Yerma

TNT

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Poor innocent Yerma. Newly wed and isolated in a rural community far from home, she’s eager to consummate her marriage to Juan and anticipating the patter of tiny feet a few months down the line.

But days turn into weeks, weeks to seasons and seasons to years and still hubbie spends more time sleeping with his sheep than he does with his wife, hiding the shameful secret of a youthful unspoken passion for the hunky butcher (Ross Anderson).

Played out on Ruth Sutcliffe’s appropriately arid set of rusty sand and corrugated walls, Anthony Weigh’s new version strips down Federico Garcia Lorca’s 1934 tragedy to half a dozen characters, cutting out the chorus and leaving it to Alison O’Donnell’s Maria (an earth mother in the making who pees in a bucket and adds a delightfully natural comic note) to convey the social pressure to reproduce.

And as Ty Glaser’s wide-eyed Yerma – not much more than a child herself – becomes increasingly desperate for the baby that would transform her into a woman, Natalie Abrahami’s atmospheric production demands sympathy for this unfulfilled young wife, baffled by her husband’s behaviour and, tragically, unable to change his callous indifference to her emotional needs.

Gate, Pembridge Road W11 3HQ (020 7229 0706) Tube: Notting Hill Gate Until December 17 (£20, matinees £10) gatetheatre.co.uk

Matilda

TNT

Deliciously adapted from Roald Dahl’s 1988 children’s story, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s irresistible production (directed by Matthew Warchus) is a treat for any time of year.

Cleo Demetriou’s Matilda (one of four youngsters sharing the title role) is a cheeky, book-loving, moral-minded prankster who, aged five, reads Dostoevsky for fun and pits her wits and telekinetic powers against Bertie Carvel’s sadistic headmistress (all puffed up pouter pigeon bosom and hairy legs) and her vulgar family (ballroom fanatic mum and Paul Kaye’s dodgy car salesman dad).

Tim Minchin’s music and witty lyrics, Dennis Kelly’s astute script and Peter Darling’s inventively athletic choreography combine with a touch of magic and a clutch of talented kids to ensure a happy ending and a great night out.

Cambridge Theatre, Earlham Street, London, WC2H 9HU
Tube: Covent Garden
Until October 21 2012
£20-£59.50

matildathemusical.com

Orpheus in the Underworld

Offenbach gets an appropriately disrespectful update from impressionist and recent Strictly Come Dancing competitor Rory Bremner.

He relocates the satirical 1858 operetta from Napoleon III’s Paris to the present day to mock the celebrity life style of the rich, famous and politically powerful. His Eurydice is a brazen WAG, married to a wealthy violinist whose star - and financial fortunes - are on the wane. In an unashamedly ludicrous plot, god of Hades Pluto (in the guise of a personal trainer) tricks her into joining him in hell and reluctant spouse Orpheus (who’s actually very glad to be rid of her) is persuaded by the character of Public Opinion (kitted out in a tabloid newsprint suit) to claim her back and save his reputation.

Simon Holdsworth’s clever set then whisks us to a swanky champagne bar where the gods are hanging out and hung-over and looking for a bit of excitement. Cue a trip to Hades where Brendan Collins’ adulterous Jupiter turns into a fly in fetish gear.

There’s nothing subtle about this co-production between Scottish Opera and Northern Ireland Opera, and some of the dialogue is woefully unfunny. But the lyrics are often witty and, with little more to accompany them than a single piano, an enthusiastic cast certainly makes opera both accessible and fun, with Daire Halpin’s flush-faced, fox-hunting Diana and Ross McInroy’s gross, disgraced banker particularly impressive.

Young Vic, The Cut, SE1 8LZ Tube Southwark / Waterloo Until December 10 (£22.50) youngvic.org

The Kitchen Sink

TNT

Staged in the round, with the sandy shale of the Withernsea beach encroaching on the kitchen, Tom Wells’ touching new play is the first full length production at the Bush’s new home.

