Pros: A topical issue – men’s mental health and the influence of toxic masculinity – that invites further discussion and suits a one-man play dynamic. Cons: The first 20 minutes feel less tight and less thematic; some sub-plotting could be cut. James is a single man in his mid-thirties, sorting his childhood possessions in the attic of the family home, prompted by his mum’s fresh start with irritating new man Roger. Writer and performer Craig Malpass brings all these characters ...

Pros: Accessible storytelling by a fascinating creative. Cons: The simple format can often feel more like a lecture, so might not appeal to everyone. This is a show about the moments when we’re caught off guard: the photos taken when we drop our poses and show our real selves, baggage and all. Volker Gerling, a trained filmmaker, began making flipbooks in 1998 as an experiment. Soon he was touring cafes and bars in Berlin, showing flipbooks from a hawker’s tray ...

Pros: Well written, well thought out script. It deals with serious and relevant issues faced in today’s society. Cons: The pace is slow and monotonous in some areas. Extra detail could have been paid to direction in the first half of the play, as there sometimes seemed to be no justification for some of the characters’ actions and movements. In The Wake Of, by Michael Black, is a new play by Faded Ink Productions. It tells the story of Rob (Mickey ...

Pros: A moving and well-constructed piece of storytelling, with the most unexpectedly beautiful  ending. Cons:  There were issues of visibility when Welsh performed at ground level. Adam Welsh thinks his dad is disappointed in him, and it’s easy to see why he thinks he might not have lived up to his dad’s high hopes.  A quick Google search of his name demonstrates that maybe he hasn’t been as successful as his dad would have hoped. In fact Google brings up endless results for ...

Pro’s: Two exceptional Caryl Churchill scripts Con’s: Committed but inexperienced actors With thousands of shows competing to make an impact in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, it’s a bold move for a student ensemble to dive into the fray, pitching their production up against veterans and professionals. The young players of the University of Greenwich’s Bathway Theatre Company deserve kudos for taking the plunge with a pair of challenging Caryl Churchill plays. They realise this project with no shortage of commitment ...

Pros: Set and costumes are the most inspired outcome of the company’s joint effort. Cons: An overstretched, overlong production which should shed a third of its weight to hold audience engagement. Taken from his family when he was a toddler, Mowgli (Nnamdi Oli) is adopted by a family of wolves and raised in the Indian jungle as a part of the pack. Responsibility for his education lies with the bear Baloo (Paul Robinson) and the black panther Bagheera (Joe Newton), who teach him ...

A poignant and beautiful play which reclaims the story of Sophie Scholl, a young heroine of the resistance against Hitler.

Two spot on performances of two interesting women, but overall result feels dated.

Pros: A bright cast and slow burning story that blossom in an excellent Act II. Cons: Act I is disappointingly slow and spends far too much time setting the scene. Casting familiar faces in a play is usually a safe bet, as the audience already have a rapport though television. End Of The Pier neatly pulls off the trick at the wonderful Park Theatre. Les Dennis takes the lead, while Blake Harrison, Nitin Ganatra and Tala Gouveia complete the line-up. ...

Pros: This never-before-seen play has funny moments and quirky characters. Cons: The meandering writing and cramped staging let it down. The Finborough, the dinky pub theatre above the plain but cosy Finborough Arms, is fond of rediscovering forgotten twentieth century plays. Sometimes, as with The Passing of the Third Floor Back last year, the attempts are charming and reasonably successful. This time, however, with war poet Robert Graves’ never-performed late-1929 play But It Still Goes On, the play feels as ...