My 4 London theatre picks for September

It’s September. I have no idea how that happened. That means it’s practically Christmas time. is that wrong to say? Sorry. It’s not really. (It is.) September means we are officially in Autumn, which means it’s time for Sunday roastings, conkering, crunchy leafing, Hampstead Heathing and cosy nights with books, Bake Off, or perhaps you’re like me and fancy popping down to a London theatre mid-week and treating yourself to a grown up story time…

Here are my four picks for September.
And Then Come The Nightjars
Theatre503, The Latchmere, 503 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BW
2^nd –26^th September 
Bea Roberts’ And Then Come The Nightjars charts a farm’s struggle to survive the march of history.  It’s a story of enduring friendship, reflecting on the Foot and Mouth epidemic of 2001.  Nightjars sees how, ten years on, scars are still evident on the landscape and also on the relationships of those the disease affected.  This heart-wrenching play explores the devastating effects of the pandemic which saw the slaughter of four million animals, the virtual closure of the countryside and the postponement of a general election.  Bea was one of two playwrights to win the inaugural Theatre503 Playwriting Award – a serious coup with judges on the panel including Dennis Kelly.

Emma 200
Brunswick Square and the surrounding area
10^th –13^th September 
In the 200 years since December 1815 when Jane Austen’s Emma was published, it has become one of the best-loved novels of all time.  To celebrate the bi-centenary of its publication Emma 200 is a weekend mini-festival of talks, performances, exhibitions and more in the leafy surroundings of Brunswick Square.  There’s a screening of the 1996 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, a lecture from Austen scholar Professor John Mullan, a staged reading of a theatrical adaptation, period music and dancing, modern award-winning comedy improvisation group Austentatious, a Saturday of free family activities and entertainment, and much more.  Emma has found a place in everyone’s hearts and this is the perfect time for a bit of Austen indulgence.

Tonight I’m Gonna Be The New Me
Soho Theatre – 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE
7^th –26^th September 
Made In China’s new show, Tonight I’m Gonna Be The New Me, exposes how we conduct our relationships amidst a reality that just won’t live up to what the movies promised.  A woman takes to the stage.  A man watches from the wings.  They both wonder if their love will survive what’s about to happen.  Tonight I’m Gonna Be The New Me is an arresting physical endurance act that crashes headfirst into an impossibly true love story – and out the other side.  Based on the real relationship of its writers, it defies you to watch in spite of yourself. 

The White Feather
Union Theatre, 204 Union Street, London SE1 0LX
16^th September –17^th October 
This new British musical tells the story of one soldier and his suffering and his sister’s lifelong fight for a posthumous pardon; Georgina Briggs’ brother was one of over 300 allied soldiers executed for cowardice during the First World War.  She won’t accept the shame and she won’t let it lie.  But as she fights for justice a shocking discovery awaits her.  Memorials to the soldiers who fought and died in the Great War grace almost every town and village but 306 names are conspicuous by their absence – the men who were executed by their own side.  Some were deserters and others were condemned for putting down their weapons in the course of battle but many were suffering from what we know now as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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