Fringe/ OffWestEnd
We could argue for hours what makes a fringe theatre venue, and even then we doubt we’d come to a satisfactory definition. So to keep it simple, fringe here simply means the wonderful little venues, generally less than 100 seats, often located above or below or next to pubs, and very much at the heart of our theatre world, where all the magic usually starts.
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Review: Baldwin Vs Buckley, Wilton’s Music Hall
A lucid and relevant reconstruction of a historic debate that fascinates and resonates, but is it theatre?
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Review: Exhuming Emily, Etcetera Theatre
A well chiselled solo show, performed with skill and momentum.
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Review: The Rat Trap, Park Theatre
An early Coward play resurfaces as more than just an intellectual curio.
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Review: Spin Cycles, Camden People’s Theatre
A vibrant and heartfelt one-woman show that provides a fresh, contemporary take on grief, healing and identity in your 30s.
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Review: Boxes, Soho Theatre
A vital story that tells of a life of uncertainty and hardship.
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Review: A Fine Kettle of Fish, Old Red Lion Theatre
An energetic and entertaining take on the classic murder mystery, swapping out contemplative seasoned detectives for loud and lively students crashing through the case.
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Review: Was Jane Austen Gay?, Actors Church
What better way to honour the recent 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death than by exploring her potential queerness in an infamous 17th‑century church?
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Review: Maggots, Bush Theatre
Farah Najib’s unsettling drama is a portrait of housing failure, social paralysis and exemplary storytelling.
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Review: Gutter VIII, The Pen Theatre
Some of the most vital alternative comedy London has to offer, Gutter amplifies the best and worst of human nature, weaponising parody and turning society’s grey areas – and outright evils – into tools of critique.
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Review: Sorry For My English, The Tabernacle
A show with important, fascinating stories at its centre that shies away from substance in favour of surface-level remarks