Lyn Gardner's Weekly Picks
Published on 14 September 2026
This is the third time that Rob Madge’s My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do) has berthed in the West End, this time taking up residence at the Apollo. This solo musical deserves its place amidst much bigger and better resourced work. It is a David among the Goliaths and a thing of real camp joy, which reminds us that dressing up and making a song and dance can be a great way to approach life. Particularly if you grow up feeling different. From an early age Madge loved performing in the living room and roping his family into the proceedings. There were full-scale Disney parades and key scenes from beloved movies. Fortunately, his dad was on hand to catch it all on home videos. Those videos are brilliantly utilised here in a show that celebrates parenting with love and understanding.
A great season ahead at the Kiln Theatre, which includes a revival of Natasha Gordon’s Nine Night later in the year. But first draw up your seats for Table 17, where Jada (Marisha Wallace, so great in Nick Hytner’s Guys and Dolls) and Dallas (Jamael Westman) are dining, the first time since they broke off their engagement. Douglas Lyon’s rom-com was an off-Broadway hit helped by the fact that some in the audience get to sit at cabaret-style tables, enhancing the sense that we are eavesdropping on the couple as they relive their shared past and look to the future. That will be the case at the Kiln too for the UK premiere of the show that tickled New York audience
Three Men in a Boat is a brilliant choice for the Rose Theatre Kingston, situated on the bank of the Thames. Because Jermone K. Jerome’s late Victorian comic novel tells of three friends who set off by rowing boat from Kingston upon Thames for a journey to Oxford. It is a story of terrible food, terrible weather, a wretched tin of pineapple, the lazy joy of messing about in boats, and friendship. Oh, and there is a dog, Montmorency. I’ve always thought that it is a book with real potential for theatrical reinvention and the bonus here is that it comes in a stage version by Al Smith, has original songs by Grant Olding, and is directed by Christopher Haydon. That combination floats my boat.
It’s not too early to be thinking of festive treats and if you are looking for a fairytale with a twist, look no further than Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella at Sadler's Wells. This is one ball you will want to attend. It’s 30 years since Bourne’s rewriting of the story—which relocates it to wartime Britain—was first seen in the West End. It is a lovely show which comes with bags of sly humour, witty dance, a colourful cast of eccentrics, gorgeous designs (thank you again, Lez Brotherston) and a real emotional subtext which excavates the mindset of love in times of war.
By Lyn Gardner
Lyn Gardner is an acclaimed theatre journalist and former critic with decades of experience covering British theatre, from off-West End and fringe theatre to major West End productions.