With the incredible variety of theatre shows available each and every year in London, it’s pretty near impossible to select just five to get excited about for 2011! So I’ve gone for five big shows with big star names for this year’s recommendations.

Autograph books ready: London’s stages are going to be even more star-studded than usual in the coming year!

• The Children’s Hour, from 22 Jan
  Keira Knightley returns to the West End alongside Elisabeth Moss from Mad Men (making her West End debut) in a stunning 1930s drama about the power of lies.
• Frankenstein, from 5 Feb
  The National Theatre welcomes BOTH Benedict Cumberbatch AND Jonny Lee Miller (swoon!), directed by Danny Boyle in a trio of big-name talent. This has to be my pick of the spring plays in London…
• Blithe Spirit, from 2 Mar
  With Alison Steadman, Hermione Norris, Robert Bathhurst and Ruthie Henshall, this Noel Coward comedy at the Apollo is dripping with stars.
• Richard III, from 29 Jun
  Artistic director Kevin Spacey takes to the Old Vic stage this summer as Shakespeare’s nastiest villain, Richard III. It’s part of the Bridge Project for 2011, and is directed by acclaimed American Beauty director Sam Mendes. And we can’t wait
• Hamlet, winter 2011
  With no more details than that, Michael Sheen fans are going to have keep their ears to the ground around the Young Vic for more news of when this fantastic actor is going to take on Shakespeare’s finest role, with top director Jez Butterworth at the helm. Excited doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about this show…

Which theatre shows are you looking forward to in 2011? Let us know in the comments below.

Something a little different for September: Theatre Souk is going to make you think about money: how you get it, how you spend it, what it means, and how a new artistic economy might work.

Located in the former offices of the Uzbekistan Airways, just off Oxford Street, Theatre Souk offers interactive theatre performances to challenge and entertain you: some are one-to-one shows, others feature puppets, and there are 20 in all. Or you can just relax in the cabaret bar. Theatre Souk is presented by the fabulous TheatreDelicatessen, well known for exploring text-based theatre, and creating interesting immersive performances with ensemble casts.

So, on to this week’s cast news. Rising star Harry Treadaway returns to the Royal Court in October, in Nina Raine’s second play Tribes. Harry plays Daniel, a boy suffering in an argumentative, unconventional family, with a deaf brother. Last seen in the West End winning critical acclaim for his performance in Ibsen’s Ghosts, Harry has been at the Royal Court before too: starring opposite his twin brother Luke in Mark Ravenhill’s Over There.

From rising stars to big hitters: Sir Antony Sher’s returning to the London stage next month in Arthur Miller’s Broken Glass at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn. Sir Antony will play Philip Gellburg in Miller’s story of a Jewish couple living in 1938 New York;  the same time Kristallnacht occurs in Nazi Germany. The events in Germany have a profound effect on the couple…  Antony stars alongside Nigel Lindsay and Lucy Cohu.

And finally, Kevin Spacey is reuniting with American Beauty director Sam Mendes to play Richard III at the Old Vic in 2012. It’ll be the third and final instalment of The Bridge Project, so will also be performed in New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music. Let’s not forget last time these two worked together they both won academy awards… Never mind the Olympics Opening Ceremony, here’s a really hot ticket for 2012!

Sam Mendes, who used to be Artistic Director at the Donmar, and whose film work includes Revolutionary Road and Road To Perdition, said, “I am absolutely delighted to be working with Kevin again for the first time since American Beauty, and I am doubly thrilled that he will be leading year three of The Bridge Project. Richard III is a play I love, and a role I think Kevin is born to play.”

Exciting stuff.

We head to the Old Vic for this week’s video recommendation. The wonderful Kevin Spacey stars in Inherit The Wind, a fab courtroom drama about the freedom of thought.

When it opened in September this year, the show got some great reviews. It’s currently running until 20 December. If this little snippet whets your appetite, book your tickets now. You won’t be disappointed.