Pros: Builds a fantastic relationship between audience and performers. Fast paced, energetic and hilariously clever. Cons: Perhaps not suitable for anyone under the age of 16 and be warned, there is audience participation! Of the many performances mounted this year to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, I was lucky enough to experience Burn Bright Theatre’s production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. This outstanding and utterly hilarious performance is a wonderful tribute to Shakespeare’s timeless tales. Combining rehearsed and unrehearsed ...

  Pros: Rosie’s monologues reflecting on how she met her ex are beautifully heartfelt. Cons: It is not a completely polished show, but this is part of its charm. Sweet Dukebox, located in the Iron Duke pub, was the first stop on my day of theatre at the Brighton Fringe Festival. A walk along the beach to the venue made a nice change from dashing around London, and the venue was a lovely traditional pub with friendly staff and a small ...

I’m Not Jesus Christ features a unique and unsettling storyline that provides more questions than answers.

Devilish! tempts us to indulge in an evening of undemanding entertainment, but should have demanded more of itself.

Pros: A cult show for disco lovers and 90s nostalgics. Cons: The singing needs some polishing. I am writing this review with my jaw still sore from all the laughter, while proudly displaying my “Space Vixen” badge. If you – like me – grew up in the 90s watching music channels and Japanese superhero cartoons, you will love everything about this show. Saucy Jack’s is a dodgy nightclub hidden in a dark corner of the galaxy. Every night, under the ...

Sharp writing and infectiously silly clowning combine in a slightly-too-knowing show that haemorrhages charm.

Amusing revue show set in a venue with a speakeasy vibe.

Pros: Hilarious, recognisable and dark in equal measure, this hits all the spots in one solid hour of entertainment. Cons: The ending is abrupt and less well-rounded than the rest of production,  and feels as though it misses something. On the face of it, Sket is one of those playground comedies, a lens through which we can all look back at our teenage years and cringe until we laugh. Sket has all the raw ingredients: the pouting and popular girl ...

I Am Thomas is a smart, funny, stylish and thoroughly Scottish paean to a forgotten subversive.

Pros: The set was absolutely mind-blowing. Cons: There was too much swearing in a script that otherwise flowed quite nicely. From the moment I entered the auditorium at the Arcola, I wished I could take a multi-sensorial picture of the mesmerising set into which I had been welcomed. Immersed in a cloud of incense-perfumed haze, a staircase led up to a red curtain, which was guarded on both sides by Chinese lanterns. Two golden doors and pillars with engraved logograms completed ...