3 Star Shows

every seven years

For many it will be impossible to see writer/director Jack Fairey’s every seven years at the Brockley Jack Studio Theatre and not be reminded of the groundbreaking sociological T…

The Game of Love and Chance

As if so-called ‘Freedom Day’ had not generated enough excitement on Monday 19th July, the Arcola Theatre had its planned reopening that evening and showcased its fabulous new …

Helium

Review
★★★
Richard Beck
London Fringe
The Space
10th Jul, 2021

The Space on the Isle of Dogs continues its practice of supporting new talent with Helium, an original work by Grumble Pup Theatre, a fledgling company founded in the Black Country…

The Tragedy of Dorian Gray

Blue Devil Productions closed the Rialto Theatre’s Brighton Fringe season last week with a two-act production,The Tragedy of Dorian Gray; their first full-length play.

Staircase

The Southwark Playhouse has been transformed into an authentic 1960’s barbershop for the revival of Charles Dyer’s hit play Staircase, by Two’s Company and Karl Sydow in asso…

Warhol: Bullet Karma

Garry Roost’s one-hander, Warhol: Bullet Karma, at the Rialto Theatre, as part of the Brighton Fringe, explores aspects of the artist’s life through encounters with various peo…

Hold Me Close

From dance routines dating back to childhood, to embarrassing anecdotes relating to their PE teacher, Hold Me Close is a wonderful montage of Sophie and Jade’s friendship.

Mayhem at the Cabaret Voltaire

The apologetic opening to Mayhem at the Cabaret Voltaire, explaining the failure of the actors to turn up, might seem out of place in any standard piece of theatre, but then it wou…

Liz and Jessie's Undiscovered Country

A family comedy show with a twist, Liz and Jessie's Undiscovered Country follows Liz and Jessie as they set out to explore places in the UK that may have had a connection to th…

I am Echoborg Online

Is artificial intelligence here to save us or to destroy us? Is the future more like Cameron’s Terminator or Spielberg’s A.

The Secrets of Jack Roulette

Imagine the setting.

Ross Kamp: Seeing Queerly

Seeing Queerly was a comedy show that presented a different take to life during and after lockdown, as well as dating.

LEGS

It was interesting to see a show that presented the possibility that we take our bodies very much for granted.

Henry Churniavsky: Lockdown Diaries 2020-2021... Any End?

Let’s admit it – Zoom calls are not ideal for stand-up comedy.

An Intervention

Juicy Lime Productions presents Mike Bartlett’s 2014 play An Intervention, as part of the Brighton Fringe at the Sweet Room, Old SteineTwo characters, identified in the script on…

After All These Years

After All These Years is a trilogy of plays courtesy of Close Quarter Productions and Theatre Reviva! in association with Holofcener Ltd.

An Evening With Professor Edvard von Goosechaser

Professor Edvard Von Goosechaser is the leading 17th Century monsterologist promising to entertain us with his Anglo-Saxon insult-based humour.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

There seems to be a resurgence of interest in the adaptability of works by Robert Louis Stevenson for the stage, with productions popping up in many quarters.

Broken Link

It’s been five years since Ellie’s death.

About The Garden

Take yourself away from the busy seafront streets and you’ll find About the Garden, a charming and quirky production staged in 4 Rigden Road’s garden, in the heart of Hove.

Between Two Waves

Between Two Waves by Australian playwright Ian Meadows interweaves an urgent call to recognise the world’s impending climate crisis and the troubled smaller world of a young clim…

The True Story Of The Little Girl Who Thought She Was The Second Coming Of Jesus Christ

Ellie is a schoolgirl with a very bright future ahead of her.

The Signalman

Review
★★★
Monica Yell
Online & Broadcast
London
27th Apr, 2021

Adapted from Charles Dickens’ eerie and twisty short story, The Signalman weaves a spooky yarn about ghosts and trains (but no ghost trains).

The Black Cat

The notion of a man becoming particularly attached to a handsome black cat may initially feel a familiar experience, especially as around 3.

Readymade Cabaret 2.0

The first rule about a Dada performance is that you don’t start one with the history of Dada.

Ingénue: Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland and the Golden Age of Hollywood

A simple premise lays the foundation for Melanie Gall to recount the story of two of Hollywood’s brightest golden age stars, Deanna Durbin and Judy Garland: a New York Times jour…

An Intervention

It is a complete delight to watch these two actors practice their craft.

Every Time A Bell Rings

The phrase "Every Time a Bell Rings" is well known and resonates especially at Christmas time: straight away we expect a link to the classic It’s a Wonderful Life, and …

Little Gift

M6 Theatre Company have put together a heartwarming show filled with the Christmas spirit, with some truly charming use of puppetry, storytelling and stage magic It is exactly the …

Howerd's End

Review
★★★
Kate Copstick
UK Regional & Tours
Golden Goose Theatre / The Old Joint Stock Pub
1st Nov, 2020

A lot of love has gone into this imagined duet between Frankie Howerd and his lover Dennis Heymer.

