A dispute which has been rumbling for years between London Underground and The Victoria Palace Theatre has finally been resolved.

The theatre which currently stages the long-running ‘Billy Eliot’ faces Victoria Station. Victoria underground station desperately needs redeveloping to ease congestion and Transport For London intend to give the station a new ticketing hall, escalators and a tunnel in order to ease congestion.

The theatre and the Theatres Trust have been raising concerns that the works would cause major noise disruption and vibration in the auditorium during performances. They were also worried that the works would hamper their own expansion plans.

Everybody was set for a public enquiry but on the day it was due to start, the two parties reached an agreement.

The Underground work which will be completed in 2016 can now go ahead. Assurances have been given to the theatre that no construction will take place during performances and that techniques will be used which should prevent disturbance.

The theatre’s own development work will go ahead in 2016 once the work on the station has finished. The modernisation scheme will see an expansion of the backstage area and refurbishment of the front of house and auditorium.

Meanwhile theatre tickets for ‘Billy Eliot’ continue to sell extremely well.

This year’s Chichester Festival will run at least one month and two shows longer than usual.

The opening show of the season will be an adaptation of playwright Simon Gray’s journals published as the ‘Smoking Diaries’. Simon Gray, who died last August, was known for plays such as ‘Butley’ and ‘Otherwise Engaged’. Felicity Kendall, Jasper Brittain and Nicholas Le Prevost will star. Gray himself and Hugh Whitemore adapted ‘The Last Cigarette’ which will be directed by the former Artistic Director of the National Theatre Richard Eyre. It will run from the 11th March until the 11th April.

Running from the 9th April until the 2nd May is a revival of Noel Coward’s ‘Hay Fever’ which will star Diana Rigg and Simon Williams. Nikolai Foster directs. The play’s last major production was Peter Hall’s in the West End in 2006, which starred Judi Dench.

One of last year’s successes returns to the Minerva Theatre before a West End Transfer. It is a double bill of Ronald Harwood plays, ‘Taking Sides’ and ‘Collaboration’. Both star Michael Pennington, David Horovitch and Isla Blair. They are directed by Philip Franks. It will run from the 28th of April until the 16th of May.

Start deciding which theatre tickets to buy as public booking opens on the 30th of January 2009.

Howard Barker seems to be finding something of a home for those times when only a London show will do. In November a new Barker play was presented at the Arcola Theatre; ‘The Dying of Today’ featured stand-out performances from Duncan Bell and George Irving.

That show was produced by Barker’s own company, The Wrestling School. Now, Iceni Productions in collaboration with the Arcola are to revive one of Barker’s most critically acclaimed plays. ‘Victory: Choices in Reaction’ was originally produced in 1983. It will run from the 4th March to the 4th April.

As with the Arcola’s productions of Ibsen last year, the producers have gone for star names including Matthew Kelly. Kelly has built a good career for himself as a straight actor despite being best known as the presenter of the television show ‘Stars in their Eyes’. Indeed, in 2004 he won an Olivier Award for his performance as Lennie in ‘Of Mice and Men’.

It will also star Geraldine James, whose television credits include ‘The Jewel In The Crown’ and more recently, ‘Little Britain’. Her theatre credits include playing opposite Dustin Hoffman in ‘The Merchant of Venice’, ‘Hedda Gabler’ and Brian Friel’s ‘Faith Healer’.

Also joining the cast is Karl Theobald who is best known for playing Dr Martin Dear in the television show ‘Green Wing’. Theobald also appeared in the West End in 2006 in ‘Donkey’s Years’.

Charlotte Jones has slowly but surely built a reputation as one of our most consistently entertaining playwrights. Like all the best writers, she also manages to produce thought provoking plays even when they’re at their funniest.

Perhaps her best known play to date is ‘Humble Boy’ which premiered at the National Theatre and starred Simon Russell Beale. London Classic Theatre is currently touring with the show. Her other plays include ‘Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis’ and ‘In Flame’.

Charlotte’s first play, ‘Airswimming’ was premiered at 1997 at the Battersea Arts Centre, and it has now been revived. A friend of Charlotte Jones, Anna Mackmin also debuted on that production as a director. She has also gone on to great things. Her productions have included ‘Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship’ for the National Theatre and ‘Dying For It’ by Moira Buffini.

‘Airswimming’ runs until the 15th February at the Courtyard Theatre in North London. It is directed by Gemma Kerr, and stars Katie Cotterell and Helen Bradbury. Katie excelled in one of the best fringe productions of 2008, ‘Weapons of Happiness’ at the Finborough, but she is perhaps best known for playing WPC Smothers in the Dawn French comedy ‘Wild West’. Helen’s credits include ‘A Month in the Country’ and ‘Northanger Abbey’ at the Salisbury Playhouse.