from categories not being presented on air.

RENT (October 30th - December 6th) - IN PERSON

Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester are finally putting on their delayed production of the classic RENT. The cast was announced last week and features Jocasta Almgill, Blake Patrick Anderson, Millie O'Connell, Maiya Quansah-Breed and Alex Thomas-Smith.

Tickets for the entire run sold out less than 48 hours after the announcement but keep an eye out for potential returns, possible extra performances or miracles at https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk/events/rent

WHAT A CARVE UP! (October 31st - November 29th) - ONLINE

Rounding out this massive theatre month is an online spectacular courtesy of the Barn Theatre. This adaptation of the murder mystery play features a cast including Stephen Fry, Sharon D. Clarke, Tamzin Outhwaite, Alfred Enoch and Sir Derek Jacobi.

It will be available to stream for a month from Halloween. Tickets are available from https://barntheatre.org.uk/performances/what-a-carve-up

Looks like it's a massive month for theatre. That should definitely help us get through the darker nights and ever-changing world.

What are you planning to see this month? Let me know at twitter.com/ATDazzles