London events in September

'Joseph' returns to the Palladium in Summer 2020. This versions remains a sweet, silly, reasonably lovable one in a lavish but lightweight revival from Laurence Connor, director of Lloyd Webber’s recent smash ‘School of Rock’.

Jake Gyllenhaal is back in London reprising his lead role in this recent Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant 1984 musical. It concerns two artists named George: one a fictionalised version of Georges Seurat; the other is his cynical and troubled great-grandson. Gyllenhaal plays both in Sarna Lapine’s transferring production, alongside his Broadway co-star Annaleigh Ashford.

Stephen Schwartz is dusting the Egyptian sands from his 1998 Dreamworks movie, an old testament epic centring on Moses, and boasting some memorable songs. It’s moving into the suitably gigantic setting of Tottenham Court Road's Dominion Theatre and Schwartz has dreamt up 10 new numbers for this musical version. 

Ironically, Cush Jumbo’s Hamlet may mean London never sees Ruth Negga’s, which ran in Dublin last year and is set to transfer to New York. Fortunately, there are plenty of strings to the Irish actor’s bow – she’ll round off the 2020 YV season by starring in Marina Carr’s drama about a woman haunted by the death of her twin.

Bryan Adams (yes, that Bryan Adams) and Jim Vallance’s take on Julia Roberts’s breakthrough hit received mixed reviews when it premiered on Broadway last year. There’s no word on casting at the moment, but it’s emphatically billing itself as a fun night out.