Lyn Gardner's Picks
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Not quite what it seems at first, **Phil Porter**’s [Blink](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/blink-tickets)-- first seen at the Traverse in Edinburgh and then at Soho Theatre in 2012—is being revived at the King’s Head, one of London’s longest-running fringe theatres. Directed by **Simon Paris**, it’s a whip-smart—and at times disturbing—two-hander which tells of Sophie (played by **Abigail Thorn**), a young woman who feels invisible in her own life, and her downstairs neighbour Jonah (**Joe Pitts**). Jonah is a former night watchman. Watching and voyeurism are at the heart of a multi-layered piece which on the surface operates as a cute rom-com until the cracks begin to show. It will be interesting how the play holds up after more than a decade of shifts in sexual politics since it was first premiered.
It’s half term in London this week, and while the treat for older children is undoubtedly [Harry Potter and the Cursed Child](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-tickets) at the Palace (co-written by *Adolescence* and *Lord of the Flies* writer **Jack Thorne**, whose fingerprints are clearly visible in this Potter sequel), younger members of the family should enjoy **Quentin Blake**’s [Mrs Armitage on Wheels](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/quentin-blakes-mrs-armitage-on-wheels-tickets) (Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre), which is getting its world premiere. It should be well worth a peek because it is directed by the Little Angel’s artistic director, **Samantha Lane**, uses puppetry, and is likely to demonstrate real theatrical flair as it tells of inventor Mrs Armitage and her increasingly madcap bike ride with her dog.
London’s theatre landscape offers the constant lure of the new, but it means the shows you were meaning to see can sometimes get overlooked, and before you know it, they have disappeared like a puff of smoke. With *The Night Manager* now finished on TV, make sure you don’t miss another **Le Carré** thriller, [The Spy Who Came in From the Cold](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/the-spy-who-came-in-from-the-cold-tickets), which finishes its run at @sohoplace on February 21. **David Eldridge**’s elegantly pared-back adaptation of **John le Carré**'s novel tells a compelling story of Alec Leamas, a world-weary spy who has lost all his agents and just wants to retire but who is persuaded by MI6 to “stay out in the cold a little longer” by going to East Berlin for one last mission. **Jermey Herrin**’s production, with its use of searchlight beams sweeping the auditorium and moody saxophone, plays cleverly to the original’s noirish thriller leanings. **Eldridge**, by the way, is also the writer on *Betrayal*, the new ITV espionage thriller with **Shaun Evans** and **Romola Garai.**
**Arthur Miller**’s plays are everywhere in London, with [All My Sons](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/all-my-sons-tickets) a big hit with **Bryan Cranston, Marianne Jean-Baptiste** and **Paapa Essiedu** at the Wyndhams and *Broken Glass* about to open at the Young Vic. Arriving in April at the increasingly essential Marylebone Theatre (currently hosting the musical *Cable Street*) comes *The Price*, **Miller**’s family drama about two brothers totting up the price of everything in the wake of their father’s death. The revival is directed by **Jonathan Munby**, whose *Wendy and Peter Pan* for the RSC was such a pleasure last autumn, but the real draw is the presence of the marvellous **Henry Goodman**, an actor who is always surprising, unflashy and true.