HAIR, the original rock musical, could be back in the West End next year.

The producers of the current successful Broadway revival, which opened in March, have already recouped their investment and are eying a possible transatlantic transfer to either the Piccadilly or Cambridge theatres, towards the end of 2010.

The landmark show was last seen in London in a sell-out run at Notting Hill’s tiny Gate Theatre in 2005, but a mooted West End transfer never materialised.

Definitely on, however, is the Transatlantic Bridge Project’s second season, in which Sam Mendes will direct Shakespeare’s the Tempest and As You Like It.

The plays will be performed in rep at the Old Vic, from June to August next year, following a New York run in January and then an international tour.

The company will again be drawn from both sides of the Atlantic, with Stephen Dillane as Prospero in the Tempest and Jacques in As You Like It, and Anne-Marie Duff as Ariel and Rosalind, New York-based Christian Camargo as Steph-ano and Orlando and Juliet Rylance as Miranda and Celia.

Further casting will be announced shortly, and booking will open in the autumn.

Thought about Christmas yet? Shakespeare’s Globe has, and will be opening its doors over the festive period for the first time this year.

Footsbarn Theatre’s Christmas Cracker will run at the open-air venue for just 18 performances, from December 22 to January 3, with a mixture of 11am, 2pm and 5.30pm performances.

With magic, music, carnival, dance, puppets and circus, it will be suitable for the whole family, and with two half-hour acts either side of an interval, there will be plenty of time for mulled wine and hot food.

Some cast news: David Troughton, who co-starred with Alison Steadman in Enjoy at the Gielgud earlier this year, will play opposite Kevin Spacey in Inherit the Wind at the Old Vic next month while Malcolm Storry (Lord of the Rings), Kate Fleetwood (Macbeth), Rupert Evans (Kiss Of the Spiderwoman) and David Horovitch (Taking Sides/Collaboration) will join the Wire’s Dominic West in Life is a Dream at the Donmar Warehouse in October.

Finally, Hairspray tickets are on sale to October 24, 2010, and Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera tickets to February 26, 2011.