storytelling

FLIP!, Soho Theatre

by Diana Miranda

A darkly humorous play about influencer culture in the AI age, Racheal Ofori’s FLIP! is a witty two-hander that follows the journey of friends Carleen and Crystal, popular co-vloggers who go above and beyond for online fame. After a few hit-and-miss attempts, Carleen starts producing content with FLIP, a new social media platform that utilises advanced AI. The fun satire takes a dark turn, and what follows is an exploration of the lengths people may go to craft an identity appealing to the masses, all for the sake of fame and fortune.

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Boy Parts, Soho Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz

This is the premiere of an adaptation of the popular 2020 Eliza Clark novel, Boy Parts. A comic thriller, this is the story of Irina. She is a Newcastle-based photographer of young men, and is either a violent killer or a damaged fantasist. It’s never clear which one is the correct interpretation of the main character. This makes the show more fascinating, as it leaves the audience and reader without a sure footing.

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Noel Coward Theatre

by Michaela Clement-Hayes

Real life can often be bleak, so many of us choose to escape from time to time. Perhaps we do this by reading a book, or going to the theatre. Those few hours of respite allow us to leave our world behind and be anyone we wish to be.

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Ben Target: Lorenzo, Soho Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz

Fresh from a sold-out month at the Edinburgh Fringe, Ben Target, former Perrier comedy award nominee, comes to London with a run of his highly acclaimed solo show. A return to the stage after spending the last few years collaborating with other artists, this is a brave and startling work.

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The Importance of Being Earnest, Chelsea Theatre

by Diana Miranda

Delightfully ludicrous, The Importance of Being Earnest under Mark Beer’s direction captures the sarcastic humour so well-embedded in Wilde’s satire. Through spot-on characterisation, strong performances and a detailed set, this fringe show takes us on a time-travelling ride to London’s 19th Century high-tea culture, where appearances are of the utmost importance.

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Feature | “This show is a process, rather than an outcome” Led by the Wind by Kiki Ye

by Luisa De la Concha Montes

Led by the Wind is a queer story that follows K (Kiki Ye), a young woman from Fuyang, China living in the United Kingdom. She has been convinced by her family back home to go on a blind date with Bryan (He Zhang), who, according to her family’s standards, is the perfect husband material. As their relationship progresses K starts zoning out, sinking deeper into beautiful dreamscapes with Windy (Vivi Wei), a mysterious woman that represents K’s deepest queer desires. In order to unveil the process of writing this piece, and to deconstruct the complexity of K’s character, I caught up with director Kiki Ye.

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Oh My Heart Oh My Home, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by an anonymous guest critic

Casey Jay Andrews is a regular fixture at the Fringe. She is a purveyor of small, touching stories and beautifully constructed set designs. For this piece, she tells the story of Freddie, born during a meteor storm, who returns to her family home in the woods now inhabited only by her grandad and his Scottie dog. The meteor storm has returned 33 years on, and she and her grandad go out to watch the shooting stars. Meanwhile, her grandad has a secret he has not shared with her. 

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Lightening Ridge, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by an anonymous guest critic

Lightning Ridge is a playfully-told family show about a rural Australian mining community. The trouble starts when Kelly-Ann’s two imaginary friends go missing, and the whole village has to come together to find them.

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Gunter, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by an anonymous guest critic

This show is the very modern telling of a witch trial that you’ve likely never heard of. In 1605, in a small town in Oxfordshire after an altercation at a football match, Brian Gunter tries to get his neighbour Elizabeth Gregory hung as a witch, blaming his daughter Annie’s mysterious illness on her. Without wanting to spoil the story, it doesn’t quite work out as he planned.

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Nan, Me, and Barbara Previ, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by an anonymous guest critic

Hannah Maxwell is back at the Fringe with her second show after 2019’s charming I, AmDram. This one is similar. It’s about what happened next for Hannah – moving back to Luton to care for her recently bereaved grandma. A show about 30-something angst, obsession and stalking should not be charming, but Maxwell manages to make it so. 

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