SpaceXPat

SpaceXPat explores the motivation and aftermath of an astronaut expat called Pat deciding to stay permanently on the International Space Station (spot that pun in the title).

Five Lock Down

Conceived, written and acted by Timothy Quinlan, this short film features some of the better acting on offer at the Fringe, and like so many others, is inspired by the strange real…

Boom Room

The Boom Room is a sweet little radio play that captures the ennui and idiosyncratic Englishness of lockdown – cleaning out spice racks, a sudden urge to plant potatoes – and p…

Too bored to stay in, too scared to go out!

The 72-year-old cabaret performer Nigel Osner knows a thing or two about ageing and self-isolating during the pandemic.

Shoe Lady

Viv (Katherine Parkinson) has lost her shoe on her London commute.

Ask Me Anything

Review
★★★
Elanor Parker
Brighton
The Old Market
12th Mar, 2020

It’s embarrassing recalling your teenager years, isn’t it? Awkward crushes, cringe-worthy fashion choices and dramatic mood swings; most of us are very happy to leave those yea…

W*nk Buddies

“It’s about us—together,” explain Jake Jarratt and Cameron Sharp, in their new play in which two drama students – straight “Jake”, gay “Cameron” – end up trying…

Matt Hoss: Here Comes Your Man

Matt Hoss is a man on a mission.

The Visit

Though we aren’t given the choice that may be implied by the inclusion of the subtitle in The Visit or The Old Lady Who Comes to Call, it is a play that uses juxtaposition as it …

Is Trying Enough?

Families come in all shapes and sizes.

Darling, It’s Not About You

Love is never easy.

NUMB

NUMB, by Timothy Cobeanu, has an unusual start.

A Little Space

Review
★★★
Monica Yell
Brighton
The Old Market
11th Dec, 2019

Watching A Little Space made me think of Marmite.

No Place Like Home

Connor is on a night out and ready to be open about his sexuality.

Hayley Ellis & Sally-Anne Hayward

Review
★★★
Beth Watson
Brighton
Komedia Theatre
17th Nov, 2019

Going to see comedians with no prior knowledge of their work is always a bit of a risk.

Shadows by Jon Fosse

Suspended from the ceiling of the Coronet Theatre are five crystalline orbs that almost look like faces.

A Kind of Loving

The decade might be set in history as ‘Swinging’, but for many of us who lived through the ‘60’s the appellation has only a marginal connection with the realities of life.

Murder in the Cathedral

Performing a play in a cathedral about an archbishop assassinated in a cathedral might sound like a match made in heaven.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane

Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane is an intensely Irish play set in the wilds of Connemara, premiered locally by the Druid Theatre Company in Galway in 1996.

A Life Twice Given

Review
★★★
Monica Yell
Brighton
Rialto Theatre
1st Nov, 2019

A simple production, A Life Twice Given stretches itself to do justice to a very complicated idea, with only limited resources and space.

Gaslight

Gaslight has stood the test of time in the canon of British theatre.

TICKLE the Musical

While browsing some of the more risqué websites you may discover some titillating videos of various people trying to get each other to laugh, moan and groan simply by tickling.

Breaking The Code

It’s only two years until the face of Alan Turing appears on the new £50 note.

Dead Funny

The Tower Theatre Company seek to outrage and (somewhat) inspire with their recreation of Dead Funny.

Torch Song

Review
★★★
Richard Beck
West End
Turbine Theatre
16th Sep, 2019

The neon sign above the stage at the new Turbine Theatre, Battersea, hints at the lights of New York City, but it also reminds us of the history behind director Drew McOnie’s pro…

Stiletto Beach

The world premiere of Sadie Hasler’s Stiletto Beach has burst onto the stage at the dynamic Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch in a bold, brave, fearless and funny exploration of what…

Falsettos

Review
★★★
Richard Beck
West End
The Other Palace
12th Sep, 2019

Falsettos has been around since 1992, but it’s UK premier has only just opened at The Other Palace, London.

Hansard

If, unlike me, you include politics, the public-school system or pub quizzing in your CV’s ‘Other Interests’ section, you’ll already know that Hansard is the name given to …

a great big sigh

Only a couple of weeks ago I, and some friends, were in an Escape Room.

The Mannequin

Das Stuck’s The Mannequin is a contemporary Edda of intertwining tales: bohemians enwrapped in the fashion industry whilst isolated in the LGBTQ+ community.

Green & Blue

Green and Blue is a touching and thoughtful production about two police officers patrolling opposites sides of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland durin…

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

Brecht’s darkly comic play about the ascent of the moronic, childish but charismatic gangster Arturo Ui should be relevant for obvious reasons.

Bruised Fruit

Amy Garner Buchanan and Hayley Ricketson embark upon their second collaboration and create a show that explores what it means to be a woman trying to claim an identity for herself.

Will Gompertz: Double Art History – The Sequel

Will Gompertz feels like an old friend, not because I have ever met him, but because I have grown up with his inciteful and interesting contributions as the BBC’s arts editor.

