As we head into June, the relentless parade of theatre openings continues unabated, with a significant opening (or two) every single weekday night in London, let alone beyond it.

It’s no wonder my theatrical diary is always constantly full. And as I repeatedly remind myself (and you), it’s not that I’m complaining. It’s great to have the choice. But it does put pressure not just on my personal diary but also the shows themselves, fighting for coverage and audiences.

Tonight (June 3) we have a West End run for the West End Men, officially opening a 4 week season at the Vaudeville, and offering a showcase for the talents of five of them: Lee Mead, Matt Willis, Glenn Carter, David Thaxton and Stephen Rahman-Hughes, plus a West End Lady, Kerry Ellis (who just last month headlined her own show at the Palladium, so is now downsizing again!) What’s interesting is that they’re all working actors, not stars in their own right (though Willis had a stint as part of the three-man boyband Busted that also included James Bourne, who last year returned to the West End himself as composer of the short-lived Loserville), but I’ve seen all of them do great work, not least David Thaxton in the Donmar’s Passion and Glenn Carter most recently in the Southwark Playhouse’s Floyd Collins, that make me definitely want to see them each again.

And I’ll coincidentally be going straight to the West End Men from teaching at ArtsEd, where the West End Men (and women) of tomorrow are being born! It’s such a pleasure of my working life that I do this, too.

On Tuesday (June 4), I’ll be at the opening of Simon Godwin’s new production of Eugene O’Neill’s epic Strange Interlude at the National’s Lyttelton Theatre – trimmed down from a running time that should clock in at over five hours to three and a half. It brings Anne-Marie Duff back to the National for the first time since she played the title role in St Joan, and as she told the Evening Standard last week:

I’d been yearning to do something Ibsen-esque and in some ways this is better. It’s similar but has this weird, expressionistic challenge to it as well. I think American drama is at its best when it takes the domestic and makes it epic, like a Greek tragedy in the front room.

Nick Curtis also reports that she initially thought it was beyond her.

But some things come along and there’s an inevitability to them. Even if you hang yourself, you have to have a go.

Also on Tuesday, Canadian actress and comedienne Rebecca Northan brings her intriguing-sounding improvisatory comedy Blind Date to the Charing Cross Theatre, in which she embarks on a spontaneous date with a member of the audience every night. The producers include Broadway’s Kevin McCollum, behind such shows as Rent, Avenue Q, The Drowsy Chaperone and In the Heights; he knows how to back a winner, so there’s an endorsement in itself.

And one more on Tuesday: one of my favourite cabaret singer-songwriters Amanda McBroom begins a week-long residency at Crazy Coqs. I obviously can’t get there on Tuesday, but I know I’ll be there before the week is out – there are late shows on Fridays and Saturdays when I can catch up!

On Wednesday (June 5), Northern Broadsides bring their Jonathan Miller-directed production of Gita Sowerby’s Rutherford & Son to the St James, with the company’s artistic director Barrie Rutter in the lead role of John Rutherford. I missed this on tour, so I am looking forward to catching up with it now.

Also on Wednesday, Belarus Free Theatre come to the Young Vic with Trash Cuisine, a new production that challenges the use of capital punishment in modern society. Belarus is the last country in Europe to still use the death penalty, keeping company with 94 other countries across the world. Banned from performing openly in their home country, Belarus Free Theatre (founded in 2005) weave together real-life testimonies with extracts of Shakespeare’s tragedies, live music and dance to challenge the justification behind the continued use of capital punishment.

On Thursday (June 6), Tom Littler directs Michael Pennington and Linda Marlowe in the world premiere of the prolific Howard Brenton’s new adaptation of Strindberg’s Dances of Death at the Gate Theatre.

Also on Thursday, The Woman in Black enters its 25th year in the West End, during which time it has been seen by over 7 million people. Sometimes the smallest sleeper hits can have the longest lives…

On Friday (June 7), off-Broadway’s the TEAM bring their 2011 Edinburgh hit Mission Drift to the National’s The Shed. It is directed by Rachel Chavkin, who is currently represented in New York by the electro-pop, site-specific hit musical Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.