The Superstitious Magic Show

The beguiling Richard Leigh is your magician in residence with an equal mix of precision and fast-paced tricks. His stage magic is big and bold. This is a show that has more than the wave of the wand, with themed magic covering topics of superstition, and good and bad luck. It’s Richard’s 13th sensational year in residency at the Barons Court Theatre with his magic shows.

The Barons Court Theatre, 28A Comeragh Road, W14 9HR, Friday, January 13, 2.30pm. Details: 020 8932 4747

The Tempest

On a distant island a man waits. Robbed of his position, power and wealth, his enemies have left him in isolation. But this is no ordinary man; Prospero is a magician, able to control the very elements and bend nature to his will. When a sail appears on the horizon, he reaches out across the ocean to the ship that carries the men who wronged him. Creating a vast magical storm he wrecks the ship and washes his enemies up on the shore. When they wake they find themselves lost on a fantastical island where nothing is as it seems. The Tempest will be brought to life on the Royal Shakespeare Company stage with the help of Andy Serkis’ Imaginarium, featuring some of today’s most advanced technology in a bold reimagining of this magical play. Simon Russell Beale returns to the RSC to play Prospero.

Chelmsford City Theatres, Fairfield Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1JG, Wednesday, January 18, 7pm. Details: 01245 606505

Ulla’s Odyssey

Fourteen-year-old Ulla is attempting to become the youngest person to sail the world single-handedly in her trusty sailing boat, ‘The Homer’. All is not plain sailing, as she encounters mythical creatures and obstacles on her journey, including Cy-ops, a one-eyed robotic customs official, and Sylla, a dangerous sea creature whose body and mind have been horribly twisted by radioactive rubbish dumped into the ocean. Meanwhile the voices of the Sirens, Ulla’s friends and family, call out to her from across the waves, tempting her to give up and come home. This new opera is an enchanting nautical fantasy by New Zealand composer Anthony Young and Canadian librettist Leanna Brodie.

Redbridge Drama Centre, Churchfields, South Woodford, E18 2RB, Thursday, February 2, 1.30pm and 4.45pm. Details: 020 8708 8800