JOAN follows the young titular character as she strives to make her mark on the world and change it for the better.
‘Inherently intriguing’: Nuclear War / Buried / Graceland – Old Red Lion Theatre ★★★★
This triptych of plays – Nuclear War, Buried and Graceland – is a highly enjoyable and challenging evening for its audience, provoking emotion and thought through nuanced and skilled performances
‘Flamboyant & fun piece of musical theatre’: ONCE UPON A MATTRESS – Upstairs at the Gatehouse ★★★★
Once Upon A Mattress is a lively and vibrant musical based on Hans Christian Andersen’s famous Princess and the Pea.
‘Does glimmer through at points’: LIPSTICK – Southwark Playhouse
The script for Lipstick is funnier and warmer than the ponderous pace of this otherwise slick production quite allows it to be.
‘Subtle nuance in places, sledgehammer wit in others’: ALBION – Almeida Theatre ★★★★
On the surface Albion may be a play about a woman restoring a garden, but once you dig beneath the topsoil this play is about a complicated, nostalgic and divided society, struggling to reason with its national identity.
‘Struck by how completely modern this play is’: TRYST – Chiswick Playhouse ★★★★
Tryst by Karoline Leach is the final piece to be performed in the inaugural festival from the Chiswick Playhouse productions at the Tabard Theatre, returning from a sell-out run in 2017.
‘Too many worthy narratives jostling for keen examination’: THE WHIP – Swan Theatre, Stratford upon Avon ★★★
While The Whip highlights the moral complexity of the abolitionist movement, the density of the plot does not enable the emotional weight of the piece to translate to its audience.
‘Definitely a joyful & vivacious journey’: FEMFRINGE – Vault Festival ★★★
FemFringe is an ever-evolving variety show committed to showcasing a plethora of female and non-binary created art.
‘Smart & completely absorbing’: COLLAPSIBLE – Bush Theatre ★★★★
Collapsible is a one woman monologue by Margaret Perry exploring anxiety and mental health in the face of a modern and overwhelming world.
‘Undoubtedly a must-see piece of theatre’: SOLD – Vault Festival ★★★★★
Sold is an extremely powerful piece of theatre, with fantastic direction from Euton Daley and a tour de force performance from Amantha Edmead.
‘A powerful piece of writing’: Santi & Naz – Vault Festival ★★★
Santi & Naz is a powerful piece of writing. It is emotional, animated and moving, and this production is certainly a gem at Vault Festival 2020.
‘Heart-wrenchingly powerful narrative’: THE CANARY & THE CROW – Arcola Theatre ★★★★★
There is an urgency and an immediacy about The Canary and the Crow that will leave you thinking and questioning everything about British society long after you’ve left the theatre
‘Impressive, moving & poignant’: THE LOST THING – Royal Opera House ★★★★
The Lost Thing is a great example of how to bring young people into the world of live theatre and continue to nurture their minds with acceptance and collaboration.
‘Brings back all the magical memories of the tale’: THE LITTLE PRINCE – Omnibus Theatre ★★★★
The Little Prince is a beautiful show for all ages, with a heart-warming message about friendship and love that will make anyone nostalgic for being a child.
‘Pushes the comedy to its maximum potential’: FITTER – Soho Theatre ★★★★
Ell Potter and Mary Higgins return with Fitter, their second devised show to dance their way through a interrogation of masculinity, using almost 50 interviews of cis, transidentifying men.
‘A fantastic piece of theatre’: SUPERSTAR – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★★
Superstar is a fantastic piece of theatre that is completely honest and paints a very realistic image of what it is to grow up in a house of over-achievers.
‘Vibrant, lively & lucid’: ESCAPE FROM PLANET TRASH – Pleasance Theatre
Set in a dystopian future, Escape From Planet Trash is a campy, music filled extravaganza with a lighthearted self awareness, in which two space explorers embark on a mission to save Planet Trash from an incoming solar flare, ultimately getting more than they bargained for.
‘Has some beautiful moments of humanity’: HUNGER – Arcola Theatre
Hunger is a new adaptation by Fay Lomas of a 19th century novel by the same name, written by Norwegian author Knut Hamsun.
‘The piece pulled me in’: THREAD – Hope Theatre ★★★★
In THREAD by Freya Alderson, the famous Gibson sisters must decide what to do when their father with severe dementia is accused of sexually assaulting a list of women, decades after the incidents happened.
‘A modern, unique & taboo love story’: FIJI – Omnibus Theatre ★★★★★
What Is It? Fiji is inspired by true events that occurred in Germany in 2001. It is a modern, unique, and taboo love story of two people with a very peculiar type of… lust.