touring theatre

Seven Drunken Nights: The Story of the Dubliners, Dominion Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz

Taking over from The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion Theatre is this special, one-off show in London about The Dubliners, one of Ireland’s biggest and most well-known bands. The story unfolds on a stage done up like the renowned Dublin bar O’Donoghue’s, where the band began their journey in 1962 and contributed to the revival of traditional Irish music. A five-piece band shared the history of the music group, from their early beginnings to almost 50 years later on The Late Late Show in 2008.

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Plied and Prejudice, The Vaults

by Zahid Fayyaz

A hit in Australia, this rowdy and ‘immersive’ adaptation of Pride and Prejudice has now made its way to London, playing in the atmospheric tunnels under Waterloo station. Performed by five actors doing all the parts, this is a fun romp through Jane Austen’s iconic book. There is heavy encouragement from the performers to buy drinks throughout the show to keep the mood up but it’s still plenty of fun.

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Josephine Lacey: Autism Mama, Soho Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz

The straight-talking Josephine Lacey’s debut stand-up hour is fresh from this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. The new grandmother from London, focuses on the subject of her raising her son, with him having Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder. Though this is not a natural subject for comedy, Lacey manages to put together an entertaining show from such a serious topic.

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Anirban Dasgupta: Polite Provocation, Soho Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz

Over the last few years, the Soho Theatre has been making a concerted effort to bring over and showcase comedians from India’s burgeoning stand-up scene. Coming back to the UK for the third time, Mumbai based Anirban Dasgupta, one of the continent’s brightest comedy hopefuls, is selling out rooms here in Britain.

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Arcade, London Film Festival

by Zahid Fayyaz

As part of the London Film Festival’s ‘Expanded’ section, Darkfield return to London’s Southbank for what is their most sophisticated immersive show to date, yet still within their familiar shipping container performance space. In past Darkfield works, you’d be lying down on a bed or sitting in an airplane seat, whilst the production used surround sound and sensory effects to take you into the world of the performance piece. This is generally done with noise cancelling headphones and total darkness, which is also the case here for Arcade.

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Sophie Duker: But Daddy I Love Her, Soho Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz

Former winner of Taskmaster and Celebrity Mastermind, and following regular appearances on Frankie Boyle’s New World Order and The Last Leg, Sophie Duker tours her new show to London this month. This is the sequel to her award-nominated 2019 debut, But Daddy I Loved Her, a play on the trademark phrase from Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, is a loud, brash and electric show from Duker.

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The Unicorn in Captivity, Lion and Unicorn Theatre

by Diana Miranda

Written by Angelika May, The Unicorn in Captivity is a powerful tragedy that explores the ways patriarchal systems —from the NHS to art institutions — diminish and fetishise the experience of women grappling with chronic illness. 

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Jazz Emu: Knight Fever, Soho Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz

Viral hit Jazz Emu (real name – Archie Henderson) has launched his new show and forthcoming tour after garnering millions of views of his music videos on social media platforms. Down in the theatre’s lively cabaret space, the conceit of the show is that the character Jazz Emu is warming up just before he gets on stage at the Royal Albert Hall for the Royal Variety Performance. However, Jazz has a secondary objective: he wants to be the one knighted by the King that evening, as apparently that’s how all Royal Variety performances end. The only person in his way is his arch nemesis, Kelly Clarkson, as well as his own failure to comply with various laws and financial guidelines.

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Polly (The Heartbreak Opera), Pleasance Theatre

by Archie Whyld

What do German theatre directors eat in the morning? Why, Brechtfast, of course. Early on in Polly (The Heartbreak Opera), a similar, and admittedly better, Brechtfast joke was subtly slipped in, in a moment of metatheatrical gorgeousness, and so, being a lover of all things Brecht, I thought – this is for me.

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Last Rites, Shoreditch Town Hall and touring

by Laura Kressly

Even if our relationships with our parents aren’t fraught, they’re often complicated. In the case of the unnamed character in this solo show, his father never accepted his deafness and refused to learn sign language. He rehashes and reckons with this resentment as he ritually washes his father’s body, but other memories show he and his father loved each other. Using movement, creative captioning and projections, the production dives deep into the emotional landscape of a parent’s death to immensely moving effect.

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