Love Goddess is at the Cockpit

RITA Hayworth thrilled studio executives and movie-goers in 1940s/50s Hollywood, but struggled to identify with her bombshell image. She married and divorced five times in her search for a partner who loved her for who she truly was. In Almog Pail & Stephen Garvey’s musical, Love Goddess, Orson Welles, Fred Astaire, Harry Cohn and other famous figures are presented through the fractured prism of Hayworth’s deteriorating memory. Featuring original music by composer-lyricist & Broadway pianist, Logan Medland, five actor-singers portray over 40 characters. Cockpit Theatre, to Dec 23. thecockpit.org.uk

• John Nicholson’s The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary! is at Jermyn Street Theatre until Dec 17. Inspired by Flaubert’s masterpiece, Emma Bovary is bored with her doctor husband and provincial life. She’s fed up of being a dutiful wife in 19th-century France. Emma reads novels where life is considerably more riotous… Four actors battle mishaps and misbehaving props to tell the (massively) tragic story of Madame Bovary. jermynstreettheatre.co.uk

• One of London’s longest established amateur dramatic societies, The Hampstead Players’ latest production is Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit at Hampstead Parish Church, Church Row, NW3 until Nov 26. When writer Charles Condomine invites local medium, Madame Arcati, to hold a seance at his house, he gets more than he bargained for. hampsteadplayers.org.uk

• On The Line is at Camden People’s Theatre from Nov 29-Dec 3. It explores the experiences of Gen-Z and their response to the current crises we’re living through. The play was developed from an original idea shared by two Camden teenagers (Cheyanne Thomson and Emily Johnston, aged just 17 when writing the piece). The story is based on their experiences, with a soundtrack by their favourite Drill and Pop artists. cptheatre.co.uk

• Futures Festival at the Pleasance Theatre showcases work-in-progress from leading independent performance makers. Each week features three different shows exploring a theme of our current times. It kicks off with Biosphere, based on a 1991 experiment. The Biosphere, an artificial, enclosed set of ecosystems, was designed to replicate the earth’s delicate balance. A glass ark, into which four scientists are sealed. Olivia Foan’s play examines truth, heroes and choice in the digital Holocene. Nov 30-Dec 3. pleasance.co.uk

• Popular Hampstead venue, the Pentameters, above the Horseshoe pub, opens its doors for a short run of Ranjit Bolt’s Mirandolina, translated from the original work by Carlo Goldoni and directed by Colin Gregory. A female innkeeper juggles and manipulates the affections of the various noble gentlemen who are her patrons. From Nov 30-Dec 3. theatreinthesquare.org

• Christmas arrives early at the Hackney Empire with Will Brenton’s family show, Mother Goose, written, directed, and starring Clive Rowe. The mother of all pantomimes about a magical goose who lays golden eggs runs until Dec 31. hackneyempire.co.uk