This is a gentle domestic comedy of an ordinary, if quirky, family going about everyday life with all the joys and frustrations that involves.

Mum’s a positive-thinking dinnerlady who likes to experiment with her cooking (courgette muffins, anyone?), dad’s a milkman with a milk float that’s falling apart and a business which (thanks to the local supermarket) is rapidly going the same way. Meanwhile daughter Sophie is working towards her black belt in ju-jitsu and their gay son Billy, an avid Dolly Parton fan, is desperate (or at least he thinks he is) to get into a London art school.

Funds may be limited, and dreams can be dashed at any age, yet there’s a lot of love circulating through this Yorkshire household – and gawky trainee plumber Pete (Andy Rush) adds a touch more. Nothing earth-shattering happens, but Tamara Harvey’s affectionate production is well-acted, often very funny and manages to spring an unexpectedly watery surprise.

Bush Theatre, Uxbridge Road, W12 8LJ Tube Shepherds Bush Until December 17 (£15-£20)
bushtheatre.co.uk

Juno and the Paycock

TNT

Fortune smiles, briefly, on the impoverished Boyle household in Sean O’Casey’s 1924 tragicomedy of working class life, set during the Irish Civil War when young men are dying for conflicting causes and principles fail to put food on the table.

Designer Bob Crowley’s capacious, rather too elegant Dublin tenement threatens to dwarf the drunken antics of Ciarán Hinds’ strutting, workshy paterfamilias and his feckless sidekick Joxer as his wife (Sinéad Cusack’s worn down Juno) battles to keep her family together. But, in this solid co-production with Ireland’s Abbey Theatre, it’s impossible not to feel for Ronan Raftery’s Johnny, their twice-injured son who’s lost both a limb and his peace of mind.

Lyttelton at the National, South Bank, SE1 9PX Tube: Waterloo Until February 26 (£12-£45)
nationaltheatre.org.uk

The Riots

TNT

Quick off the mark as ever, the Tricycle continues its tradition of analysing problematic topical issues with a swift two hour investigation into the how and why of the riots which briefly blitzed London and other areas in August.

Triggered by the shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham, North London, what started as a peaceful vigil of friends and family exploded into a free-for-all of arson and theft.

Footage of the fires and looting form the backdrop against which one father tells how he and his two young sons managed to escape from his flat above CarpetRight before the building was scorched to an empty shell. Comparisons are drawn between MPs who fiddled their expenses and the rampaging opportunists who walked away with televisions and designer trainers.

From the spoken evidence of politicians and policemen, community leaders and culprits, victims and bystanders, writer Gillian Slovo has put together a forceful, even-handed verbatim account of the events leading up to those four days of rampage and unrest, which also gives voice to the various explanations offered by authority figures and those involved.

Anger, frustration, racial and social injustice, cuts and grievances are all mentioned – as is the failure of the police to contain an escalating situation.

There are no definitive answers, but what comes across loud and clear in Nicolas Kent’s fluent production is that the underlying issues need to be addressed before the simmering disaffection kicks off into violence once again.

Tricycle, Kilburn High Road, NW6 7JR Tube: Kilburn Until December 10 (£13) www.tricycle.co.uk

Hamlet

TNT

You’d think the title role was enough for anyone to tackle, but Michael Sheen, all wild hair and scruffy stubble, steals his father’s greatcoat from the grave and is possessed by his ghost in Ian Rickson’s high-concept production.

Elsinore is a secure psychiatric institution (a prison of buzzers and clanging metal doors, entered via convoluted corridors) where Sally Dexter’s nervy, clingy Gertrude fusses round the man in charge (James Clyde’s sharp-suited Claudius) as he slips her her medication.

Vinette Robinson’s touching Ophelia dispenses pills, not herbs, as she, too, loses track of reality and, although not all the directorial innovations pay off, Sheen’s volatile Hamlet is mesmerizing in his madness.

Young Vic, The Cut, SE1 8LZ (Tube: Southwark / Waterloo) Until January 21 (£10 - £29.50) youngvic.org