Lyn Gardner's Weekly Picks
Published on 10 August 2026
Since the success of Danny Robbins’ 2:22: A Ghost Story, audiences have got a taste for being spooked in the theatre. Not all shows have delivered (The Enfield Haunting springs to mind), but if you genuinely want the chill to run down your spine, look no further than Paranormal Activity (Ambassadors Theatre), which is returning to the West End. This take on the movie franchise (but not a replica) is a class act. Perhaps that should be no surprise because it is directed by Punchdrunk’s Felix Barrett. It’s a crafty evening that cleverly ramps up the tension and creates a real sense of dread. Because, after all, as the show suggests, it’s not places which are haunted but people, and we take our ghosts with us. However far we might try to run.
It’s been a very good summer for Shakespeare’s Globe, which has had a string of hits (still playing in repertoire), including A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Chelsea Walker’s delightful Much Ado About Nothing. But the summer treat could turn out to be this revival of Shakespeare’s joyously transformative comedy, As You Like It, which is directed by Sean Holmes and Charlie Josephine. The latter also plays Orlando. So, escape the heat of the city into the magical forest of Arden, an enchanted place of transformations.
Abigail’s Party (Harold Pinter Theatre) is taking place next door to Beverly’s house on an Essex housing estate in Mike Leigh’s delicious 1977 comedy. But while the teenagers next door are revelling in Patti Smith, Bev is determined to show off her house and life to the neighbours in what descends into an evening from hell. Nadia Fall’s revival has had rave reviews both in its original Theatre Royal Stratford East production and more recently on tour, and it boasts a standout wickedly funny performance from Tamsin Outhwaite as the ghastly manipulative Beverly, a woman who thinks cheese and pineapple sticks are the height of sophistication.
Playing outdoors at the Actor’s Church in Covent Garden with a cast of actor-musicians comes Around the World in 80 Days, a staging of the epic Jules Verne's adventure story for family audiences. English gentleman Phileas Fogg wagers his fortune that he can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days, a feat considered impossible in the Victorian era. He sets off in the company of his resourceful French valet, Jean Passepartout. Will he win the bet? I think we know the answer, but the pleasure is all in the journey, and it’s a story which resoundingly reminds us that travel broadens the mind.
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.