Top 5 theatre shows to see this week (August 5-11)

Total Immediate Collective Imminent Terrestrial Salvation – Festival Theatre Studio, Edinburgh

Writer and theatrical experimenter Tim Crouch presents a new piece for the National Theatre of Scotland that combines performance and text. It opens at Edinburgh International Festival on August 7.

8 Hotels  – Minerva Theatre, Chichester

Tory Kittles plays Paul Robeson, the African-American singer, actor and activist, in Nicholas Wright’s new play 8 Hotels, directed by Richard Eyre at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre. It opens on August 7.

Evita – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London

Following stagings of Jesus and Joseph, the summer of Lloyd Webber continues with Jamie Lloyd’s new production of arguably the composer’s most accomplished musical. US singer and actor Samantha Pauly, plays Eva Peron. The show opens on August 8.

Guards at the Taj – Theatre by the Lake, Keswick

The final studio show of Theatre by the Lake’s summer season is Kash Arshad’s production of Rajiv Joseph’s play about two men overseeing the construction of the Taj Mahal, previously staged in the UK at the Bush Theatre. It opens on August 8.

Roots – Church Hill Theatre, Edinburgh

1927, whose innovative fusions of animation, music and performance includes Golem, and The Animals and Children Took to the Streets, present the European premiere of a new work as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. It opens on August 10.

The Animals and Children Took to the Streets review at Lyric Hammersmith – ‘cleverly designed, but tone-deaf’