David Suchet: Poirot and More
To mark his 75th birthday, David Suchet headed out on tour with an affable show that combined Shakespearean speeches, tips on acting and anecdotes from his career on stage and screen, including how he perfected the accent for Agatha Christie’s Belgian super-sleuth. It’s now available from Original Theatre Company.
The House of Bernarda Alba
After the end of Succession, its stars hit London stages: Sarah Snook with The Picture of Dorian Gray and Brian Cox in Long Day’s Journey Into Night while Harriet Walter went from playing one formidable matriarch to another in Alice Birch’s version of Federico García Lorca’s classic. On NT at Home.
Testmatch
Past and present collide when England take on India at Lord’s in Kate Attwell’s play about cricket, nationalism and colonialism, which “wittily interrogates wilful ignorance”, wrote the Guardian’s Kate Wyver. A co-production between the Orange Tree, Bolton Octagon and English Touring Theatre, it’s available 4-7 June.
Richard II
Ben Whishaw is back on stage in Bluets at the Royal Court. Here’s a chance to revisit his 2012 performance as Richard II in the first part of The Hollow Crown, directed by Rupert Goold with a top cast including Patrick Stewart, Rory Kinnear and Lindsay Duncan. On BBC iPlayer.
Daytime Deewane
The explosion of gig theatre shows has brought a new audience to theatre and the format can be especially enthralling for teenagers. Azan Ahmed’s play for over-13s revisits the world of 1990s daytime raves that gave a generation of British south Asians their first taste of clubbing. On demand from Half Moon.
Prix de Lausanne: Finals
Spot the dance stars of tomorrow in this epic contest as 87 teenage dancers from 19 countries compete for the prestigious prize in Switzerland. On Arte you can stream not only the 150-minute finals but also classes, coaching and previous rounds of the competition.
Oklahoma!
Trevor Nunn’s celebrated 1998 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical, with Hugh Jackman as Curly and new choreography by Susan Stroman, was shown in more than 300 cinemas last summer. Further evidence that Jackman is one of the greatest showmen, it’s on YouTube.
Strange Fish
Here’s a blast from the past: this richly atmospheric, arresting hour of performance captures the groundbreaking physical theatre of Lloyd Newson’s company DV8. Filmed in 1992 it features the late Nigel Charnock, remembered by Newson as “touching, tragic, hilarious, honest”. From Digital Theatre.
Billy Elliot the Musical Live
With Jamie Lloyd’s production of Romeo and Juliet, Tom Holland has returned to London for the first time since he played Billy Elliot. He joins other former leads in the finale of this 2014 version of the musical on Prime Video, featuring Elliott Hanna in the title role and Liam Mower as the older Billy.
Impro
Narrated by William Reay, Audible’s version of the book by improvisation expert Keith Johnstone – who died last year – is full of insights and advice, not just limited to theatre-making. It includes a previously unpublished essay, The Full Mask, written 50 years after the book’s publication.
