What's On at Local Theatres in July


Your guide to current productions on stages around the borough

If you are planning a visit to a local theatre, here's what's currently on offer:

At the Bush Theatre,the world premiers of the much praised play Jellyfish, written by Ben Weatherill, is the story of a first kiss, chips by the beach and coming of age with Down’s Syndrome in a seaside town. It’s a unique romance across uncharted waters which asks: does everyone really have the right to love as they choose?

Jellyfish stars Sarah Gordy, who was awarded an MBE in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours for Services to the Arts and People with Disabilities, Ian Bonar, Nicky Priest and Penny Layden.

Jellyfish runs from Monday till Saturday till 21 July at 7.45pm, with extra matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2.45pm. There is a post-show panel and discussion about motherhood and coming to terms with a Down's diagnosis on 10 July, a captioned performance on 12 July and audio described performance on 14 July at 2.45pm.

Find out more and book tickets here.

The Lyric Hammersmith Main House has now closed for major refurbishment over the summer, but theatre is now hosting a series of events called Open Mic, a showcase of selected local artists who will take over Lyric spaces to platform groundbreaking new work.

In July these works are:

TDSOS: HOME, a multi-disciplinary anti-gun & knife crime event featuring spoken word, live music, theatre and dance - 7 July, 8pm, tickets £5.

Colour Beyond the Lines: Come and be invigorated by London’s freshest, young artists in a colourful evening where music collides with poetry and theatre. 9 July, 8pm, tickets £5.

Come In Unity: An Evening for Grenfell. This event will bring together artists, residents and other direct and indirect victims of the Grenfell tragedy that took place on 14 June 2017 aiming to offer solidarity, healing, solace and provide a forum to educate, discussing means of action and what can be done to safeguard our future. 23 July, 8pm, tickets free.

Find out more and book tickets here.

Barons Court Theatre in Comeragh Road presents Oscar Wilde's The Nightingale & The Rose & Other Tales from 17 - 21 July at 7.30pm with an additional matinee on Saturday 21 July at 2.30pm.

This is a delightful dramatisation of one of Oscar Wilde's most touching and poignant stories, in a new, devised musical adaptation. The story itself is rarely staged, which is a pity as it is a perfectly formed piece of work – quite unforgettable after you have seen it. The Nightingale & The Rose & Other Tales is an ideal way of escaping from our dreary, dangerous, modern world.

Find out more and book tickets here.

Finborough Theatre's current production, Arthur Miller's Finishing The Picture, closing his weekend is now completely sold out. However tickets are now on sale for the theatre's next production, the world premere of But It Still Goes On, by Robert Graves, with additional dialogue by Fidelis Morgan.

In a production commissioned by the Finborough Theatre, a world premiere from the author of Goodbye To All That and I Claudius, Robert Graves' 'post-catastrophic comedy', But It Still Goes On, directed by Fidelis Morgan, plays as part of the theatre's THEGREATWAR100 series commemorating the centenary of the First World War.

The generation that survived a war have to confront who they really are when they discover that family is just another battlefield.

This unique rediscovery, never previously performed, But It Still Goes On by poet and novelist Robert Graves was written in 1929 as a commission from the producers of Journey’s End. Influenced by the drawing room comedies of Noël Coward and W. Somerset Maugham, it explores themes of adultery, homosexuality, lesbianism, gender politics, casual sex, and inter-generational conflict, but with a surreal dark twist. It now finally receives its long overdue world premiere at the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre.

It Still Goes on will run from 10 July till 4 August from Tuesday till Sunday at 7.30pm and matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 3pm. Find out more and book tickets here.

The Chelsea Theatre, off Kings Road in Worlds End presents Once Upon a Time on Sunday 8 July at 11am and 4pm. This production sees Red Star Theatre Arts returning with a treat for children and their families. Follow the journey of Joseph Bricklehurst, a boy with a wild imagination, as he’s joined by an all star cast of characters.

Find out more and book tickets here.

This summer, Chelsea Theatre and Community Centre is set to undergo a huge refurbishment with new rooms, extra spaces and a complete face lift. Before the building closes and work starts, the theatre is inviting the community to a Summer Open House event to share current ideas and hear opinions on the future of the building.

The Summer Open House event is on 16 July at 6pm with free food, drinks and music and everyone is welcome to come along.

July 4, 2018