New play The Riots will open the season on 17 November, written by Tricycle theatre regular Gillian Slovo. Slovo worked with Kent on the hugely acclaimed Guantanamo – Honor Bound To Defend Freedom. The Riots uses accounts from police, victims, onlookers, politicians, teachers, lawyers and community victims to explore what happened in London this summer and why.

The Bomb – A Partial History closes the season, running from 9 February to 1 April, and features a number of playwrights creating short pieces inspired by a central theme. Sandwiched in between is the Olivier Award-winning comedy Stones In His Pockets, directed by another regular at the Tricycle, Indhu Rubasingham.

Second, news of a new musical at the fantastic Menier Chocolate Factory. Pippin is a Tony Award-winning show by Stephen Schwartz with a coming-of-age storyline. It was first staged on Broadway in 1972, featuring Bob “Chicago” Fosse choreography. This new production is directed by Mitch Sebastian who promises to incorporate Fosse’s original choreography into his “high-concept” show. It all sounds very exciting, and I can’t wait to bring you some cast news!

Talking of casting, here’s the latest:

• TV Costume drama regular Warren Clarke plays Winston Churchill in Ben Brown’s Three Days in May at the Trafalgar Studios from the end of October
• Younger readers will recognise Ben Hanson as Bouncer from the CBBC show Tracey Beaker. This Christmas he’ll be leading the cast of Lazy Elf at the Arts Theatre from 10 to 22 December
• Two Legally Blonde stars, Simon Thomas and Siobhan Dillon, are to appear in Ex at the Soho Theatre from 10 November. They’re joined by Amy Booth-Steel and Gabriel Vick
• Finally, Craig Warnock is the new Perks in The Railway Children at the Waterloo Station Theatre, following a turn as the famous station master in the Toronto production of the show

More next week…

Today I went back to the old Eurostar terminal at London’s Waterloo. It immediately brought back memories of boozy fashion press trips to Paris, when I worked in a different job…

This trip was much more wholesome. This summer, one of the old Eurostar platforms is being transformed into a stage. Above it, a huge tunnel-like canopy will keep most of the noise of the station out, and provide the backdrop for an exciting, site-specific children’s theatre show: The Railway Children.

The star of the show is Stirling Single, a real steam locomotive, which’ll appear from a tunnel at a dramatic moment, pulling a carriage, its pistons gleaming, atmospheric steam adding to the theatrical tension. I can’t wait.

Other sections of the old Eurostar station are being transformed for the show too. So while you’re waiting for the play to start, you can browse an exhibition all about E Nesbit’s original book, the history of the railways, the Railway Children Charity, and the setting of the play: Yorkshire.

While you might think older railway sites like Shunt at London Bridge would’ve been a better fit for a story published in 1906, I think The Railway Children Live at Waterloo Station will make excellent use of the space. And there’s certainly something to be said for using a more modern site: nightly audiences of around 900 will be able to choose from 1,800 Eurostar toilets! A luxury you don’t often get at the theatre in London…

It sounds like it’s going to be one of the family theatre events of the summer.

The Railway Children opens at the Waterloo Station Theatre on 4 July. Book your tickets now