Katherine MacAlister eyes some of the best shows heading this way

We all need something to look forward to in the year ahead, so here are the flagged-up shows of 2014 coming to a theatre or venue near you.

CREATION THEATRE
Macbeth at Lady Margaret Hall, August.

The first date in Creation’s summer Shakespeare line-up is this open-air classic performed in the Oxford University college’s gardens.

PEGASUS THEATRE
The Price of Everything, May 22–24.

Daniel Bye’s whistle-stop tour of bizarre facts and extraordinary stories, an occasionally shambolic and often misguided performance-lecture, stand-up, storytelling piece asking questions such as: How much is beauty worth? What will people pay for an air guitar on eBay? Can I have a glass of milk? Daniel will, over a week with other performers, create a short improvised show The Six’o’Clock News on May 24.

The Rockpool, May 15-16.

This children’s show for ages three+ has been described as Waiting For Godot for small people. When a big storm whips up the sea, two very different creatures are left stranded in an isolated rock pool, meaning prawn and crab have to join forces to work out how to get home. Funny, tender, exuberant, partially submerged theatre from award-winning company Inspector Sands.

Martin Luther King Day, January 24.

Celebrated through music, film and dance, Pegasus is screening the film, Freedom Riders, when 400 black and white Americans travelled together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South, sorely testing their belief in non-violent activism.

CORNERSTONE, DIDCOT
Dracula, February 7.

Dracula includes specially commissioned live music and innovative design in this powerful piece which brings to life 1897’s Transylvania. Bram Stoker’s timeless Gothic thriller embodies the struggle to resist temptation.

CHIPPING NORTON THEATRE
Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer, March 19

This multi award-winning piece of ‘theatrical magic’ is a one-man micro-epic about enduring love and the end of the world set in the deepest dark blue sea.

Emily The Making of a Militant Suffragette, April 9

Emily Wilding Davidson died under the galloping hooves of King George’s Derby horse in 1913, campaigning for what she believed in. This is her story.

OXFORD PLAYHOUSE
Ayckbourn Ensemble, February 3-8.

Three world premieres and a major new revival, all performed by one ensemble company includes Arrivals & Departures — Ayckbourn’s newest play, a heartfelt comic drama set in a rail terminus, Time of My Life — a family’s celebration in their favourite restaurant with unforeseen consequences, and Farcicals — a double bill of two new frivolously fun farces.

The Night Ball, March 3 and 4.

balletLORENT return to Oxford with a thrilling new dance event in the stunning setting of the ballroom in the Town Hall. After the performances, audience members have the chance to throw their own moves or be partnered by one of the professional dancers.

NEW THEATRE
Ghost, February 25–March 8.

The smash hit West End musical is a timeless fantasy about the power of love. Sam is trapped as a ghost between this world and the next trying to communicate with girlfriend Molly through a phoney psychic in the hope of saving her from his murderer. Paul Hollywood Live — Get Your Bake On! May 9 TV’s baking star Paul Hollywood brings his first live show to Oxford for an evening of baking, comedy and fun.

Joan Rivers, Quick…Before They Close the Lid (Seriously…this one could be IT!), October 8

International treasure, renowned comedienne, Emmy-winning television talk-show host, Tony-nominated actress, best-selling author, playwright and global TV favourite, wears her stand-up head with her unique gift of humour.

THE NORTH WALL
Ballad of the Burning Star, Feb 13-14

This multi award-winning musical play has been described as “a theatrical hand grenade”, hardly surprising considering its cabaret-style depiction of the conflicted Jewish State. It comes armed with music, killer heels and a lethal troop of divas, as an enraged Israeli executes a story of victimhood, persecution, aggression and love.

GLEE CLUB, OXFORD
Andrew Lawrence: There Is No Escape, March 9

Andrew is as popular a voice on radio as he is a face on television; his primetime Radio 4 show, How Did We End Up Like This? and What To Do If You’re Not Like Everybody Else were both enormously popular. So see him in person.

BURTON TAYLOR STUDIO, OXFORD
SCRATCH! January 16-17.

A preview performance of arch-surrealist Boothby Graffoe’s new show. Join him for a typically skewed look at the weird little world of the UK Lottery scratchcard.