Pros: The set. The sound design. The projection. The lighting. Cons: Far too many people in the audience filming the show on their phones. A silvery particle spins and tumbles from above, setting in train an evolutionary journey from primordial soup to space exploration. Well that’s the idea, anyway. More prosaically, Totem is a high-spec review show, in which circus acts, loosely themed around ideas of man’s evolution and environment, are interspersed with quirky comic vignettes. The circus acts are ...

A powerful drama brought to life by an outstanding cast.

Part One of our Theatre Access Series looked at what exactly Access Schemes are and what it can mean to be an Access Customer. In Part Two, Sidonie shares her experience as an Access Customer while attending a recent performance. As with Part One, we hope this gives more insight and understanding as to why it’s important Access Schemes exist. Experience as an Access Customer So, what’s different for an Access Customer when they attend a performance? In many ways nothing, in ...

Pros: The unique format, which combines gaming and immersive theatre, gives everyone a chance to get stuck in and kick some Nazi arse. Cons: This is not the kind of immersive theatre where you can just hang back and tag along, so if you’re not up for getting actively involved, this one’s not for you. During the Second World War, Bletchley Park was the home of the UK code breakers, the most famous of whom was computer pioneer Alan Turing. ...

Pros: The beguiling Kimberly Nixon mastering some tightly packed dialogue. Cons: The script is occasionally patronising, diminishing what is otherwise a smartly observed piece. I always feel a quiet burst of pride when among the first to see a new play. So I can now say I was there for the Original Death Rabbit at the Jermyn Street Theatre. Rose Heiney (of Fresh Meat fame) adapted her original Radio 4 play for the stage and has produced a dark and ...

Pros: The seamless combination of action, lighting and sound. Cons: Nothing much springs to mind. Don’t go to this show expecting a complete run through of the HG Wells book. Instead, using the 1938 Orson Welles radio broadcast as a starting point, Rhum and Clay have explored people’s propensity to readily accept that all they hear and read is true with, in this case, some unintended consequences for one family.Starting off with a re-creation of the radio play the focus ...

Pros: Peter Duncan captivates as a Panto Dame sparkling with allure and panache. As the limelight dies down, glad rags are shed and greasepaint is wiped off, vivid memories take centre-stage. Cons: A performer treads the boards, then succumbs to dressing room blues. It’s a lyrical but familiar story: underneath a wild grin, the tears of a clown. The Park Theatre, hidden right behind Finsbury Park station in North London, was glittering on a cold January night as cheerful crowds ...

An Access Customer herself, Sidonie, explains what this means to her, what’s on offer and what everyone needs to know. We hope these articles will introduce an important, but often overlooked, area of theatre going that many audience members are unaware of.

'Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four' playwright Nick Lane shares his take on the iconic detective and how he's adapted his stories for the stage.

Best play is the blue ribbon award for the Reggies; the genre that originally gave the fringe its profile. In third place is Wipers Times at the Arts Theatre. Co-written by Ian Hislop, the play is a glorious mix of comedy, pathos and drama as the human cost of war is laid bare. In second place, Tiny Dynamite at the Old Red Lion. A play from the pen of Abi Morgan does exactly what it says on the tin. A ...