Centre stage: the best theatre of 2017

Hamilton comes to London, Sherlock villain Andrew Scott adds Hamlet to his CV, Damian Lewis falls in love with a goat, and Ivo van Hove directs Jude Law in a tale of lust, greed and murder

Hamlet

Andrew Scott is probably best known as Moriarty in TV’s Sherlock and as a Whitehall suit in Spectre. But he has a substantial track record in theatre, having played in Emperor and Galilean at the National, Cock at the Royal Court and The Dazzle at Found 111. Now, at the age of 40, he tackles the moody Dane with Juliet Stevenson as Gertrude, Jessica Brown Findlay as Ophelia and the unpredictable Robert Icke directing.
Almeida, London, 17 February–8 April (020-7359 4404).

The Hypocrite

Local boy Richard Bean celebrates Hull’s role as UK city of culture 2017 with a new comedy about a bigwig torn between his loyalty to Charles I and his duty to parliament as civil war looms. Given the hero’s endless domestic problems, including a fugitive wife and a lovesick daughter, this could be a 17th-century One Man, Two Guvnors. Philip Breen, a hotshot comic director, is at the helm.
Hull Truck, 24 February–25 March (01482 323638). Transfers to the Swan, Stratford-upon-Avon, 31 March.

Antony and Cleopatra

Josette Simon, who has played Titania and Rosaline for the RSC and Maggie in Arthur Miller’s After the Fall at the National, is back in Stratford as the Egyptian queen. She follows in a long and distinguished line that includes Peggy Ashcroft, Janet Suzman, Helen Mirren and Harriet Walter, but will doubtless make the role her own. Iqbal Khan, who directed a controversial Othello in 2015 with a black Iago, is in charge of Shakespeare’s sumptuous tragedy.
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 11 March–7 September (01789 403493).

The Goat

Damian Lewis, last seen on stage in Mamet’s American Buffalo, now stars in another American classic: Edward Albee’s disturbing 2002 play about an acclaimed architect who conceives a hopeless passion for a goat. But this is less a play about bestiality than a modern version of Greek tragedy: an Oedipus Rex for the affluent society. Fans of Lewis in Homeland and Billions may be in for a shock, but the production is in the sure hands of Ian Rickson as director.
Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London, from 24 March (020-7930 8800).

Obsession

This looks like a winning combination: Britain’s Jude Law stars in a production directed by Belgium’s Ivo van Hove who seems to be everywhere right now. The source is a 1942 film by Luchino Visconti, Ossessione, which was itself based on James M Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice: a haunting tale of lust, greed and murder. It will be fascinating to see how Van Hove matches Visconti’s emphasis on realistic locations and human grossness.
Barbican, London, 19 April–20 May. Box office: 0845 1207511.

Angels in America

Tony Kushner’s dazzling phantasmagoria, embracing sex, politics and religion, is back with a cast to dream of: America’s Nathan Lane and our own Denise Gough, last seen in People, Places and Things, as well as Andrew Garfield and Russell Tovey. Marianne Elliott directs and it will be intriguing to see how Kushner’s two-part play, which in the 90s summed up the uncertainty as we approached a new millennium, stands up today.
Lyttelton, London, from April (020-7452 3000).

The Ferryman

Sam Mendes teams up with Jez Butterworth, best known for Jerusalem but a contributor to the recent Bond movies, for one of the year’s most tempting new plays. Butterworth has always favoured rural settings and here we are in a Derry farmhouse in1981, when the Carney family’s celebration of the annual harvest is interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Wecan expect something eerie, strange and menacing.
Royal Court, London, 24 April–20 May (020-7565 5000).

The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other

Peter Handke’s extraordinary wordless 1992 play puts the teeming life of a town square on stage, and features 450 characters. It was first seen in the UK at the 1994 Edinburgh festival and was mesmerisingly staged at the National in 2008. Now it returns to Scotland as part of David Greig’s bold new Lyceum season. Wils Wilson directs a cast that will include 100 actors drawn from the local community.
Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, 1-30 June (0131-248 4848).

