Lyn Gardner's Weekly Picks
Published on 13 July 2026
In Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shakespeare’s Globe), four earnest young men set up a women-free zone in the woods where they plan to study and think deeply for three years. Surprise, surprise, what immediately happens is they fall in love with the very first women they encounter. It’s an ideal rom-com scenario, and Shakespeare got there first. While he took most of his inspiration for stories from existing sources, the plot of Love’s Labour’s Lost is all his own work. Sadly, for Shakespeare it was not popular with contemporary audiences and wasn’t much appreciated until the 19th century and beyond. Directors are sometimes intimidated by all the wordplay, but it can be a genuinely joyous affair, and Indiana Lown-Collins’ flamenco-infused revival should ensure this is hot stuff.
Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting as a musical (Theatre Royal Haymarket) is not, I confess, a development I saw coming. But hey, the soundtrack to Danny Boyle’s 1996 movie is epic, and it will feature alongside new songs from Welsh, who has already seen successful stage adaptations of the novel, and Stephen McGuinness. So, if you want to see the all-singing, all-dancing versions of Renton, Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Kelly, here’s your chance. It is certainly an entirely different proposition from most Haymarket shows, but variety is very much the spice of the West End.
The school holidays kick off this week, and it’s a good time to treat the family to a show. There are plenty of brilliant shows to try. My pick would be the endlessly inventive and completely magical My Neighbour Totoro at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. But really, you won’t go wrong with Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin’s delightful and sharply witty Matilda at the Cambridge, while Oliver! has audiences asking for more at the Gielgud.
Now here’s something different which arrives in London at Shoreditch Town Hall. Arriving from Pitlochry Theatre in the Highlands, where it will be having its UK premiere as part of Alan Cummings’ inaugural season, comes Ceilidh, a new participatory musical written by Scottish duo Noisemaker and directed by Oh, Mary! Tony winner Sam Pinkleton. A ceilidh, in case you were wondering, is a Scottish gathering involving dancing with the moves called so everyone can join in. It’s a brilliant idea for a musical, and by all accounts from the US try-outs, this is something special, as it tells the story of one Scottish family who, over many generations, have provided the callers needed to bring the community together to dance.
By Lyn Gardner
Lyn Gardner is an acclaimed theatre journalist and former critic with decades of experience covering British theatre, from off-West End and fringe theatre to major West End productions.