Top 5 theatre shows to see this week (January 13-19)

Scrounger – Finborough Theatre, London

Athena Stevens stars in her new play about the realities of living as a disabled person in the UK and the difficulty of seeking justice when an airline destroys your wheelchair. It runs from January 7-February 1.

Athena Stevens: Targets must be set for disabled actors’ West End inclusion

Cuttin’ It – Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

Nickie Miles-Wildin directs a new production of Charlene James’ acclaimed, Critics’ Circle award-winning play about female genital mutilation in modern Britain. It opens in the Royal Exchange’s studio on January 13.

Hermon Berhane and Asha Hassan in rehearsals for Cuttin' It. Photos: Anneka Morley

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Les Misérables – Sondheim Theatre, London

Cameron Mackintosh’s staging of the mighty Schönberg-Boublil musical returns to the West End, to the theatre now called the Sondheim, in a new production controversially sans-revolve. Will it spark a revolution? It opens officially on January 16.

Actor saves Les Mis on opening night in newly renovated venue with just two hours’ rehearsal

The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel – Wilton’s Music Hall, London

Part of the London International Mime Festival, this show from Told by an Idiot and Theatre Royal Plymouth explores the relationship between former music hall performers Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin in their pre-fame days. It runs from January 14-18.

Jerone Marsh-Reid: ‘As a British-Caribbean actor, I was surprised to be auditioning to play Stan Laurel’

The King and I – Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

The touring production of Bartlett Sher’s acclaimed Lincoln Center staging of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical plays the Wales Millennium Centre from January 8-18. Our critic called it “sumptuous and carnally charged”.

The King and I review at Manchester Opera House – ‘pitch-perfect performances’