Rebecca Atkinson-Lord speaks with an accent that she stole. Her family all have Wolverhampton accents, but her parents’ decision to send to private school meant that she adopted a voice that endowed her with a social status above the rest of her family. It allowed her to ‘pass’ as part of the elite and has benefited her career, her relationships and numerous other areas of her life.

Her reflection on her voice and tribute to the rich history of the West Midlands and Black Country is a moving acknowledgement of the deep-seated bias and associations between accent and social class in Britain. Though not confrontational, it asks the audience to reflect on their own attitudes towards people and the way they speak.

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You can travel through time on a plane if your trip is long enough to cross time zones. But how far back or forward can you go? What if you could, dream-like, revisit the people you’ve lost? This expressionist Taiwanese physical theatre piece, contemplates the people on a flight, their memories and life experiences. 

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Jon Brittain has another success on his hands. This time, he teams up with composer and pianist Matthew Floyd Jones and they endow a story of depression with care and hope. Music, glitter and lashings of enthusiasm make this mental health show stand out from similarly themed shows at this year’s Fringe.

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Five women enter the space ready to perform. They are circus performers. But they aren’t just going to do dainty, pretty tricks with big smiles. They’re going to tell us about the risks they take and the sexism they encounter as they try to do the work they trained so hard to do.
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Cuba Libres in hand, we are invited to pull up a deck chair and enjoy our own private beaches. Two friendly hosts promise us a relaxing, all-inclusive stay at Guantanamo Bay Resort – but given the name of our destination, this tropical holiday is rather different from the norm.

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