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Old Vic boss Matthew Warchus has just unleashed his latest season upon us, and it’s looking like a good ’un, with showings from Daniel Radcliffe, Alan Cumming, Lucy Prebble and Mark Knopfler.
Probably the biggest deal, however, is erstwhile ‘The Crown’ royal couple Claire Foy and Matt Smith reuniting for a very different sort of show. Duncan Macmillan’s ‘Lungs’ is a clever, funny experimental love story about two people contemplating parenthood in an era of climate change. It has been produced across the world and there was an excellent 2012 pop-up production in London, but the Old Vic’s massive, centuries-old stage is quite the step up for the show. Presumably because of the leads’ extreme busyness, dates are still slightly up in the air, so while it’s the second production of the season and will run in the autumn, exact dates are TBC.
There’ll be lots of other stuff to book when tickets for everything else go on sale May 9, though. ‘Enron’ and ‘The Effect’ playwright Lucy Prebble returns with her first play since 2012. ‘A Very Expensive Poison’ (Aug 19-Oct 5) is her adaptation of Luke Harding’s book about the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. That’ll be followed by ‘Lungs’ (dates TBC) and then after that it’ll be a third seasonal run for Jack Thorne’s adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’ (Nov 23-Jan 18 2020).
After that, Daniel Radcliffe and Alan Cumming star in ‘Endgame’ (Jan 27-Mar 28 2020) – not a stage version of the popular superhero blockbuster (imagine!), but the classic Samuel Beckett play. It’ll be paired with one of Beckett’s shorter works, ‘Rough for Theatre II’.
Finally – and after a lengthy gap that will presumably include at least one more production – next summer will see the Old Vic host the long-trailed musical adaptation of the beloved 1983 Scottish comedy drama ‘Local Hero’ (Jun 18-Aug 22). Adapted by David Greig and Bill Forsyth (who wrote and directed the film) and with songs by Mark Knopfler, it’s already had an acclaimed run in Edinburgh and will presumably be hoping this is a stepping stone to West End glory.
For full Old Vic theatre listings go here.