by Maria Majewska
Paweł Pawlikowski’s 2018 film Cold War is a profound account of Polish identity, cultural homogenisation, politicisation of folklore and the trauma of migration from the Soviet bloc. As a Polish migrant with a deep connection to this story, I was keen to see how this masterful, nuanced film would translate to the stage. Tragically, the Almeida’s production is an insulting missed opportunity.
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by Zahid Fayyaz
Winner of Drag Race UK this year, Lancaster’s Ginger Johnson celebrates her victory with a Christmas residency for most of December and the first week of January. Ably accompanied by the wonderful Sarah Rose on the keys, this is a technicolour riot of music, comedy and fabulous costumes.
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by Zahid Fayyaz
This is a modern day take on an old-fashioned drag act, located at the lovely Crazy Coqs venue underneath Brassiere Zedel in Piccadilly Circus. Randy Roberts, who has been doing the act for decades, had the act finely honed in this, the first of three nights in London.
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by an anonymous guest critic
Casey Jay Andrews is a regular fixture at the Fringe. She is a purveyor of small, touching stories and beautifully constructed set designs. For this piece, she tells the story of Freddie, born during a meteor storm, who returns to her family home in the woods now inhabited only by her grandad and his Scottie dog. The meteor storm has returned 33 years on, and she and her grandad go out to watch the shooting stars. Meanwhile, her grandad has a secret he has not shared with her.
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by Laura Kressly
Jess and Victoria are best pals and girlbosses extraordinaire. As a response to what they see as too much sadness in the world, they’ve developed a five-step approach to “change ourselves and those around us”. The satire of self-help seminars, relentless positivity in the face of personal and societal collapse, and late-stage capitalism’s grifter culture is smart and initially silly, but underpinned by a serious message.
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by an anonymous guest critic
This show is the very modern telling of a witch trial that you’ve likely never heard of. In 1605, in a small town in Oxfordshire after an altercation at a football match, Brian Gunter tries to get his neighbour Elizabeth Gregory hung as a witch, blaming his daughter Annie’s mysterious illness on her. Without wanting to spoil the story, it doesn’t quite work out as he planned.
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by Laura Kressly
Adam Mickiewicz is widely considered Poland’s equivalent to Shakespeare. His play Dziady is split into four parts, the second of which inspires this ritualistic, highly visual performance. Created by Song of the Goat Theatre founder Grzegorz Bral and performed in Polish, excellent design and heightened emotion communicate universal feelings around death and grief despite the language barrier.
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by Laura Kressly
After several hard years, Paines Plough’s popup theatre’s programme seems to know that our fractured, individualistic society needs some love and care. Six of this year’s shows reflect this: characters feeling lost, adrift or unfulfilled are desperately searching for someone or something to cling onto and give them purpose, or to help them feel less alone.
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by Laura Kressly
Immensely intelligent Jerome has always struggled to find his place in the world. He was too poor to go to private school like his best friend Henry, but at secondary school he got bullied for sounding white and talking posh. This coming-of-age monologue navigates growing up when you don’t quite fit in on the estate in Harlesden, at the shop where you work, or at the competitive uni out of town.
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by Laura Kressly
Lula Mebrahtu inhabits multiple worlds: the UK, Eritrea, the present and her ancestors’ past. To construct this show she draws on traditional dance, contemporary British club culture, and Afro-futurism to create a unique dramaturgy that seeks to capture the experience of living across multiple cultures.
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The Play's The Thing UK 