Two London Shows Worth Catching Before They Close This Summer

Redcliffe is the one I’d push you toward first because you probably haven’t heard of it, and it’s the kind of thing that won’t stay at this level for long. Jordan Luke Gage wrote the whole thing himself, book, music, and lyrics, and he’s performing in it too at Southwark Playhouse, Borough. It’s based on what happened to two men in Bristol in 1753 who were hanged for being in love with each other, and Gage has turned that into a full musical with over twenty songs that somehow manages to be funny and warm and then completely devastating by the end. Daniel Krikler plays opposite him, and Rebecca Lock as the mother is getting talked about in every single review I’ve read.

The critical response has been ridiculous for a first-time writer. WhatsOnStage went five stars. The Guardian four. About a dozen others went five. Audiences keep leaving in tears, apparently, and the Southwark Playhouse run is almost definitely going to be the last time you see this for under forty quid because a West End transfer feels inevitable at this point.

Tickets are thirty-five pounds standard, twenty-eight for concessions, and they don’t charge a booking fee, which is refreshing. It’s at Southwark Playhouse Borough on Newington Causeway, Elephant & Castle tube, runs about two hours and twenty minutes with an interval, and closes on 4 July. Age recommendation is fourteen and up.

Then there’s War Horse back at the National, which you probably do know about already. The Handspring puppets, the Morpurgo story, the whole thing. It won five Tonys the first time round, and something like 8.8 million people have seen it worldwide, and it’s returned to the Olivier stage where it premiered nearly twenty years ago. Tom Sturgess is playing Albert this time, and the rest of the cast is about thirty-five strong, including the puppeteers.

Not much to say about whether it’s good because it’s War Horse, you already know if you want to see it or not. What I will say is that even people seeing it for the third time are coming out saying the puppet work still gets them, which is a testament to how well the production holds up. The horse Joey still doesn’t feel like a puppet after about ten minutes, and that’s a strange thing to experience even when you know exactly how it works.

Tickets run from thirty quid up in the gods to about a hundred and twenty for premium seats on a Friday or Saturday, with a four-pound booking fee unless you’re an NT member. Under-25s get a discount through the National Theatre directly. It’s in the Olivier, South Bank, runs two hours and forty-five minutes with an interval, is suitable for ages ten and over, and closes 30 July. Worth knowing they use strobes and loud sound effects if that’s a factor for anyone in your group.

If you’ve got one evening and the budget for only one, Redcliffe at thirty-five pounds is the braver bet and the one you’ll be glad you caught early. War Horse at the higher end is the production most people only get to see once, and it delivers every time. Both will be gone by the end of July.