Othello
When David Harewood was offered the lead in Othello in a new West End production, he found he still knew his lines from almost 30 years earlier, when he became the first black actor to play the role at the National Theatre. Harewood brings profound depth to the part, alongside Toby Jones as Iago and Caitlin FitzGerald as Desdemona, in Tom Morris’s striking staging, now on Marquee TV. Harewood’s documentary on blackface, with observations on Othello, is on iPlayer.
Mrs Warren’s Profession
This revival of George Bernard Shaw’s comical 1893 drama about morality and hypocrisy gains an extra frisson from its casting as Imelda Staunton and her daughter, Bessie Carter, share the stage for the first time. Carter is the Cambridge graduate who discovers that her mother, played by Staunton, has made a fortune from running brothels. On NT at Home.
Olivier awards
The Oliviers returned to the BBC for the first time in more than 20 years, with Nick Mohammed hosting the ceremony in fine style. On iPlayer you can see performances including a triumphant number from Paddington: The Musical and a ridiculously entertaining opener from The Phantom of the Opera with Andrew Lloyd Webber himself on the Royal Albert Hall’s organ.
The Last Five Years
Evita’s Rachel Zegler and Dear Evan Hansen’s Ben Platt are a perfect pairing in this 25th-anniversary Palladium concert for Jason Robert Brown’s beloved two-hander, which charts a romance from first flush to bitter breakup in alternating solos – with Zegler telling her side of the story in reverse. Album out now.
Henry IV Parts One and Two
Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear are no match for it, according to our own Michael Billington who recently ranked every single Shakespeare play and gave the crown to Henry IV Parts One and Two. Revel in Roger Allam’s Falstaff at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2010 (both parts are on GlobePlayer) or Antony Sher’s at the RSC in 2014 (available from Marquee TV).
The Shark Is Broken
This behind-the-scenes comedy about Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was an Edinburgh fringe hit then docked in the West End in 2021. Set on a boat, it follows three of the film’s actors including Robert Shaw, played by his son Ian (who also co-writes), as they wait for the mechanical shark to be fixed. A whale of a time, available from BroadwayHD.
The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals
StarKid are an enterprising US theatre outfit whose parodies have made them an online sensation. Their horror comedy The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals arrives in the West End this month but the Kickstarter-funded show is still available for free on YouTube, where it has racked up more than 9m views since 2018.
Nanny
Staged at Bristol Old Vic a couple of years ago, this comedy musical about a pair of actor-nannies – played by writers Alana Ramsey and Lizzie Stables – is now directed by Sara Pascoe for BBC Radio 4. Matthew Floyd Jones (Frisky & Mannish) supplies the songs as the duo juggle the demands of both jobs. On BBC Sounds from 21 May.
