What's On: Further afield - first nights

SATIRE
Amongst Friends
Hampstead Theatre

Helen Baxendale and James Dreyfus, pictured, star in a new darkly comic satire, Amongst Friends, which opens on Tuesday (previews from today) at the Hampstead Theatre, along the Jubilee line near Swiss Cottage.

Journalist Lara (Baxendale) and her ex-MP and crime writer husband Richard (Aden Gillett) are happy and successful. Having moved to a fashionable gated community they invite their old neighbours Caitlin (Emma Cunniffe) and Joe (Dreyfus) to dinner.

When the security system fails an uninvited guest (Vicki Pepperdine) descends and the dinner party takes quite a different turn...

The comedy, directed by Anthony Clark, is penned by April De Angelis whose previous work includes Catch, Hush and Wild East for the Royal Court.

Helen Baxendale (Cold Feet, Friends) was last on stage in Swimming With Sharks with Christian Slater and James Dreyfus is best known for his TV sitcom roles in The Thin Blue Line and Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.

Tickets are £15-£25. Go to hampsteadtheatre.com

DRAMA
Aunt Dan And Lemon
Downstairs at the Royal Court

Jane Horrocks plays Lemon in Aunt Dan And Lemon, opening on May 27 (previews from May 20) in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court.

The staging, under the direction of Dominic Corke, forms part of a season celebrated US writer Wallace Shawn, who has frequently premiered his works at the Royal Court.

Lemon recollects the antics, words and work of her favourite aunt, Aunt Dan, a brilliant but dangerous woman who shared all the most intimate and daring secrets of her decadent, exotic world. The play explores the pathways of influence, the glamour of cruelty and the shadow side of nostalgia.Tickets range from £10-£25.

The Wallace Shawn season includes readings, plays and a conversation with the writer himself.

Go to royalcourttheatre.com

COMEDY
All's Well That Ends Well
Olivier Theatre, National

Set against a backdrop of sexism, snobbery and a battle between the generations, this Shakespeare comedy turns fairytale logic on its head in a bittersweet story.

The cast includes Clare Higgins, Conleth Hill, Oliver Ford Davies, Michelle Terry and Janet Henfrey. Tickets cost £10-£35 on the production that begins on May 28, with previews on now.

Go to nationaltheatre.org.uk