with three unique performers, there is always going to be something for everyone.

A young woman is entrusted by her dying mother with a wooden box containing all the stories and words she knows. But not prepared to listen to them again, the bereaved daughter hides the box under her bed, wanting to forget about it. As the years go past, she grows lonely and misunderstood, gradually giving in to the Shadow Man – a sly creature who lingers around her and whispers demeaning messages into her ear. An impending sense of unworthiness ...

Part game, part social experiment

Black clad, sparkly and glamorous, Bernie Dieter is the suitably bawdy host to the Little Death Club, inspired by the Kabarett Club of the Weimar republic.  Following the lifting of censorship laws the Weimar club performances were dominated by two main themes, sex and politics.  This updated version is light on the politics, choosing instead to be a celebration of difference and urging everyone to be what they want to be.  You are treated to non-stop cabaret acts; comedy, singing, ...

Sitting in a busy Jackson’s Lane auditorium five minutes in to Proteus Theatre’s Macbeth I was smiling, totally convinced by the setting and excited about what was to come. Presumably thanks to the involvement of movement consultant, George Mann, the opening was a tightly choreographed recreation of a 1980’s financial trading floor, full of wit and in-your-face charm. Twenty minutes in, however, an uneasy feeling was growing that the evening might have already peaked. By an hour in, impressive physical ...

Homegrown Festival: Occupy He. She. Him. Her. They.  Such little words but with so much meaning.  But as Elise Heaven tells us, gender is a social construct.  There are people who don’t identify as he or she, otherwise known as non-binary.  Such as Elise Heaven, who isn’t he or she, but as is Elise’s wish, the pronoun to use is “they”.  Except they is singular, not plural.  Well that’s going to mess my editor’s head up, that’s for sure. [Ed: ...

Homegrown Festival: Occupy There is an incredible buzz in the building tonight for the grand opening of Battersea Arts Centre’s Homegrown Festival: Occupy, an almost month-long takeover of this lovely old building, by under represented voices.  There is nothing quite like the hum of so many excited and engaged youngsters to make you smile and savour the energy and joy they can generate.  It’s almost worth going along just to sit and enjoy that feeling, but then again, whilst you ...

Only last week I was writing “how adults can instil a sense of adventure into children”. Those words rung even more true tonight as a packed audience watched in pure delight this group of youths perform; a group so clearly inspired by people such as Conrad Murray, one of the men behind BAC Beatbox Academy, the makers and performers of Frankenstein. Conrad acted like the proud father as he introduced not just the show but other members of the academy, ...

Formed in 1993, Yamato has performed shows every year, in 54 countries and carried out nine world tours.  That should give an idea of their universal appeal and high standard of musicianship.  For this show, the ten strong troupe performed a number of pieces, almost non stop, on the theme of passion.  There were small drums, medium sized drums, large drums and couple of ginormous ones. There were wind instruments, other percussion, some singing, some strings, and did I mention ...

Following texted directions to the secret location “somewhere on the Victoria Line”, you make your way to a disused warehouse on the outskirts of town. Welcomed by a woman dressed as a 1930s aviator, speaking an imaginary language that hovers somewhere between Japanese and Klingon, you’re handed a beer – never a bad thing in a theatre – and led into the dining room. This turns out to be a vast octagonal space, hosting a dozen round 8-seater tables, mounted ...