By an anonymous guest critic
Alix Sobler’s new play is a full-length fairy tale based on the true case of Princess Alexandra of Bavaria, born in 1826, who convinced herself that as a child she had swallowed a full-size, glass, grand piano.
music
Hotter, Soho Theatre
by Christina Bulford
How well do you know your inner critic? When you look in the mirror, what does she or he whisper in your ear, or shout loudly in your face? “Too fat! Too skinny! Too jiggly! Not hot enough!” Ell Porter and Mary Higgins have not only listened to these voices, they’ve let them out of their heads and, unabashed, onto the stage – from fat to fitness, men to menopause, dildos to doctor’s surgeries, periods to poo and all the body bits in between. As former lovers they claim to know each other extremely well, inside and out, and go to great lengths to get to the bottom of all this body-business. Pun absolutely intended.
Ain’t Misbehavin’, Southwark Playhouse
by Louis Train
The dresses sparkle, the band swings, and the dancers fly at the Southwark Playhouse, where Ain’t Misbehavin’ runs through June. This revival of the Broadway show from the 1970s, which strings together tunes from Harlem Renaissance man and jazz great Fats Waller, proves that when music is really good, it’s really good in any decade.
Club Tropicana, New Wimbledon Theatre
by Amy Toledano
An eighties jukebox musical set on the sunny coast of Spain sounds like a fun night out. However, Club Tropicana highlights the ignorance of British people on all-inclusive holidays, trivialises and stereotypes entire communities of people (in this instance the LGBTQ+ and Spanish communities), and scrapes the bottom of the barrel for a story that has clearly been written in order to serve the eighties tracks, with one-liners that are the lowest common denominator of gags.
WOW EVERYTHING IS AMAZING, Battersea Arts Centre
by Laura Kressly
As the world feels more and more like a dystopian nightmare that could explode at any moment from greed and relentless late capitalism, it’s unsurprising that young people are worried about their future. Sounds Like Chaos are a soothing balm for them, though. The associate company at the Albany supports referred and self-referred 12-21 year olds with training, employment opportunities and opportunities to make theatre, treating them with respect and valuing their ideas. Their latest ensemble work is set in the near future, using music, projections and ritual to critique online culture.
Fiddler on the Roof, Playhouse Theatre
by Louis Train
When I told my mother I was moving to Russia, she sighed and reminded me that to her, Eastern Europe was a cemetery. Her grandparents had fled during the Russian Civil War, and her parents had grown up watching details of the Holocaust emerge, night by night, like a dark beacon announcing the violent and final end of Jewish life in Eastern Europe.
SIX, Arts Theatre
by Hailey Bachrach
SIX knows exactly what it’s doing wrong, which is what makes it so aggravating. After an hour of catty jostling between the six ex-wives of King Henry VIII, who are competing in song to see who had the worst time of it, the show turns around and tries to scold itself for pitting the women against each other. It’s the ultimate in cheap, have-your-cake-and-eat-it moments: get the laughs, then admit they were lazy ones.
Can I Touch Your Hair, Vault Festival
by Romy Foster
Making my way into the theatre, I am so excited to see this show. The speakers on the incoming are blaring superwoman smash hits like Destiny’s Child’s ‘Say My Name’ and Jamelia’s ‘Superstar’ and I am pumped to see a full hour of female empowering, bossy woman, hell-raising quality content. Being International Women’s Day, I feel like this is the perfect show to see.
How Eva Von Schnippisch Won WWII, Vault Festival
by an anonymous guest critic
The Vaults is the ideal venue for what is essentially a one-woman, Weimar era Cabaret show.
Stephanie Ware plays Eva Von Schnippisch, a hard-drinking, fun-loving cabaret performer in wartime Berlin. We learn about Eva’s rise to become one of Berlin’s top night club performers, which leads to the British secret service recruiting her to do undercover work gathering intelligence in the fight against Germany.
Balaklava Blues, Vault Festival
by Laura Kressly
In 2014, Mark and Marichka Marczyk met in Kyiv as protesters fighting against the Ukraine’s corrupt government. As riot police marched against citizens standing up to their rulers, the pair fell in love.
The Play's The Thing UK 