Pros: Beautiful music and great hand-drawn animation. Cons: Despite being short, it was a bit too drawn out at certain points. Part of the First Bites programme at the Ovalhouse, Strawberry Vale is a work-in-progress and so the showing was a short sneak peak at a future full length production. Featuring the use of digital images, some props and a solo female performer, it was an intriguing insight. The story is of a teenage girl who fears that becoming an adult will mean ...

Pretentious, self-indulgent pop culture that owes little to the principles of performing arts.

A clever but dark journey into fairyland, guided by an intriguing storyteller.

A melting pot of performing arts which, at times, can be tricky to follow.

Pros: Unique in every way, with stage trickery that is bound to stay with you for the rest of your theatre-going life. Cons: Theatre at its best but something this unconventional will not be for everybody. : Walking along Shoreditch High Street, no one seemed to be able to tell me where Shoreditch Town Hall was. It took me four attempts to find a passer-by who could finally point me in the direction of what was once the grandest vestry hall ...

I had reservations about this installation, and was delighted to be proven wrong. Empathy Museum is a fantastic, fun, free pop up which represents something we need much more of in our city.

An exciting production tackling the role of tradition in modern culture in a responsible, balanced way. A fresh, funny and touching piece of contemporary theatre which audiences should flock to for style as much as content.

Pros: A really interesting piece of immersive theatre, cleverly choreographed in an extremely unusual space. Cons: Could have been a little more succinct in places, and it was sometimes difficult to see bits of the action because of the space. Handle with Care is the story of Zoe and the superfluous stuff she collects throughout her life, which she holds in a storage unit that grows in size as we see her go from a young adult to a grieving ...

An emotionally charged ninety minutes of real life experiences from real life veterans, made even more powerful by the casting of both Brits and Argentineans.

Pros: Interesting discussion, led by smart, funny presenters Cons: More of a book promotion than a performance The Idiot Brain is billed as a light-hearted look at the psychology of superstition, the neuroscience of sleep, how tall people are more intelligent, and why a glass of wine might improve our memory. I anticipated a performed approach to the subject not unlike that in Ruby Wax’s ongoing tour Sane New World. A serious subject, approached in an engaging and intelligent way, but ...