The Girl Who Was Very Good at Lying, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by Bryony Rae Taylor

21-year-old Catriona is very good at lying. She knows she isn’t supposed to, but she just can’t help herself when a ‘not unhandsome’ American man comes into the pub where she works. Craving some exhilaration and a reprieve from her mother’s grilling about whether she is living an exciting life yet or not, Catriona takes American Man on a wild goose chase of tall tales around her small home town in Northern Ireland.

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Bad Teacher, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by Zahid Fayyaz

This is a new production from Queen of Cups, a young female-led and London-based theatre company. This one-woman play follows young teacher Evie and her particularly bad day at school, from coming in with a hangover to a hectic parent evening.

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Singin’ in the Rain, New Wimbledon Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz

This adaptation of the much-loved 1952 Gene Kelly film has had a very productive life as a stage musical, what with its catchy songs and tap dancing routines. This particular touring production by Jonathan Church previously ran in the West End and Sadler’s Wells so as expected, the dance has received a lot of attention. The lovely New Wimbledon Theatre where it’s on for this leg of the tour is one of the bigger theatres that lie outside of the West End on the edges of London.

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Snowflake, Brighton Fringe

By Luisa De la Concha Montes

Snowflake is a one-woman show written and performed by Hanna Winter. Presented as a physical monologue, it tries to unpack the personal impact of intergenerational trauma through the lens of comedy and absurdism. Through continuous audience interaction, the boundaries between fiction and reality are constantly being blurred, creating a show that ultimately ridicules self-indulgent performative art.

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Feature | Sombreros and Other Stereotypes: rehearsing Playing Latinx

by Diana Miranda

Playing Latinx is a co-production by Guido García Lueches and MarianaMalena Theatre Co. The script is inspired by Guido’s real-life experiences auditioning within the UK theatre and film industries, navigating the exploitation of Latin stereotypes, and the thin line between going harmlessly along and complying with problematic myths. The Latin American theatremakers have devised a one-person show in which they’re doing and saying all the wrong things, Guido tells me, but making sure that people know it’s all wrong.

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Playing Latinx, Camden People’s Theatre

by Laura Kressly

Guido Garcia Lueches is an actor from Uruguay who lives and works in the UK, which means that xenophobia and racism shape his day-to-day life. When he’s not attending auditions where he is asked to embody Latinx stereotypes, he regularly endures microaggressions from British people. This constant stereotyping is so unrelenting that he’s made a satirical, interactive show about the importance of fitting in as a migrant.

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One-Woman Show, Soho Theatre

One-Woman Show Written and performed by Liz Kingsman - Soho Theatre

by Laura Kressly

Over the latter part of the previous decade, a particular demographic raved about the relateability of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag on both stage and screen. This show voiced the sexually liberated, highly educated, white, middle-class millennial women who, though not lacking in representation, felt their plight was previously ignored. Brought up on the mantra that success is theirs to be had, neoliberal capitalism means they now angrily navigate a world that isn’t as easy as expected. Yet despite the difficulties of adulting, their privilege rightly invites critique. Liz Kingsman’s satire of one-woman shows does just that, along with taking aim at the tropes that many one-woman shows rely on. She eviscerates them wholeheartedly using comedy and metatheatre to hilarious effect.

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Potted Panto, Garrick Theatre

POTTED PANTO - Nimax Theatres

by Zahid Fayyaz

Panto, as most British traditions, is a deeply weird thing but entertains many families over the Christmas period. Bad jokes, overblown costumes, and instinctive call and response catchphrases are all a constant and comforting part of the tradition. In this instance, the talented ‘Potted’ production franchise are doing their annual Christmas tradition of a performance of all seven panto staples in 70 minutes.

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Sleeping Beauty and the Beast, Battersea Arts Centre

Review: Sleeping Beauty and the Beast, Battersea Arts Centre - Everything  Theatre

by Romy Foster

It’s a wonder that Sleeping Trees have managed to put on a show for kids. Their adult productions are cheeky, provocative, silly and inappropriate but in Sleeping Beauty and the Beast they bring the fun for kids and adults alike in this partially improvised twist on two children’s classics.

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