Dublin Carol Conor McPherson's eagerly awaited new one now previews at the Old Vic in January before reopening the Royal Court.

Celebration and The Room Harold Pinter's most recent play is partnered by his very first in a juicy Almeida duo in March starring Lindsay Duncan and Lia Williams.

Richard II and Coriolanus Ralph Fiennes plays Shakespeare's weakest king and butchest Roman in April's Almeida pairing at the Gainsborough Studios, London.

Richard II An embarrassment of Richards? One hopes not as Sam West plays the king for the RSC, kicking off an ambitious two-year History cycle.

The Cherry Orchard Vanessa and Corin Redgrave switch from Coward to Chekhov in the National's latest airing of an elegiac masterpiece.

Cuckoos Peter Hall directs a new Italian play at the tiny Gate in London, translated by Colin Teevan, fresh from Marathon.

The Force of Change Gary (Trust) Mitchell tackles the RUC at the Royal Court Upstairs in what is bound to be one of the year's headline plays.

Mr Heracles Poet Simon Armitage's first play gets its autumn premiere at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

The Witches of Eastwick In May Cameron Mackintosh produces the year's big Drury Lane musical - a diabolical Updike hero invades suburban New England.

Virtual Reality Alan Ayckbourn's gift to the millennium and to Scarborough is a comedy about communication problems in a hi-tech age.