A Knock on the Roof, Royal Court

by Zahid Fayyaz

Fresh from acclaimed runs in New York and Edinburgh, the new writing power-house puts on the one-person monologue from actor and writer Khawla Ibraheem. The show relates the struggles of Miriam in her everyday life in Gaza, whilst Israel is taking military action.

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A Good House, Bristol Old Vic

by Joanna Trainor

“I am always performing.”

A tin shack has appeared on an empty patch of land in the exclusive neighbourhood of Stillwater in Cape Town. The only black couple on the cul-de-sac have been elected by the other “concerned residents” to serve an eviction notice.

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The Employees, Southbank Centre

By Luisa De la Concha Montes

What makes us human? Is it the capacity to feel? Or perhaps our experiences, and how we can sew together memories to create an identity that we can call our own? Is it how we develop relationships with other humans? The ease in which we crave proximity, or fall into patterns of desire? The Employees, a play based on the International Booker Prize-nominated novel by Olga Ravn and directed by Polish theatre artist Łukasz Twarkowski, poses these questions to the audience in quite an unconventional manner.

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Death and the Cat, Drayton Arms Theatre

by Diana Miranda

Death and The Cat, directed by Penny Gkritzapi, explores life’s ultimate and inevitable outcome – death – wrapped with absurdist humour and a surprising amount of heart. Robert Emlyn Slater’s debut play gives life (ironically) to Death. What starts as a comedy full of quirky characters slowly reveals itself as a deeper reflection on questions about what infinity means, and how the power of connection may ground our search for meaning within the immeasurable.

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Viola’s Room, The Carriageworks

by Zahid Fayyaz

Immersive theatre specialists Punchdrunk have opened their second show in what is their own, custom-built space in Woolwich Arsenal, following on from The Burnt City. Based on a 1901 gothic short story, The Moon Slave, written by Daisy Johnson and with narration by Helen Bonham Carter, this is a relatively starry shift from the company. They have also moved away from their previous productions by putting together a linear narrative, rather than allowing the audience free reign over the space and story.

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People, Places and Things, Trafalgar Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz

First performed in 2015 at the National Theatre, Duncan Macmillan’s addiction drama subsequently had a run in the West End and then off-Broadway in New York. It is now back again in the West End after almost 10 years. Denise Gough once again takes the lead role of ‘Emma’, an actress struggling with addiction and trying to get clean.

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Cold War, Almeida Theatre

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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Journey of a Refugee, Stanley Arts

by Laura Kressly

In the Stanley Arts bar, Kassi, Ali, and Daphne hype up the audience for the arrival of a group of refugees. They’ve organised a welcoming party but plans change when only one person, Zain, arrives. He’s initially unenthusiastic about being the centre of attention. With some coaxing after hiding the main performance space, he shares his journey from Sudan using puppetry, dance, and narration. The promenade family show is inclusively crafted with striking design, but doesn’t romanticise his journey or patronise family audiences.

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