Sinatra, Boleyn and witches: 11 new productions for theater hedonists

Sinatra: The Musical.

June 3, 2026 – April 10, 2027
Aldwych Theatre

New Year’s Eve, 1942. The young singer is about to take the stage at New York’s Paramount Theatre and give a performance that will change the history of music. However, in the center of the biographical musical about Sinatra – not only career, but also a love triangle with his wife Nancy and movie star Ava Gardner. And also – a scandal in the press because of this affair and the singer’s struggle to return to the stage.

The production was created with the participation of Universal Music Group, so more than twenty Sinatra hits will be performed. The team is also notable: the musical’s author Joe DiPietro is a two-time Tony winner, and choreographer Kathleen Marshall is an Olivier Award winner and three-time Tony winner. The singer’s daughter Tina Sinatra also had a hand in the production. Three years ago, the same team has already made an attempt to stage a musical about the King of Pop in Birmingham. Then critics praised the excellent choice of Sinatra’s hits, the play of actors and choreography – but the dramaturgy and scenery, according to the general opinion, did not reach. It is known that the play has since been heavily revised, and Joel Harper-Jackson has been cast in the lead role – perhaps we are in for something completely new, albeit from the same team.

Springwood

June 19-July 25
Hampstead Theatre

1939. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit President Franklin Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in the United States. Technically, it is a courtesy visit – the first ever visit by a sitting British monarch to America. In reality, Britain is trying to enlist U.S. support before an impending war. It culminates in the famous hot dog picnic, an almost comic test of strength: can their royal highness withstand American informality?

The play was written and directed by Richard Nelson, based on his own screenplay for Hyde Park on Hudson. Stanley Tucci was originally due to direct – it would have been his London debut – but he pulled out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. Roosevelt will be played by Robert Lindsay, while the royal couple will be played by Andrew Havill and Rebecca Knight. A great option for those who find “The Crown” closer to “The Bridgertons” – and generally interested in a conversation about power, vulnerability and diplomacy.

Sting

June 18-July 18
Young Vic, The Maria Theatre

A chamber psychological thriller based on a play by young author Sophie Sweetinbank. Ash is working on a catalog of historical cases of women accused of witchcraft. In addition to her boss Lily in her life (and on stage) there is a boyfriend Dom – beautiful, caring, almost a knight in armor… and also very disturbing and strange. The deeper Lily delves into the Inquisition cases, the clearer she feels that something is wrong – either with her subordinate Ash or with her relationship.

A story that starts out as a domestic one gradually turns into a dialog about violence, control and mistrust of women – the context of a witch hunt is there for a reason. The production description lists a whole list of trigger warnings, from abusive behavior to blood on stage, so a light and fun evening is not to be expected. The role of Dom is played by Nick Blood, known for “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Ash is played by young theater actress Adele Leonce, and the production is directed by Nancy Medina. The production is co-developed with Lidless Theatre and inspired by the ideas of Waking the Witch.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

June 20 – July 18
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

The summeriest production of the summeriest of Shakespeare’s comedies. In Athens, four lovers run away into the woods – and find themselves in the world of fairies, where the king and queen of the magic kingdom quarrel. Due to magical interference, wishes change places: the heroes fall in love with the wrong ones, lose each other, find each other again – and try to understand where the dream ends and reality begins.

The Regent’s Park Open Theatre has staged A Midsummer Night’s Dream over fifty times – more times than any other play in history. Which makes sense: no Shakespearean comedy works as naturally in an open space as this one. As the creators promise, “the park does half the work for the director before the first actor even takes the stage”.

The production was written by Atri Banerjee and the music was composed by Maimuna Memon. Both the setting (the forest and fairies are included) and the material itself lend themselves to a romantic mood. Yes, not to be confused with the other production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which runs at Shakespeare’s Globe through August 29.

So Are We: León & Lightfoot.

June 11-20
Royal Opera House, Royal Ballet and Opera, Covent Garden

A double ballet program of works by choreographers Sol Leon and Paul Lightfoot. For both of them this is their debut with Royal Ballet, before that Leon and Lightfoot had been associated for many years with Nederlands Dans Theater, which they actually directed.

The first movement of Shoot the Moon explores relationships, intimacy and the loneliness that can exist even within a couple. The music is Philip Glass’s Tirol Concerto with its hypnotic piano repetitions. The second movement, Salle de Dance, created during the pandemic, is a kind of declaration of love for the ballet class and the daily discipline of the dancer. The score for this movement was written by Russian composer Ilya Demutsky.

Of course, this is not a strict classical ballet, but first-class contemporary choreography built on emotion. The program is also good because of the contrast: Shoot the Moon is a chamber work about love, Salle de Dance is a meta-ballet about the very nature of ballet work. According to preliminary information, among the announced soloists are Japanese ballerina Fumi Kaneko and British artist Matthew Ball.

The Misanthrope.

