IN ASSOCIATION WITH

OPERA

Lust! Revenge! Drama! But enough about my weekend. The brilliant Royal Opera House enters autumn with a packed schedule led by the dramatic Don Giovanni (8 – 26 Sept), arguably Mozart’s most famous opera, complete with revolving set and video projections. Richard Strauss’ Salome, based on Oscar Wilde’s play, comes hot on its heels (9 Sept – 1 Oct) with Malin Byström reprising her acclaimed performance as Salome. Next up, you can watch (and weep) over Puccini’s stunning tragedy Madama Butterfly (12 Sept – 1 Oct). If you can’t make it into Covent Garden, go to your local cinema to watch while you nestle your popcorn tub – it’s showing live on Tues 27 Sept or repeated on Sun 2 Oct. And finally, in a brand new production of Aida, Verdi’s political drama (25 Sept – 12 Oct), director Robert Carsen places the story of doomed lovers and battling nations in a modern day, totalitarian state.

THEATRE

After summer’s sell-out run of 101 Dalmations, Regents Park Open Air Theatre is lining up a treat for the coming month with its retelling of the edgy and pacy family drama Antigone on 3-24 Sept. The Sophocles tragedy about a young woman defying the law and attempting to reconcile her warring brothers has been retold by poet and playwright Inua Ellams. If his last adaptation, the National Theatre’s Three Sisters, is anything to go by, expect to be enthralled. Zainab Hasan takes the lead. Suitable for aged 12 and over. 

The Old Vic is getting a sprinkling of Hollywood stardust this autumn courtesy of Academy Award-winning actress Helen Hunt, who’s starring in the London premiere of Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day. Set in 2017 at a progressive school in Berkeley, California, the play follows five board members as they reassess their school values. But when a mumps outbreak threatens the local community, it quickly becomes apparent that the school’s traditions of tolerance and togetherness are no match for a public health scare. Tackling the issue of vaccinations in modern-day America, this feels like a particularly timely watch. Catch it 6 Sept to 31 Oct.

London has managed to bag Erin Doherty (Princess Anne in The Crown) to star in autumn’s season of The Crucible at the National Theatre. Her role as Abigail, the ‘possessed’ young woman calling out witchcraft in the small Massachusetts town is sure to have you gripped from beginning to end. Showing 14 Sept – 5 Nov.

Isben’s John Gabriel Borkman is making a comeback to The Bridge Theatre after it was scuppered due to the pandemic in 2019, but leading man Simon Russell Beale is chomping at the bit to reprise his role of bankrupt and disgraced businessman John Gabriel Borkman. Directed by Nicholas Hytner and co-starring Claire Higgins as Borkman’s estranged wife and Lia Williams as her sister, we’re pretty certain it will have been worth the wait. 24 Sept – 26 Nov.

Head  to the Duke of York’s Theatre from 29 Sep to catch Olivier Award-winner Juliet Stevenson as The Doctor – Ruth Wolff, a white female senior clinician who refuses to allow a Catholic priest to see a 14-year-old girl who’s dying after a botched abortion. Based loosely on Arthur Schnitzler’s Professor Bernhardi, the play starts out by examining issues of medical ethics before weighing in on a whole host of subjects, from identity and politics to media witch hunts. 

Head to the Barbican for playwright David Finnigan’s engaging one man show about the Australian bushfires in which he tells the story of the 75,000 years of humanity that brought us to this moment in the climate crisis and his friends and family fleeing the bush fires. In You’re Safe Til 2024 he uses scientific research, phone footage, humour, pop culture and a buzzing soundtrack in an epic sweep of history – showing 27 Sept – 1 Oct. Check out the Barbican’s full autumn line-up here.

It’s not just the autumn chill that will give you the goosebumps this Sept – The Band’s Visit at the Donmar Warehouse has got allll the feels. After a hugely successful run on Broadway (winner of 10 Tony Awards and a Grammy), the show is now making its hotly-anticipated UK premiere at the Donmar Warehouse. Based on a film starring a band of Egyptian musicians waiting for a bus (trust me…). Expect a rousing and heart-warming watch – book early as the venue is small- on 24 Sept – 3 Dec. 

BALLET

Book now alert! Whenever you watched Peaky Blinders, did it ever occur to you that it might make a good ballet? Well, the Troubadour Theatre thought so and here’s the proof. Be prepared to get transported to post-war Birmingham for the ballet version of Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby. Delving into the story of Shelby, this stage play is a collaboration with the creator of the TV series and Stephen Knight with choreography by Benoit Swan Pouffer. Book ahead for your tickets for shows 12 Oct – 6 Nov and prepare to be dazzled by electric and athletic dancing (no, not Cillian Murphy, sadly). 

MUSIC

Following last year’s sold-out showcase, Gok Wan is bringing the highly anticipated Isolation Nation back to The Roundhouse. The perky fashion-guru, much loved DJ and all-round national treasure is going all out to get you bringing out your old clubbing moves to a fully immersive production sound-tracked by a mix of dance classics and new sounds. The one-off show takes place Sat 17 Sept.

Book a gig at Union Chapel and you’ll get goosebumps the minute you cross the threshold. The stunning and cavernous venue is still a working church but hosts a roster of acts, big and small, including Tom McRae on 29 Sept and country star Sara Evans (pictured) on 2 Sept. One of the top bills for autumn is Richard Marx (book now for Oct 3, 4 & 6). The award-winning artist has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, gone quadrupleplatinum (yup, it’s a thing) and has some cracking good pop songs. If you haven’t discovered him yet, now’s your chance.

Tom Kerridge’s The Pub in the Park juggernaut brings its fabulous food and live music to Chiswick House & Gardens 2-4 Sept. The line-up features The Sugar Hill Gang, Beverley Knight, Faithless DJing, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and The Christians alongside dishes from chefs including Andrew Pern of The Star Inn and Joshua Moroney and Mursal Saiq’s of Cue Point, their British-Afghan BBQ mash-up. 

ART 

I can’t say I’m up-to-speed on K-Pop acts, but I’m hoping I’ll get jenned-up at the autumn exhibition at the V&A: Hallyu-Korean Wave. This hugely popular South Korean culture cult started in the 1990s and rose to worldwide fandom in the 2010s. This exhibition explores cinema, drama, music, fanatic fans, beauty and fashion. 24 Sept – 25 June.The Tate Britain’s retrospective of Walter Sickert, the first in over 60 years, explores the mould-breaking artist and his distinctive approach to setting and subject matter. It’s everyday life seen through the eyes of a creative legend. Until 18 Sept.

No rose tinted specs or mind-altering substances needed for this whirly-gig exhibition at Kew Gardens – When Flowers Dream is an utterly bonkers creation by artist Tanya Schultz (a.k.a. Pip & Pop) using sugar, sweets and clay to create an imagined landscape. Trippy, fun and on until March 2023.

The mega bookshop that is Waterstones Piccadilly (below) is hosting Carlo Rovelli, best-selling theoretical physicist, on 7 Sept, Raynor Wynn on 13 Sept and Davina McCall on 16 Sept, among many other big literary names.

Meanwhile Daunt Books brings Katy Hessel to its Marylebone store to discuss The Story of Art Without Men on 15 Sept and chef Sabrina Ghayour on her new book Persiana Everyday on 20 Sept.