The 27 Club

The play follows Nick: a young, successful artist struggling with his identity and mental health.

Still Life by Noël Coward

The Hart Players theatre company brings Noël Coward’s Still Life to the Fringe.

Play Before Birth

It’s an old feminist adage that the personal is political – and it doesn’t get much more personal than this.

Isabelle

Irene Possetto’s one-woman play presents a young girl named Isabelle living a life of true tragedy in 1301.

The John Rowe Show

Review
★★★
Elanor Parker
Edinburgh Fringe
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall / theSpace @ Symposium Hall
23rd Aug, 2019

Direct from Australia, John Rowe brings his sofa-based entertainment show to the Edinburgh Fringe.

Lucrece

William Shakespeare’s narrative poem The Rape of Lucrece tells the story of Lucrece, a noblewoman in ancient Rome whose rape at the hands of her husband’s friend, Tarquin, ulti…

Improvengers: Pretendgame

Improvengers: Pretendgame is an ambitious concept without the follow-through.

[BLANK] by Alice Birch and NYTP

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Alice Birch’s writing.

Looping: Scotland Overdub

Billed as part Brazilian street dance and part Scottish ceilidhe with everyone invited to share the dance floor and a whisky, this suggested a rather more joyful, carnivalesque exp…

AcadePitch Presents – Romeo and Juliet: An A Cappella Tragedy

There are quite a few variations on the Romeo & Juliet theme at this year’s Fringe, but few have as many puns as AcadePitch Presents - Romeo and Juliet: An A Capella Tragedy.

The Comedy of Errors

Folksy Theatre describe their touring, and frequently open air, production of The Comedy of Errors as being ‘Filled with Folksy's wonderful live music, audience interaction a…

Staged

Circus is inherently exciting to watch – the whole point of it is to see human bodies interact with the world in a way you didn’t think was possible.

Laurie Black: Space Cadette

Laurie Black is back and she’s green, keen and featuring a plethora of originally written electro synth space cabaret songs.

How to Hide a Body in New York

As the surge of improv comedy takes over the Fringe, Sisterwives brings a classic sketch show that packs a wicked punch.

10:31, MCR

It was a day like any other day.

The Examination

Very few kind words have ever been said about the prison system in this or any other nation.

Rodgers with a D – The Tommy Rodgers Centenary Celebration

If you’re one of the many people who visit the Fringe from far flung parts of the world (hello Londoners daring to go past the M25) it’s easy to forget amongst all the clamour …

The Rude Awakening: Sex, Shame and Liberation

Amber Topaz, the inaugural Miss Burlesque UK, brings Edinburgh Fringe a burlesqueless theatrical cabaret experience that is personal, informative, and inclusive.

Men Chase Women Choose

Review
★★★
Zoe Callow
Edinburgh Fringe
Summerhall
17th Aug, 2019

A riotous romp through the history of the female body, the patriarchy and the bad science behind the titular gender myth.

MOOT MOOT

‘What’s going on…??’ Rosana Cade cries, with their head in the seat of a swivel chair, spinning slowly in front of a fixated and silent audience.

Le Coup

Le Coup, in the Underbelly Circus Hub’s ‘The Beauty’ tent, is perfectly programmed.

Chris Read: Little Man

Chris Read is a talented singer-songwriter performing his debut solo hour at the Fringe this year.

Chain of Trivia

BBC radio music aficionado Russell Clarke is making his Edinburgh Fringe debut in a show jam-packed with fascinating rock ‘n’ roll trivia and random connections between the sta…

The Art of Skipping

This new musical follows the story of Alex Peel, whose life is changed by a diagnosis which will eventually lead to her going completetly blind.

I Predict a Wyatt!

Sam Wyatt is an ambitious stand-up comedian who has taken a novel approach to this year’s festival, in designing a live gameshow with uniquely imaginative rounds.

The Winter's Tale

Staging The Winter’s Tale in the middle of the summer might seem to be an unusual choice, but as we huddled in the wind blasted Brighton Open Air Theatre it seemed pathetic falla…

Stealth Aspies – Aspies Anonymous

Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a beacon of individuality for our time: it presents a platform for anybody with the desire to express themselves and whatever makes them individuals.

James Freedman: Moment of Truth

In Moment of Truth, James Freedman opens with an air of mystery.

Here Comes the Tide, There Goes the Girl

Review
★★★
Richard Beck
Edinburgh Fringe
Venue 13
10th Aug, 2019

Here Comes the Tide, There Goes the Girl is one of four plays presented by CalArts at venue 13 this year and is steeped in their tradition of producing original material that stret…

The Hypnotist – Live and Outrageous

Review
★★★
Ben Dali
Edinburgh Fringe
PBH’s Free Fringe @ Liquid Room Annexe/Warehouse
8th Aug, 2019

Robert Temple is performing the only traditional hour-long hypnosis show in Edinburgh Fringe this year, so if you’re looking for a show where any number of people can volunteer t…

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