The Exhibitions & Theatre Shows To Book This Season
EXHIBITIONS
Lauren Halsey
The Serpentine
Next month, Serpentine South will host the first UK solo exhibition of Los Angeles-based artist Lauren Halsey. It will showcase new works that reflect her deep connection to Los Angeles, where her family has lived for generations. Known for her immersive installations and sculptural objects, Halsey’s artwork celebrates the vibrant culture of her community while also critiquing the forces of gentrification.
4th October to 2nd March.
Tickets here
Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers
National Gallery
To mark its 200th anniversary, the National Gallery has a major exhibition on Vincent Van Gogh. The exhibition is the first to focus on Van Gogh’s imaginative transformations, featuring over 50 works and loans from museums and private collections around the world, including pictures from the Kröller Müller Museum, Van Gogh Museum and the Musée d’Orsay. Focusing on Van Gogh’s time in Arles and Saint-Rémy in the south of France, the exhibition investigates the artist’s fascinating practice of turning the places he encountered into idealised spaces in his art.
14th September to 19th January.
Visit NationalGallery.org
Medieval Women
In Their Own Words, British Library
This exhibition is all about the lives of medieval women in Europe. It will include objects from the British Library’s collection of manuscripts and letters, as well as pieces on loan from international lenders that provide an unprecedented insight into the everyday lives of women during the time. It will explore three key areas of medieval life: the public, the private and the spiritual, taking visitors on a journey through how medieval women saw themselves, their peers and the role religion played in shaping their day-to-day lives.
25th October to 2nd March.
Tickets here
Francis Bacon
Human Presence, National Portrait Gallery
This exhibition will be the first in nearly 20 years to focus on Francis Bacon’s portraits. Widely considered to be one of the most outstanding painters of the 20th century, Bacon’s early works feature disconcerting figures, screaming or pained, as the artist explored how to depict humanity in a post-war world. Featuring more than 50 works from private and public collections around the world, as well as photographs of the artist, the exhibition starts with works made in the late 1940s and closes with portraits painted at the end of his life, one of which remained unfinished on an easel in his studio.
10th October to 19th January.
Visit NPG.org.uk
Monet & London
The Courtauld
This exhibition showcases Claude Monet's depictions of the Thames, which he painted between 1899 and 1901. The works, including views of Charing Cross Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, were initially exhibited in Paris in 1904 but never shown in London, as Monet didn’t think they were up to scratch. The exhibition finally brings 19 of these paintings to London, 120 years later.
27th September to 19th January.
Tickets here
Tracey Emin
White Cube Bermondsey
Tracey Emin presents a major solo exhibition at Bermondsey’ White Cube gallery. Much like Tracey’s early work that propelled her to fame, I Followed You to the End features deeply personal pieces of artwork that portray moments of her life, including paintings, bronze sculptures and neon installations. Exploring emotions of grief and trauma, the exhibition offers an intimate glimpse into the artist’s psyche.
19th September to 10th November.
Tickets here
Mike Kelley: Ghost and Spirit
Tate Modern
Mike Kelley is an American artist, known for his provocative pieces that explore themes of memory, trauma, identity, and societal norms, often through the use of found objects, stuffed toys, and multimedia installations. His work challenges conventional ideas of art, mixing dark humour with critiques of popular culture and institutional power. This exhibition will include works from Kelley's early installations, as well as later works that continued his exploration of the role of memory and repressed desire.
3rd October to 9th March.
Tickets here
Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael
Royal Academy
At the turn of the 16th century, three titans of the Italian Renaissance – Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael – briefly crossed paths, competing for the attention of the most powerful patrons in Republican Florence. This exhibition explores the rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo and the influence both had on the young Raphael. You’ll see some of the finest examples of Italian Renaissance drawing, including Leonardo’s Burlington House Cartoon and the studies by Leonardo and Michelangelo for their murals commissioned by the Florentine government for the newly constructed council hall in the Palazzo Vecchio.
9th November to 16th February.
