The five shows you must see in September

Dutch Travel Opera, Madama Butterfly (opera), 3 September to 10 October

Dutch sopranos are like footballers. They fly halfway around the world, but are only rarely seen in their own country. Take Annemarie Kremer, nominated in Germany as 'Sängerin des Jahres'. The Nederlandse Reisopera is taking her all over the Netherlands in the role that brought her world fame: the title role of Madama Butterfly. Laurence Dale, at the Reisopera previously responsible for a delightful Il barbiere di Siviglia, resolutely discards all the orientalism that makes traditional staging so dull and brings the opera back to its core. playlist

Alum, Antigone unplugged (stage), from 16 September

With (It sucks to be) Helena Alum made a big impression last year. That performance is part of the trilogy Back from Troy filling in the blanks in the outcome of the Trojan War. Antigone unplugged is not part of it, but is another ancient play, in which the daughter of the deposed king Oidipus opposes Kreon. Without scenery but with Gerard Koolschijn's phenomenal translation. play list

Gnaffel, Grandma, can I have my doll back (youth, 6+), September 19 to December

How do you make youth theatre about such a fraught subject as dementia? By making it precisely not too fraught. Six-year-old Fien adores her grandmother, but watches her become increasingly forgetful, and more and more like a six-year-old. But what if grandma can't remember very much at all? That she can't remember her own name, or that she has forgotten that she is your grandma? Then how do you get your doll back? playlist 

Theatre Group Oostpool, Richard III (stage), 19 September to 17 October

Joeri Vos has already made impressive adaptations of Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet.  Now he plunges into one of Shakespeare's grimmest plays: Richard III. Together with the group of makers with whom he also previously produced the location performances Post Mortem and Buzz Aldrin, where have you gone? made, Vos brings a radical adaptation full of blind ambition, intrigue, manipulation and, above all, a total lack of moral sense. playlist 

Noord Nederlands Toneel & Club Guy & Roni, Snow White (stage), 27 September to 10 December

Forget Disney. What if Snow White woke up from her sleep now? The Noord Nederlands Toneel and Club Guy & Roni show it. Snow White's stepmother only hangs out in front of the mirror, still wanting to get rid of her more than anything else. Help from the dwarves? Forget it, that's a bunch of bigots. And the prince doesn't know what he wants, because he only listens to the audience. Everyone is scared, angry and disgruntled. But what does Snow White herself want? playlist