The best London theatre to see in July 2022
From Emilia Clarke's West End debut to queer drama Rapture, we round up this month's must-sees.
By Will Stroude
Words: Simon Button; Image: Marc Brenner
We round up this month’s on-stage must-sees, from Emilia Clarke’s West End debut in The Seagull to queer drama Rapture.
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The Seagull
Image: Marc Brenner
Delayed because of Covid, Emilia (Game of Thrones) Clarke finally makes her West End debut in Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, which Anya Reiss has modernised for the 21st century and in which Clarke plays an actress named Nina who longs to flee her controlling father.
The director is Jamie Lloyd, a true iconoclast, so expect in-your-face theatricality and a fiercely original take on a classic.
Harold Pinter Theatre until 29 September. For tickets click here.
Moment of Grace
Some 35 years since Princess Diana opened Britain’s first AIDS unit at The Middlesex Hospital, Bren Gosling’s drama looks at a pivotal moment in LGBT+ history: The Princess of Wales’ compassionate handshake with a patient at a time when such a thing was considered to be dicing with death.
Based on personal testimonies, the one-act play looks at the impact her visit had on three people on the ward.
The Hope Theatre until 16 July. For tickets click here.
Rapture
Meet Rosy, Tommy and Kit – a queer family forced to transform if they are to survive the post-pandemic closure of kinky and subversive safe spaces.
This Pink Sky production uses spoken-word poetry, movement, narrative, a contemporary queer soundtrack and verbatim recordings to explore consent, kinky practices and substance abuse.
Pleasance London until 17 July For tickets click here.
Briefs Bite Club
After a three-year absence, Australia’s self-proclaimed cult cabaret mischief-makers strut back into the UK with a brand new show.
Expect the usual mix of comedy, circus and drag plus, for the first time in the boylesque’s troupe’s history, the added attraction of original music served up by a live band led by singer-songwriter Sahara Beck.
Queen Elizabeth Hall from 21-31 July and Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 5-28 August. For tickets click here (for South Bank Centre) and here (Underbelly Edinburgh).
Whistle Down the Wind
Featuring the lovely ‘No Matter What’ as popularised by Boyzone, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s somewhat overlooked musical gets its first major UK revival since 2010.
Performed by actor-musicians and local youngsters, the charming show is set in 1950s America and centres on a girl’s discovery of a man in the family barn she becomes convinced is Jesus.
Watermill Theatre from 22 July until 10 September. For tickets click here.