Tickets here
THEATRE
Abigail’s Party
Theatre Royal Stratford East
The classic 1977 film starring Alison Steadman and Tim Stern has been adapted for the stage at Stratford’s Theatre Royal. It’s Essex, 1977. Beverly (Tamzin Outhwaite) is hosting, the alcohol is flowing, Demis Roussos is on the record player, and the cheese and pineapple cocktail sticks are ready to go. Queen of the castle in her suburban semi, Beverly and husband Laurence (Kevin Bishop) welcome new neighbours Angela and Tony round for drinks. Sue from next door is invited too, but the real party is happening back at her place, as Sue’s teenage daughter Abigail can’t seem to keep the racket down. Awkward small talk quickly descends into inappropriate flirtation and marital disputes – a soirée from hell but it’d be rude to leave.
6th September to 12th October.
Tickets here
The Other Place
National Theatre
One of the most highly anticipated shows on this list, Alexander Zeldin’s new play will star Emma D’Arcy (House of the Dragon), Tobias Menzies (Game of Thrones) and Nina Sosanya (Love Actually). Two sisters reunite on the anniversary of the death of their father. Their uncle has remodelled their family home in an attempt at a fresh start. But one sister’s sudden reappearance threatens to shatter this fragile idyll as she demands justice for the pain she carries. Amid the debris and the new extension, guilt, grief and greed battle it out in the family’s competing dreams of their future. When we are faced with the suffering of others, even those closest to us, can we look away?
27th September to 9th November.
Tickets here
Waiting For Godot
Theatre Royal Haymarket
Lucian Msamati (Game of Thrones) and Ben Whishaw (Paddington, This Is Going To Hurt) star in a new production of Samuel Beckett’s seminal play. The tragicomedy follows Vladimir and Estragon as they wait by a desolate tree for the elusive Godot. To pass the time, they engage in a series of conversations, antics and encounters with other characters, including the pompous Pozzo and his downtrodden servant Lucky. Through their repetitive and often absurd interactions, the play explores existentialism and the search for meaning.
13th September to 14th December.
Tickets here
Giant
Royal Court
As Roald Dahl’s work continues to come under scrutiny from modern-day audiences, this timely play tells the story of the world-famous children’s author and the scandals that followed him. Starring John Lithgow (Killers of the Flower Moon, The Crown), alongside Olivier Award-winner Elliot Levey (Cold War, Cabaret, Good), Giant is set in the summer of 1983. The Witches is about to hit the shelves and Dahl is making last-minute edits. But the outcry at his recent, explicitly antisemitic article won’t die down. Across a single afternoon at his family home, and rocked by an unexpectedly explosive confrontation, Dahl is forced to choose – make a public apology or risk his name and reputation. Inspired by real events, Mark Rosenblatt’s debut play explores with dark humour the difference between considered opinion and dangerous rhetoric.
20th September to 16th November.
Tickets here
The Duchess
Trafalgar Theatre
This autumn, Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who, Broadchurch) will star in Zinnie Harris’s acclaimed contemporary adaptation of The Duchess of Malfi. Recently widowed and in search for a new lease of life, the Duchess defies her family’s wishes by remarrying beneath her class. When her brothers, driven by insurmountable greed and rage, discover her second marriage, they unleash a series of cruel and devastating punishments against her that repress her power. But will their vicious atrocities come back to haunt them?
5th October-20th December.
Tickets here
The Devil Wears Prada: The Musical
Dominion Theatre
Nearly 20 years after the release of the film (which has a sequel in the works), The Devil Wears Prada will transfer from Plymouth to the West End in October. Starring Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives) as the infamous Miranda Priestly, the musical features an original score by Elton John and choreography by three-time Tony winner Jerry Mitchell. Fresh out of college, aspiring journalist Andy scores a job at the prestigious Runway fashion magazine working for a powerful and terrifying editor. Sacrificing her personal life to meet Miranda's impossible demands, Andy finds herself seduced by the glamorous world she once despised. How far will she go to succeed? And will it be worth selling her soul to get what she’s always wanted?
24th October-31st May.
Tickets here
Dr Strangelove
Noël Coward Theatre
Steve Coogan is set to star in the first ever adaption of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove, the black comedy about a rogue US General who triggers a nuclear crisis. As military and political leaders scramble to prevent a catastrophic war, the eccentric Dr Strangelove, a former Nazi scientist, reveals the absurdity and dangers of Cold War-era nuclear strategies. Coogan is set to play multiple characters, while BAFTA and Emmy Award winner Armando Iannucci and Olivier Award winner Sean Foley have written and will direct the play for a modern audience.
8th October to 25th January.
Tickets here
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