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.
-
Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Space
Shakespeare delivered in a fun, welcoming and interactive way. This intimate production makes the audience feel right at home in this magical mash-up of mortals and fairies.
-
Review: The World Is Falling In Around Us, Union Theatre
A sharp, funny unravelling of burnout and boxed in living
-
Review: Zoë.exe, Theatre Peckham
An ambitious exploration of autonomy and identity elevated by its strong central performance
-
Review: Dark Of The Moon, Charing Cross Theatre
Fresh design, strong performances and a punchy score revive a familiar tale of witches, love and small-town suspicion, creating an enjoyable if not revolutionary night.
-
Review: Don’t Tell Dad about Diana, Underbelly Boulevard Soho
A personal, authentic and amusing tale of queerdom in 1990s Dublin that proves surprisingly buoyant. Theatre magic at its most rudimentary yet impressive.
-
Review: Bound By the Wind: Echoes of the Past, The Rotunda Theatre Bubble, Brighton
An ambitious take on Mulan with strong ideas and committed performances, but underdeveloped writing and staging leave its promise only partly fulfilled.
-
Review: The Dasslers, Bridewell Theatre
A tense retelling of the overnight collapse of a brothers’ relationship and the birth of two iconic sport shoe brands.
-
Review: Everlasting Cake, The Questors Theatre
A heartfelt but wildly overstuffed new play that buries genuine emotional insight beneath a torrent of baffling ideas.
-
Review: The Harder They Come, Theatre Royal Stratford East
The Hero brings the thunder; the whole cast is electrifying!
-
Review: End of the Rainbow, Soho Theatre Walthamstow
A poignantly emotional, musically thrilling biography, unmissable for Jinkx Monsoon's exceptional performance alone.