Lyn Gardner's Weekly Picks

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**Mark Rylance** is one of the great actors of his generation, and this week there is a chance to see him up close at the 200-seat Marylebone Theatre, where he takes the lead in [Tartuffe (Remixed)](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/tartuffe-remixed-tickets). He will be working alongside the graduate company of Intermission, a pioneering youth theatre of which he has long been a patron, in **Darren Raymond**’s radical transposition of **Moliere**’s play to a Black British household in the contemporary UK. **Rylance** plays the fake holy man in a biting satire in which rhyming couplets meet pathos. At the Duchess, you can catch **Nassim Soleimanpou**r’s [White Rabbit Red Rabbit](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/white-rabbit-red-rabbit-tickets), which originally premiered in 2011 but which has been seen all over the world, including a stint at @sohoplace. The piece found its form because the playwright was forbidden from leaving his native Iran. The result is a play with no director or set which is designed to be performed by a different actor every night, sight unseen. It is both light-footed and cerebral as it explores language, politics and censorship, and during September some of the performers already announced include **Adam Buxton, Christopher Eccleston, Steve Pemberton** and **Riz Ahmed**.
September sees a lot of openings, including [Into the Woods](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/into-the-woods-tickets) at the Noel Coward, **James Graham**’s [The Standard of Living](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/the-standard-of-living-tickets) at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, and [RENT](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/rent-tickets) at the Duke of York's, but don’t miss out on some shows which close this month, including the riotously funny [The Producers](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/the-producers-tickets) at the Garrick; **Simon Stone**’s modern-day thriller version of [The Oresteia](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/oresteia-tickets) at the Bridge; and [Abigail’s Party](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/abigails-party-tickets), which **Tamzin Outhwaite** makes her own at the Harold Pinter.  The Bridge has been sold to Trafalgar Entertainment, and the first show under new ownership is [Pride](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/pride-tickets), the cracking musical written by **Stephen Beresford** with a score by **Christopher Nightingale, Josh Cohen** and **DJ Walde** which has been a huge summer hit at the National. **Matthew Warchus** (who directed Matilda) is at the helm for this joyous comedy and tear-jerker set in 1984 when an unlikely alliance is formed by the striking miners of Wales and the gay community as the AIDS crisis begins to take hold, and when it rolls into the Bridge in November, it will offer a very good reason to go east rather than up west for a show which is likely to make a good showing in the Oliviers next year.

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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.