Chicago, Phoenix Theatre

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by Lara Alier

Enter a club, where the dim lights make it hard to know if it’s you dancing, or you’re just touching someone else’s limbs. Behind the bar there’s a tall man, with broad shoulders and strong arms, his black beard defining a perfect jaw. He doesn’t ask because he knows exactly what you need. That cocktail is Chicago.

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Poet in da Corner, Royal Court

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by Laura Kressly

At the start of the millennium, Deborah is a teenager living on the edge of East London with her silent father and zealous Mormon mother. She feels suffocated by religion when she starts secondary school. But as she gets stuck into this new world, she meets Vyper and discovers Dizzee Rascal. Once her mind and her talent are unlocked by these two forces, her life is irrevocably changed for better and worse.

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42nd Street, Drury Lane Theatre

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by Amy Toledano

It’s the early 1930’s and, “Julian Marsh is puttin’ on a show!”. Pretty Lady is the latest production from the famous director, and all of the local, out-of-work actors are thrilled to have jobs again. But show business is never easy, and this one in particular is no stranger to the trials and tribulations that come with rehearsing a smash hit.

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Eugenius!, Other Palace Theatre

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by Susannah Martin

Continuing from its stratospheric success earlier in the year, now-cult classic musical Eugenius! sets to stun audiences with another limited run at The Other Palace. Minor changes have occurred to revamp the fun, with some recasting and a new song replacing “Superhot Lady”. Sadly, there are no book rewrites, as this is where the show has the potential to go from global to universal.

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Shitfaced Showtime – Oliver with a Twist, Leicester Square Theatre

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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.

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A herd of Zoo shows, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by Laura Kressly

Over the last few years, Zoo has been quietly building its reputation as a venue, breaking the stranglehold that the Big Four and Summerhall have on high-quality work. With a loose focus on physical theatre and performance, they boast a programme varied in style, but also in quality.

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Queens of Sheba, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

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by Laura Kressly

In 2015, four black women were turned away from the nightclub DSTRKT for being ‘too black’. It temporarily drew attention to systemic racism, but black women still encounter racism everywhere. In schools, work places, social situations and in public spaces, black women must conform to standards of behaviour and appearance that are dictated by white people. 

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Status, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

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By Laura Kressly

Chris Thorpe has a parasitic worm somewhere under his sternum that is as much a part of him as he is of it. It’s not something he used to really notice but since Brexit, he feels it deep within his chest. He’s now had enough of it and now would do anything to get it out of his body. 

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The Ballad of the Apathetic Son and the Narcisisstic Mother, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

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by Laura Kressly

Lucy and her son Raedie have grown apart in recent years. Lucy is worried that her son lacks empathy, and Raedie thinks his mum is full of herself. Both of them love Aussie pop star Sia though, so they use her music, dance and physical theatre to explore their relationship and reconnect with each other in this real-life mother and son show.

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