By Laura Kressly
Defying the odds, Nell and Cathy are comedians with successful careers behind them. But now that they’re nearing 40, they’re also on the verge of being forgotten by an industry that only values women who meet very specific criteria. When they are offered a rare gig at the London Palladium, this is a chance to resolve lingering tension between them and revive their reputations, but it could also lead to total ruination of everything they’ve fought to achieve.
by Maeve Campbell
Cosmopolitan’s current most-read article is a feature on a $35 maternity dress worn by Megan Markle. This is, as explored in performance artist Paula Varjack’s latest work, an example of post-recession celebrity dressing. Yet mixing a Gucci top with Topshop jeans is a distant dream to those of us who will never be able to afford to wear Gucci.
by Laura Kressly
Bertie has lost her job, her boyfriend and her flat. She’s broke and drifting through life without direction or purpose when her cousin asks her to housesit her coastal town home for a few months. Whilst struggling with her depression and out for a walk one night, she collides with an elderly woman who changes the course of Bertie’s life. Bebe Sander’s story of intergenerational friendship between two women forgotten by the rest of the world is funny, sweet and unexpectedly disarming.
by Laura Kressly
Jess’s has a comfortable life. The 29-year-old has a good job, a partner, a home (that she rents, of course – she’s not that lucky) and her mum lives nearby. She keeps busy with nights out, mate’s hen dos and watching Love Island curled up on the couch with her boyfriend Taj and a pack of Hobnobs. She’s happy.
by Laura Kressly
Katie Greenall is a poet, musical theatre teacher and fat. She’s pretty much always been fat, and the world hasn’t let her forget it. Her reflection on life as a fat person is hilarious and vulnerable, poetic and frank, and deserving of every cheer she gets.
by Laura Kressly
Rema and her mum are at home in East London during Ramadan, preparing to break the day’s fast, when their living room window shatters. Another day, another hate crime – but this event is the catalyst for a holiday full of new friends, new understanding, new creative expression and new betrayals.
by Meredith Jones Russell
Kirsty is a sixteen-year-old girl growing up in ‘00s Brentwood. She likes blue WKDs, Elton John and pie and mash. She’s also desperate to hook up with ‘Sexy Ricky’, but has a secret she doesn’t want to share.
by Laura Kressly
Decked in their finest formal wear, a chamber orchestra entertains the punters in a post-war Parisian cafe. During their songs, they are a picture of beautiful unity. In between? Not so much. The absurd and darkly comic backstabbing and in-fighting builds to a crescendo that ends in tragedy, but the production is ultimately unsatisfying.
by Christina Bulford
When it comes to boxes, would you rather be ticking them, or kicking them? What if when faced with your future, you kick it in the head?
by Laura Kressly
I can’t stop smiling at the memory of the audience almost entirely composed of lesbian couples. Though not a rare thing to see a fringe theatre audience made up mainly of women, the hand holding and cuddling happening around the room indicates there’s something special about this play.
The Play's The Thing UK 