A charming little play that can't help but make you laugh and smile with the familiarity it will bring to mind, but it feels like it needs a little more body.

Composer Dai Fujikura looks back at his past works and their global influence ahead of an upcoming concert of his work at Wigmore Hall.

As J.M. Barrie's iconic tale flies back to the London stage in 'The Lost Boy Peter Pan', adapter/director Alexandra Spencer-Jones shares why music is so vitally important in her work.

Pros: Mesmerising and unprecedented. Cons: Watching the puppeteers work in the foreground is fascinating but can also divert the attention from the main screen above their heads. Living in a caravan stationed in the middle of the desert, by a vast satellite field, Lula Del Ray lives a solitary life. Her favourite pastime is to sit on the edge of a satellite dish and look at the moon. Swinging her feet in the empty space below, she wonders about the men who ...

Pros: The sing-along moment that shows in practical terms the process of dopamine release that the play is all about. Cons: With its hour-long running time, this lively show left me wanting more. When we do something we like, our system produces dopamine, a substance that – as they illustrated by having us sing along during the performance – ‘rewards your brain and numbs your pain, provides the feeling you adore and keeps you coming back for more’. Fix is a ...

Pros: Apphia’s mellow storytelling and powerful singing are a perfect combination. Cons: Some background knowledge of African-American history is beneficial. Opening with a live cover of the popular jazz song St. Louis Blues, Woke moves the audience with a tale of two lives which run 42 years apart and are interwoven into a powerful solo show by Apphia Campbell. In 1971, New York-born Joanne Chesimard, rejects her “slave name” and becomes Assata Olugbala Shakur. As a member of the Black Liberation Army, ...

Pros: Breathtaking stunts, energetic cast and a belting soundtrack. Cons: No story for you to sink your teeth into, and some uneven pacing. I’ll never forget the first time I walked down Old Compton Street. I’d been in London no more than 48 hours, fresh off the boat from South Africa, and had deliberately weaved my way around the streets to this place I’d heard of called Soho. I stood in the middle of it all, snow started to fall ...

Good music doesn’t make up for storytelling which is tedious and portentous.

An outstanding vocalist and brilliant guitarist brighten up a cold December evening.

Community is everything and everywhere. But how can a play touring innumerable different communities relate to each and every one of them? Julie Griffiths discovers how The Events, a now-touring production using a different local choir at each new venue, does exactly that.