Firstly: Wicked fans can rejoicify! The show has reached its 6th birthday today. One of my favourite West End shows, Wicked seems like such a fantastic fixture in the West End, I thought it might’ve been around for longer. If you haven’t seen this great musical yet, you should book now! Here’s to the next six years…

The second piece of exciting news is from the Gielgud Theatre, looking ahead to next year. From 15 February, Helen Mirren will be starring in Peter Morgan’s new play The Audience at the venue. The play examines one of the most fascinating meetings in British public life; the weekly discussion between the Queen and the Prime Minister. From Winston Churchill to David Cameron, The Audience imagines what might have been said in those pivotal meetings over the years, the confessions and questions from Prime Ministers, and the advice, suggestions and occasional teasing offered by the Queen. This will be Mirren’s second time playing the monarch; she won an Oscar, Golden Globe and a BAFTA for her portrayal of Elizabeth II in Morgan’s silver screen offering The Queen.

Finally, if you’re thinking ahead to Christmas, there’s an exciting-sounding new Punchdrunk show coming to East London’s Discover Children’s Story Centre from 29 November. Called The House Where Winter Lives, the show will transform the Stratford venue’s basement into a “magical frozen forest” for the delight of three to six year-olds.

London Theatre Cast News:

• Downton Abbey’s Matt Milne joins the cast of Tennessee Williams’ The Hotel Plays in a unique staging at the Grange Holborn Hotel from 4 October
• Actor and comedian Julian Barratt, best known for appearing opposite Noel Fielding in The Mighty Boosh, is appearing in the Royal Court’s NSFW from 25 October.