Lyn Gardner's Weekly Picks
Published on 26 October 2026
Sir Trevor Nunn has run the RSC and the National Theatre, and it is perhaps a sign of the increasing presence of Marylebone Theatre—where Mark Rylance could recently be found in Tartuffe—that his latest production will be found there. Fresh from The Truth in the West End (it will return next summer), Janie Dee stars in Torben Betts’ political thriller, Speculations, set in 1965 in the wake of the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, President Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald. Journalist Dorothy Kilgallen believes the deaths are all connected, and like a dog who has sniffed a bone, she is determined to uncover the truth. But the truth can be a very dangerous thing.
Murder, torture and suicide. Yep, Tosca (Coliseum) has got them all. It can be a thing of tenderness too. This new production, directed by the ENO’s artistic director, Annilese Miskimmon, transposes the action to a contemporary European country afflicted by civil unrest and an external aggressor to tell the story of singer Floria Tosca, who must fight for her survival when police chief Scarpia tries to make her believe that her lover is unfaithful with tragic consequences. Puccini’s opera is not exactly what you might call a light evening out, but it is a stirring one, and Miskimmon’s production should ask interesting questions about life, art and resistance.
If you reckon you are familiar with the Menier auditorium, you are in for a surprise. For Tru, designer Paul Farnsworth has made over the theatre space in this former chocolate factory into the New York apartment of Truman Capote, the writer who in the 1960s and early 1970s was the toast of New York high society. But now he’s a different kind of toast, finding himself on Christmas Eve 1975 alone amidst the vintage rugs, Tiffany lamps, leather-bound books and scatter cushions having been deserted by his rich and powerful friends because of extracts from his new novel, published by Esquire magazine, in which they recognised themselves. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and the design are the stars of a monologue which reminds that those who fly close to the sun often come crashing down.
The London Coliseum is fast becoming an outpost of Leicester, where the Curve Theatre is proving itself a musical powerhouse under Nikolai Foster. Following the success of the theatre’s revival of Kinky Boots in St Martins Lane comes another Curve production: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Michael Ball plays Willy Wonka in a show previously seen in the West End at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which comes with a book by David Greig to tell Roald Dahl's toothsome tale about Charlie Bucket who discovers a golden ticket which grants him admission to Willy Wonka’s factory. Sam Mendes’ original production didn’t always hit the mark, but Foster should keep a firmer grip on proceedings, ensuring this is as satisfying as that other West End hit, the glorious Matilda The Musical.
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.