Catching Comets at the Pleasance. Photo: Sophie Giddens

• Sprint Festival opens at Camden People’s Theatre on September 9 with BÉZNĂ’s The People’s Trial on Crimes of Aggression: Afghanistan Sessions, a hugely topical three-day event focusing on the 20th anniversary of Brit­ain’s involvement in the War on Terror. Free. www.cptheatre.co.uk

• The Wishing Tree by Joseph Coelho is at Little Angel Theatre until September 26. Ben has just moved to a new estate. It’s miles away from his old friends, his old school and his grandma’s house. But when Mum sends him out to explore, he unwittingly finds himself on a quest to rescue a missing tree of wishes. Coelho’s play incorporates ideas from Islington children and explores the importance of friendship and helping those in need. littleangeltheatre.com/the-wishing-tree/

• Ransack Theatre multi­dimensional mash-up Catching Comets is both a disaster movie about falling in love and a rom-com about the end of the world. Toby recounts the time he saw a comet shooting towards Earth. When nobody takes his warning seriously, he panics, transforms into a blockbuster action hero and embarks on a fantasy mission to protect the world. However, Toby is no hero; most of the time, he’s scared. Alastair Michael’s one-man show is at the Pleasance Theatre from September 14-19, pleasance.co.uk/event/catching-comets-1#overview

• NW Trilogy at the Kiln Theatre comprises three stories set in north west London that celebrate people who changed the course of history. In Moira Buffini’s Dance Floor, the Guinness flows and the music never stops, but for homesick Aoife, there’s far more at stake than a dance. In Roy Williams’ Life of Riley, Paulette is on a journey to connect with her estranged father Riley, a reggae musician who can’t let go of the past. Suhayla El-Bushra’s Waking/Walking introduces us to Anjali, a wife, mother and newly arrived migrant following Idi Amin’s expulsion of the Asian minority from Uganda, who is torn between not making a fuss and seizing her moment to take a stand as the Grunwick dispute unfolds. Until October 9. kilntheatre.com

• I’m looking forward to teaching Theatre Appreciation at the Working Men’s College from September 21.
We’ll watch five shows filmed live by the National Theatre: Polly Findlay’s electric production of Sophocles’ Antigone starring Jodie Whittaker and Christopher Eccleston; Andrew Upton’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s classic The Cherry Orchard, directed by Howard Davies and starring Zoe Wana­maker and Kenneth Cranham; The Young Vic’s acclaimed production of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, starring Gillian Anderson; Simon Stone’s sellout production of Lorca’s Yerma starring Billie Piper; Andrea Levy’s epic novel Small Island, adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson; and Rufus Norris’s new musical wonder.land by Moira Buffini, inspired by Lewis Carroll.
We will discuss the plays, their contemporary resonance and the stagecraft. Discussion will be guided by learner interests but might include costume, history of theatre, a play’s wider themes and the role of the audience. www.wmcollege.ac.uk/course-detail/theatre-appreciation/22162/22162