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Six theatre shows to see in London

‘Machinal’ is a brilliant, stark production of a 1928 play; Ian McKellen is magnificent as Falstaff in ‘Player Kings’; ‘The Ballad of Hattie and James’ follows the peaks and troughs of a life-long relationship; a new baby has a profound impact in ‘The Cord’; ‘London Tide’ is a swirling Dickens adaptation; death haunts a school reunion in ‘The Comeuppance’

© Manuel Harlan

Machinal theatre review — 1928 play about a mentally fragile murderess is astonishingly modern
Staged at London’s Old Vic, this brilliant, stark production is led by an outstanding performance from Rosie Sheehy
Ian McKellen is an unforgettable Falstaff in Player Kings — review
Robert Icke’s adaptation of ‘Henry IV’ brings out the subtleties and the violence of Shakespeare’s plays
The Ballad of Hattie and James theatre review — music and memories combine in a delicate new drama
Samuel Adamson’s play at the Kiln Theatre, London, traces the peaks and troughs of a life-long relationship
The Cord theatre review — a painfully honest drama about parenthood
At London’s Bush Theatre, Bijan Sheibani’s new play explores the profound impact of a baby’s arrival
London Tide, National Theatre review — Dickens turned into restless river drama with music by PJ Harvey
Stories ebb and flow in Ben Power’s play at London’s National Theatre
The Comeuppance at the Almeida Theatre, London review — when Death gatecrashes a high-school reunion
Old friends face time and mortality in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ waspishly humorous and darkly metaphysical play