Pros: Rendezvous is inventive and immersive, with catchy songs and great performances.   Cons: The comic interludes can be frustrating, as they distract from an otherwise compelling story. Laughter is a powerful response to oppression. Comedy has a long history of speaking truth to power, and cabaret is no different. Czechoslovakia, a country that endured both Nazi and Soviet rule, had plenty of horrors to contend with, particularly for the Jewish population. But for one cabaret writer, plenty to laugh at as ...

Pros: Let’s talk about an intriguing piece of abstract art Cons: Let’s talk about intense inscrutability Let’s talk about conceptual theatre. This is not a play in any conventional sense, jettisoning character and plot in favour of something almost entirely different. Let’s talk about four women sitting in a row on chairs within vivid yellow circles as though hemmed in by the whirls of an enormous highlighter pen. Let’s talk about reading and repeating lines that all begin “Let’s talk ...

Pros: Visual alchemy – the production design and Grand Hall setting combined to create delightful thematic echoes that enhanced the whole experience. Cons: With so much going on visually and sonically, the text felt unnecessarily wordy sometimes. At last summer’s Edinburgh Fringe, I was sad to miss Adam in its first triumphantly sold out run, but now I’m glad I had to wait. From Egypt to Glasgow, from Woman to Man – seeing this global transgender odyssey in the newly ...

Pros: An exhilarating performance that barely uses words, but takes your breath away and makes you feel so much.   Cons: You have to interpret and feel the show, rather than be given all the answers. In 2015, Battersea Arts Centre’s Grand Hall was engulfed by flames. With perseverance and hard work by the firefighters and theatre team, the front of the building was opened 26 hours later. With the support of over 6,000 people, they raised funds, re-housed shows and ...

Despite the play’s moving subject matter, 213 Things About Me fails to engage with the audience and can feel heavy.

Pros: The original and effective approach to two well known political situations. Both actors can be truly hysterical with their clownish acting. Cons: Although successful at exposing situations, there’s no real analysis and the shows don’t go into much detail on the problems. Bertrand (Bert) Lesca and Nasi Voutsas have a special chemistry. They have been working together only since 2015, yet to see them on stage you would think they had known each other since nursery school. A talented duo ...

Performers expertly blend dance and text together to tell a complex, fresh, yet universal story in this inventive piece of comedic dance-theatre.

Rob Warren picks his top shows of 2017

Clare Annamalai picks her top shows of 2017.

Pros: You’ll laugh so hard your sides will hurt. Cons: Your sides will hurt. Victoria Melody has trained as a police officer, a championship dog handler and a pigeon racer (who knew that was a thing?) for her performances. Her latest showing, Ugly Chief, came from a time when her Dad, Mike Melody, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and given less than five years to live. Those of you with a love for daytime TV (should you care to ...