The Entertainer

Archie Rice is a failing music hall performer at the end of his career, a living anachronism. His family is in crisis. He's in crisis. The political situation is rotten through and through. The England he's familiar with - the old order - has disappeared. It won't be back, and he's mightily fed up with the whole thing. This is just one of five top class plays presented by Kenneth Branagh's brand new theatre company, made up of a group of top home-grown acting stars and respected technical talent. And the plays are all on stage at the Garrick theatre between autumn 2015 and November 2016.

Branagh is joined by Rob Brydon, Judi Dench, Lily James, Richard Madden and more to deliver a mouthwatering series of plays. This one is packed with big emotions, a driving contemporary drama with a genuinely shocking ending. Casual bigotry blends with out-of-date attitudes to race and sexuality, the encouragement of mediocrity, support for sexism, acceptable tax avoidance and a host more nasties that were typical of the times and belong firmly in the past. As the family falls apart, Archie falls apart with them. Powerful stuff, disturbing and eye-opening, it's definitely not to be missed!