By Laura Kressly
Tyler had been living a life familiar to many new Londoners – frustratedly waiting tables whilst hoping for excitement and success that would make his mum proud. Then, a night out in Soho inspired him to give up one kind of service for another, and he’s now loving his work as an escort. The men, the money and the sex make an equation that’s irresistible and thrilling, but not without risk.
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 Christina Bulford
A long raincoat and a tricorn adorning a nearly-sea-green hat stand set a scene of Cornish domestic bliss. The walls of The Pit drip, and the trains overhead roar like an angry sea. Daniel Drench, Cornwall’s most “prolific and unstable” storyteller invites us to breathe in and forget our busy days – but it’s a false and temporary lulling of our senses before he wakes us up, like a splash of cold sea water to the face.
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 Louis Train
“Fuck me, these exotic birds are well shaggable!”
…is actually one of the more enlightened lines in Tom Wright’s new play, My Dad’s Gap Year, under the direction of Rikki Beadle-Blair. Part giddy romp and part failed attempt at progressive theatre, Gap Year’s greatest accomplishment is proving that – solidarity be damned! – LGBT art can be thoughtless, regressive, and ignorant.
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
There is a saying in Russian, ‘for a mad dog, seven miles is not a long detour’. This came vaguely to mind while watching Russian Roulette, in which veering wildly off course is basically the whole point.
The Play's The Thing UK 