By Laura Kressly
In Chekhov’s first play, there is a gun, discussion of property, longing for the past and idly passing time with friends and family. There’s also a takeaway delivery driver, a flaming wrecking ball and people in their pants.
touring theatre
Tap Dogs, Peacock Theatre
by Amy Toledano
Dance shows can be a tough sell, especially those that are strictly tap dancing shows. Luckily for them, Dein Perry’s Tap Dogs is far from an ordinary dance show. Full of tricks, energy and spectacle, this show is thrilling and entertaining from start to finish.
War with the Newts, Bunker Theatre
by Laura Kressly
In post-Brexit Britain, the oyster industry struggles. Work is hard and profits are low. But when oyster harvester Captain von Toch sees mysterious images on the ship’s sonar and discovers a new creature that can quickly be taught fine motor skills, he revitalises his business and changes the course of the human race’s destiny.
Paper Cinema’s Macbeth, Battersea Arts Centre
By Laura Kressly
I’m a sucker for inventive adaptations of Shakespeare plays, so Paper Cinema’s Macbeth, a live-action, silent movie version, is hugely appealing. For 90 minutes a team of five use handheld cameras, desk lamps and hand-drawn illustrations to broadcast the story in visual form onto a large screen. Accompanied by a Celtic-inspired, cinematic score, this graphic novel/stop motion/object manipulation telling is enchanting – until I ask my companion, a Dutch woman who doesn’t know Macbeth, what she thought.
The Wider Earth, Natural History Museum
by Laura Kressly
Newly-minted Cambridge graduate Charles Darwin wants to collect insects and rocks, but his father wants him to enter the clergy. When one of his lecturers recommends him for the positions of resident naturalist onboard Naval ship The Beagle, the 22-year-old jumps at the chance. Over the next five years he sails the world, collects specimens and constructs ideas that eventually become On the Origin of Species. He is also a part of an imperialist mission ridden with Christian colonial attitudes that, in this script, are disappointingly excused in favour of spectacular design.
A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Gynaecologic Oncology Unit At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Of New York City, Finborough Theatre
by Amy Toledano
Although this show has an incredibly long title, it is the only thing about it that feels drawn out. This comedy about a cancer ward in New York city is a touching tale of unlikely friendship and the broken relationships and the ways in which we forgive in the face of tragedy.
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.
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.
Shitfaced Showtime – Oliver with a Twist, Leicester Square Theatre
By Amy Toledano
Magnificent Bastard Productions have had a fantastic few years with their Shitfaced shows, selling out Edinburgh regularly as well as having wonderful London and touring runs. This year’s instalment of Shitfaced Showtime is no exception to pandemonium that credits this show with it’s appeal.
The Play's The Thing UK 