June 16 – August 1
Lyttelton Theatre, National Theatre, South Bank

The season’s most high-profile premiere is a new version of Moliere’s “The Misanthrope” with Sandra O. The “Grey’s Anatomy” star will play the role of Alice, a writer who despises the empty modern mantras of “kindness” and “respect” and speaks her mind. The more bluntly she speaks out, the more her colleagues turn away from her and her personal relationships begin to crumble. At some point she has to realize the price she pays as a woman and an artist for the right to speak without mitigation or self-censorship. The author of the adaptation is playwright Martin Crimp. In his 2009 version, the role of the misanthropic Alceste was played by Damian Lewis, and Keira Knightley played the rising star Jennifer. Either way, both the original and the adaptation are about how quickly integrity is turned into a “difficult character.” Add from 2026: especially if the person who refuses to keep quiet is a woman.

Cyrano de Bergerac.

June 13 – September 5
Noël Coward Theatre, West End

Another new version of the classic play – just not as radical as “The Misanthrope” with Sandra Oh or even the previous version of “Cyrano”, where James McAvoy walked around without a false nose and in a tracksuit. A brilliant wit and duelist, Cyrano is deeply ashamed of his own appearance. He is in love with Roxana, but he is sure that he is not worthy of her love. When Roxane becomes infatuated with the handsome Christian, who is unable to talk about his feelings, Cyrano becomes his secret voice: he writes letters and confesses his love in his place.

Here is the West End transfer of last year’s successful Royal Shakespeare Company production, which was very warmly received by critics and audiences alike. The Financial Times called the production glorious and The Times said that Olivier Award winner Adrian Lester was the perfect Cyrano. The production is written by Simon Evans and Debris Stevenson, and the poet’s lover will be played by Susannah Fielding.

Archduke / “Archduke”

June 20-July 25
Royal Court Theatre, Jerwood Theatre Downstairs

Belgrade, 1914. Three hungry young men receive food – and with it an offer to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand. It is this assassination attempt that will set the stage for the outbreak of World War I. But Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Rajiv Joseph turns a pivotal moment in history into a black comedy about young men who are confused, vulnerable and not quite ready for a great mission. Directed by one of the most closeted figures in contemporary theater, Lindsay Turner.

The play has been staged in the U.S. before: Variety critics thought that, for all its comicism, the play was a very simplistic look at the “knuckleheads” who started World War I, but Vulture saw The Archduke as a modern parable about “proto-incels” and the crisis of male identity. Either way, the view is curious.

Glengarry Glen Ross / “The Americans”

June 4 – July 18
The Old Vic, Waterloo

The action takes place in a Chicago real estate office. Four agents participate in a competition: the best will get a Cadillac, the second will get a set of steak knives, but the remaining two will lose their jobs. In order to survive, the heroes manipulate clients, cheat, pressure each other and are ready to steal the list of prospective buyers – “leads”, on which their careers depend. The production is being staged as part of the In the Round season, which means it’s in a reconfigured auditorium where the stage is surrounded by the audience. Despite the ultra-modern plot, the play was written in the eighties, and author David Mamet won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for it in 1984.

The really new twist here is the replacement of all the male characters with a female cast. The director is Patrick Marber, Tony Award-winning author of the screenplay for Intimacy with Natalie Portman and Jude Law. He also recently directed Glengarry Glen Ross on Broadway. In general, this is one of the most interesting theatrical experiments of the summer: an ultra-masculine play about predatory capitalism – for the first time in a femme version.

1536

May 2 – August 1
Ambassadors Theatre, West End

A play that Margot Robbie produces – and calls its author Ava Pickett the best young playwright. The year is 1536, the fall and execution of Anne Boleyn. In a village in Essex, three young women avidly discuss rumors from London. Gradually the political drama begins to rhyme with what is happening in their own lives: gossip, male violence, female solidarity and an election that almost always leads to danger. Directed by the same Lindsay Turner, who clearly enjoys fresh and controversial plays, and starring Tanya Reynolds (“Sex Education”), Liv Hill (“Three Girls”) and Sienna Kelly (“Black Mirror”).

So far, the reviews have been rave reviews, calling the play “electrifying” and, despite the setting, cutting-edge. That’s not to the liking of The Times’ critics, who have deemed the play almost a “TikTok soap opera.” But no matter what they say, 1536 is one of the season’s big hits.

I puritani.

June 30-July 19
Royal Opera House

A new production by Richard Jones, the debut of conductor Ricardo Frizza, and a particularly joyous occasion for Royal Opera House: I puritani returns to the stage after 35 years.

We can’t say exactly why, but war is clearly the leading theme of the season. Bellini’s latest opera is set during the English Civil War. Elvira, a girl from a puritanical family, is in love with Arturo, a royalist, a political opponent of her circle. After much persuasion, Elvira’s father agrees to their marriage, but on the day of the wedding Arturo disappears.

It is important to note that The Puritans is one of the key bel canto operas where extreme vocal virtuosity rather than dramaturgy is important. The part of Elvira is sung by Lisette Oropesa, one of the major contemporary bel canto sopranos, while Arturo is sung by Francesco Demuro. An excellent option for those who want to understand opera as a pure vocal element – this music gives unprecedented space for beauty and risk.