Desire Under the Elms

Banned in Britain until 1940, Eugene O’Neill’s play transports the passion of Greek tragedy, as well as basic Freudian instincts, to an American farm. It all revolves around 75-year-old Ephraim Cabot’s marriage to a young bride and his desire for a son. Sam Yates, who directs, calls it “a steamy, claustrophobic drama”, and it is one that fits well into Rob Hastie’s enterprising first season in South Yorkshire.
Crucible, Sheffield, 21 September–14 October (0114-249 6000).

Hamilton

This hip-hop musical has already packed out every Broadway performance, won 11 Tony awards and aroused the wrath of Donald Trump. It tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers, who began life as an orphan in the Caribbean and helped shape his new country’s political destiny. Book, music and lyrics are by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote In the Heights and who has promised to appear as Hamilton during the London run. If you want tickets for the year’s hottest show, move fast.
Victoria Palace, London, from November. Booking: hamiltonthemusical.co.uk.

Contributor

Michael Billington

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Encore!: the best theatre of autumn 2016
Will Maxine Peake sizzle as Streetcar’s southern belle? Can Glenda Jackson crack King Lear? And will Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart beat their Beckett?

Michael Billington and Lyn Gardner

30, Aug, 2016 @4:15 PM

Article image
The 50 best theatre shows of the 21st century
A hip-hop history lesson, a dizzy Dahl musical and a continent-hopping barbershop … we pick the finest new works of theatre since 2000

Michael Billington, Alexis Soloski, Catherine Love, Mark Fisher and Chris Wiegand

17, Sep, 2019 @2:43 PM

Article image
Revolutionary musical Hamilton takes home seven Olivier awards
Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman, the National Theatre and Bryan Cranston also come up trumps

Mark Brown Arts correspondent

08, Apr, 2018 @8:25 PM

Article image
'It’s very difficult to be mad as hell': the Olivier awards' best quotes
Highlights from the speeches given by Bryan Cranston, Jez Butterworth, Sheila Atim and others at the 2018 Oliviers

09, Apr, 2018 @5:00 AM

Article image
Laughing gear: the best live comedy to start 2017
Hilarity to come this year includes Bridget Christie battering Brexit, Sue Perkins’ post-Bake Off trip to Leicester comedy festival and a breathtaking bout of escapology

Brian Logan

07, Jan, 2017 @10:00 AM

Article image
Manwatching: a secret female playwright's liberating look at sex
The author of a hit show about desire explains why she’s staying anonymous – and why her play is only performed by male comedians

Interview by Brian Logan

06, Jan, 2017 @11:00 AM

Article image
The best theatre of Christmas 2017 – from Treasure Island to Guys and Dolls
Romance and adventure abound as Rhys Ifans plays Scrooge, Guys and Dolls hits Harlem and Sherlock returns

Lyn Gardner

02, Dec, 2017 @6:00 AM

Article image
Readers' favourite stage shows of 2015
When we asked you to choose the best shows you’ve seen this year, we were flooded with rave reviews – here’s a selection of them

Guardian readers

25, Dec, 2015 @8:00 AM

Article image
Lift-off: the must-see dance shows of 2017
Carlos Acosta’s Cuban company comes to the UK, Javier de Frutos assembles a dream cast for Philip Glass’s dance opera and Shobana Jeyasingh explores the Indian diaspora

Judith Mackrell

07, Jan, 2017 @10:00 AM

Article image
Great exhibitions: 2017's best art, photography, architecture and design
From the biggest ever Hockney show to the Bayeux tapestry of space, with the Russian revolution, Renaissance miracles and California’s tech visions thrown in … the best art and design exhibitions to come in 2017

Adrian Searle, Jonathan Jones, Oliver Wainwright and Sean O'Hagan

07, Jan, 2017 @10:00 AM