With Michaelmas term upon us, it’s time to rush that last minute reading, finally buy some new cutlery for the kitchen, and of equal importance, because some of us spend way more time in this place than we do in our kitchens or libraries, plan our theatre diaries for the next nine weeks! The ADC, Corpus Playroom and college-housed auditoriums are offering a vast array of dramas, comedies and musicals to keep us busy this term. Varsity has picked out the most promising productions for each week so you don’t have to!

Week 0

ADC headliner: This production of Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew is back in Cambridge after touring the United States over the summer. Incorporating music, dance and laughs galore, as a well as a familiar cast, to explore the issues of marriage and gender roles in the late sixteenth century it’s set to be a good start to the term.

Look out for: Launch, a play on the edge of an apocalyptic world at Corpus Playroom; The Footlights International Tour Show: Love Handles at the ADC if you missed it at the end of last year – guaranteed belly laughs!

Week 1

ADC late show: Pippin has been all over social media this summer and with a glowing review from Varsity’s Genevieve Cox, this musical definitely seems worth staying up for!

Also catch: the ADC’s headline show Amadeus which details the politics of Mozart’s talent, as well as The Comedy of Errors, another Shakespearean comedy this time from the Pembroke Players at Corpus, which, after touring Japan, is to take on Cambridge.

Week 2

ADC headliner: A good week for the ADC as its late show The Master and Margarita, a play about humanity and morality in twentieth century Moscow, is set to impress.

Keep an eye on: Tristram Shandy: Live at the ADC! brings to life the eccentrically enigmatic Sterne classic with a talented comedic cast. There’s also a special event at King’s College Chapel entitled These Walls which celebrates the building’s anniversary in a fittingly beautiful way.

Week 3

ADC headliner: Another addition to the list of adaptations this term, Frankenstein focuses on the eponymous characters monstrous creation.

Don’t miss: It’s a busy one for the Cambridge theatre scene, with marriage comedy Private Lives. There’s also the thrilling retelling of Cicero’s life – Pro Patria Mori, as well as up-and-coming comedy talent in Quinoa: A Middle Class Sketch Show at Pembroke New Cellars.

Week 4

ADC late show: Living Quarters is the RSC/ Marlowe Society award-winning production about hangover-induced amnesia and the detective quest after a particularly intoxicated night out.

As well as: The ADC’s Tribes sounds amusing on the surface but hints at an emotional side sure to grip audiences. Corpus will host Free Fall – a story of a bridge, an employee and a suicide attempt, as well as Killer Joe which has a prize-winning script and a talented cast at its core.

Week 5

ADC headliner: The Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society takes the classic tale of Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and it looks to be a show of epic proportions if the production team is anything to judge by!

Remember: Yearwalk at the ADC intrigues with its mysterious delve into folklore, and The Fastest Clock in the Universe at Corpus looks sure to momentarily stop time with its quest for eternal youth.

Week 6

Corpus steals the spotlight: Frozen explores the connections made between people by unknown things; sure to be full of murder and grittiness.

The ADC offers: Coram Boy, taking us into eighteenth century England. Check out As You Like It at Downing’s Howard Theatre and The Pirates of Penzance at Robinson, as well!

Week 7

Corpus has it again: 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche at the Corpus Playroom is about as absurdist as it gets: five widows, nuclear threat, and an egg-based snack. Themes of sisterhood and sexuality vow to bring this play together.

Also get tickets for: Spilt Milk, a comedy of ‘udder chaos’ about milk prices is the late show at the ADC. The Corpus Playroom is also offering The Effect where love and lust are the side-effects of modern medicine.

Week 8

ADC headliner: The annual CUADC/Footlights Panto production brings us Robin Hood this year. Full of old favourites like Maid Marian and the sheriff, as well as new laughs, the pantomime is one of the term’s must-sees!

Last of the term: A homage to the late Terry Pratchett, a previous Footlights director brings the genius of Discworld and the beauty of opera together on the ADC stage in Maskerade.