By Gregory Forrest
Self-proclaimed Sh!t Theatre turn trash into treasure. They’ve been killing fringe circuits over the last few years, and Dollywould is meant to be their ‘mainstream cross-over hit’. Or so they say. The show then takes aim at every kind of ‘mainstream’ taste level imaginable: country music, visual art, physical beauty, cabaret, and theatre. It’s an absolute shitshow and the most fun I’ve had in a theatre in ages.
Tori Scott is all charming wit and fabulous gumption in this autobiographical narration. She bills it as an experience that will not inspire you to greater heights — “lower your expectations” she warns — before carrying you on a meander of her life’s efforts and delightful failings.
By Laura Kressly
The infant Earth was a place of chaos and noise. High winds, rivers of lava and churning layers of rock glowed and cracked. It’s from this hot, toxic sea that arose the perfect conditions for life as the surface of the planet divided into sea and land, and gravity’s pull invited the formation of an atmosphere.
by guest critic Lara Alier
Smaller scale musicals are on the rise at the moment. They’re performed in smaller venues that, as well as being kinder on production costs, also offer an intimacy between performers and the audience that we really value. Lock and Key’s cast is also small, with only two performers on stage, and a live quartet including a cello, violin, piano, and a cajón.
by an anonymous guest critic
Nastazja Somers’ remarkable and brave one woman show delivers inspiration by the mouthful.
It’s not very often you get to watch someone eat a whole grapefruit on stage, but Somers does just that. As you watch her slowly devouring the fruit, it’s hard to break your gaze as she courageously stands in a defiant red dress that screams Siren.
by guest critic Alex Dowding
So what really happens when the fat lady sings? If it’s anything like Red Belly Black’s accomplished take on on the exquisitely human experience of grief and letting go, expect laughter, tears and harsh truths served with a glittering side of live music.
by guest critic Gregory Forrest
Assessing new writing nights is a tricky business. A critical line must be drawn early on between the evening’s overall creative gesture and the quality of individual submissions. Better to do this than parrot the worn-out phrase: “a mixed bag”.
by guest critic Joanna Trainor
Charles Mallory Hatfield made it rain – and rain and rain and rain.
This is the little-known story* of a man who went from selling sewing machines to controlling the heavens, told through the eyes of a little boy in Manchester. Hatfield would travel to drought-ridden cities with his secret mixture of chemicals and, most of the time, the weather turned.
by guest critic Amy Toledano
It feels a little strange writing a review of this wonderfully absurd piece because I don’t think any two people could have the same opinion of it. In my case, I fell in love with this movement-driven show. The nine stages of the ego is the centre point of the entire play but we never know what direction we are going to be taken in next.
by Laura Kressly
Alice and her husband moved house from a bustling city to sleepy Berkhamsted just 6 weeks ago. She can’t wait to make new friends and get stuck into all that village life offers, even though her new home is hardly trendy like Margate, and none of her friends are willing to visit. The only thing undermining her positivity is that faithful companion Anxiety has relocated with her and threatens to ruin everything.
The Play's The Thing UK 