by Gregory Forrest
When you think of women in the 19th Century, you probably think of drawing rooms and tea parlours; you might even think of the early suffrage movement. You probably don’t think about boxing rings.
new writing
People Like Us, Union Theatre
by Amy Toledano
When the results of the referendum came through in 2016, a big percentage of Londoners were shocked. Many people who had grown up here and made the UK their home suddenly felt unwelcome, and those feelings have only grown in the years since the announcement of Brexit.
Woman of the Year, The Space
by Amy Toledano
Anna Nicholson’s Woman of the Year is a comedy cabaret that hits all the solo show marks. Incredibly high energy, brilliantly timed with some lovely audience banter and a charming concept, this is a show that brings together all the elements that make character sketch comedy great.
A Kettle of Fish, Yard Theatre
By Laura Kressly
Lisa is on a work trip with two colleagues. Things at home are a bit stressful and she normally isn’t included at this level of project management, but she’s fine. Not long into the flight, an attendant asks to have a word with her at the front of the plane. The devastating news she receives sets off a chain reaction of grief, anger and meltdowns. As Lisa tries to hold it together in front of the other passengers, reality slips from her grasp.
Poet in da Corner, Royal Court
by Laura Kressly
At the start of the millennium, Deborah is a teenager living on the edge of East London with her silent father and zealous Mormon mother. She feels suffocated by religion when she starts secondary school. But as she gets stuck into this new world, she meets Vyper and discovers Dizzee Rascal. Once her mind and her talent are unlocked by these two forces, her life is irrevocably changed for better and worse.
Drip Feed, Soho Theatre
by Maeve Campbell
Karen Cogan begins her one-woman show floppy and lifeless looking, slumped over a grubby sofa bed. This is an uncomfortable image to pre-show chat in front of and it sets the mood for the proceeding work. Drip Feed is Brenda’s story, a ‘youngish’ queer woman living in Cork, inhabited by insular, parochial and judgemental residents. Brenda, though, is ‘part of the furniture’ of the city, but seems both in love with and restricted by it.
Adam, Battersea Arts Centre
By Laura Kressly
Adam Kashmiry is a man that was born in Egypt in a woman’s body. From a young age, he knew his soul didn’t align with the gender he was assigned at birth, but it wasn’t until he discovered the internet as a teenager that he found a word for this.
Arabian Nights, Hoxton Hall
by Lara Alier
If you close your eyes and I mention ‘Arabian Nights’, what can you see? How does it feel, sound and smell? The description of Hoxton Hall will probably match what you imagine. Strong incense blends with warm lights and the sound of a little fountain adds ambience to the big Arabic arches.
Underground Railroad Game, Soho Theatre
by Gregory Forrest
The New York Times listed Jennifer Kidwel and Scott R Sheppard’s razor-sharp comedy
as one of the 25 best plays since Angels in America. Like a role-play game that gets
completely out of hand, it’s easy to see why.
An Adventure, Bush Theatre
by Laura Kressly
Jyoti crouches on the floor rearranging five photographs, frowning with much consternation. A man emerges from the storm outside, awkward and in an ill-fitting suit. Jyoti must decide if this is the man whose promises of an adventure in the one who will change her life forever, or if it is to be another. But chose she must, for it’s 1954 in India and her father needs the extra income that will come from marrying off his daughter.
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