Two works engaged with the personal yet universal issues of gender and identity, with strong sound design and excellent performances.

Pros: The thought that went into the movement, the production, set, music, costume. Brilliantly executed, bringing serious topics to the forefront to force us as a society to address them. Cons: Although the movement was amazing to watch, at points it repeated the ‘puppetry’ physicality a bit too much. Jasmin Vardimon and her company’s work are all about making the body political. Justicia comments on the injustice in our legal system. 7734 was representative of Vardimon’s own experience as a ...

Pros: Lovely gentle comedy Cons: Very much a children’s show – possibly overly simplistic for accompanying adults. Friendship and treasuring the little things are the themes of this charming silent comedy for children ages 3-6. Andy Manley is a warm and clownish figure, asleep on his desk as the audience take their seats. Silliness ensues when he wakes and finds his chair taped to his bottom. Manley says he thought it would be fun to make a show featuring sticky ...

It may say Trump and America on the label, but this superbly written play could as easily be examining the world being created by Brexit, and for that reason, it is well worth the time of anyone who cares about what is happening all around us.

Pros: Inventive and inclusive dance theatre. A moving and necessary exploration of domestic violence. Cons: While the piece’s educational mission can’t be faulted, it could have explored the psychology of the subject matter more creatively. ‘Welcome to the party!’ Music is blaring, and drinks are being poured. ‘Help yourself to popcorn, marshmallows, what can I get you my love?’ Beverly is having a party, but it won’t all be fun and games. A collaborative, participatory piece, Smack That (a conversation) ...

Cathartic show in which professional performers work with a group of people who have suffered a stroke.

  Pros: A programme of finely tuned and fast-paced choreography which elicits technical and musical prowess. Cons: A characteristic as much as a con, but a little too repetitive in movement terms. This programme marks Richard Alston’s fiftieth year as a choreographer, so what better to way to celebrate than by presenting an evening which combines new work alongside extracts of that which spans the last five decades. We start with the new Cut and Run by Associate Choreographer and ...

Contemporary dance at its best – exhilarating to watch, entertaining and thought-provoking.

Pros: Funny, witty, and beautifully performed Cons: A couple of sections felt too long Perhaps it’s a cliché, but they do say the English love to talk about the weather. However, they’re not so keen on discussing sexual matters, so Amy Bell’s pairing of these themes in The Forecast might seem a little unusual at first. It works beautifully. Over the course of an hour she navigated issues around gender, identity and sexuality the way one might travel though high ...

Well performed and beautifully designed, but it was style over substance with no new insights into this familiar play.