Pros: All the stories used in this piece are authentic. Cons: The presence on stage of more women than men might send the wrong message. Using real statements from recovering alcoholics, Mark Jeary creates a powerful choir of voices addressing the most common issues related to alcohol abuse. He plays the role of the old timer, joined on stage by Cameron Fulton as the newcomer. Miriam Sarah Doren as has been sober for a year; Camille Marmié has been in recovery for six ...

Pros: This personal drama stands out for its political message. Cons: Zimmerman’s notes on production indicate that the woman is determined not to be a victim, but during the play we see her entirely losing her clarity of mind with a nearly-irreversible fallout. Working as a teacher in a United States school, a woman (Polly Frame) develops a compulsive fear of falling victim to a shooting. She knows it’s only a matter of time before this happens in her establishment ...

If theatre is meant to provoke a reaction, this is an absolute masterpiece.

Pros: The final twist is pretty clever. Cons: This show didn’t stand up to its name and made very little impact on me. The narrator of this drama is smartly dressed and has distinct manners. When he walks in, he puts his briefcase on the floor behind his chair, and invites us to pick some envelopes from a rack. These contain victim impact statements, talking about the aftermath of a big tragedy: loss, grief, and the inability to forgive. Then the ...

A living room drama which portrays the lives of three hopeless millennials but requires a brisk revision to realise its full potential.

The swinging friendship of two heroin addicts is used to expose one of the biggest failures of Thatcherism.

Pros: Painfully autobiographical. Cons: This show is not for those seeking entertainment. Have you ever wondered what happens inside the head of a person diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? How many times have you made jokes about ‘having OCD’ after lining up the pens on your desk or organising your wardrobe in chromatic order? I did this many times, and attending Sam Ross’s devised performance Can’t Stop Can’t Stop gave me a rare insight of how debilitating the actual condition ...

Pros: Candid and resounding. Cons: This show deserves a bigger audience. Anders Lee’s background as a comedian comes across distinctly in Dummy, although this is not quite the show one might expect. The jokes are there, as well as some awkward private revelations and a little interaction with the room. Yet, in his new work, Lee is promoting a socio-political message that is strongly relevant in our evolved civilisation. Diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder as a child, Lee is now a grown-up, ...

Pros: A poignant statement from the silenced benefit class. Cons: The actor’s stage presence is unconvincing. In the closing scene of KillyMuck, the protagonist Niamh (Aoife Lennon) raises a board that displays two stylised drawings. Three men are depicted standing on equal sized boxes. However, due to their different heights, only two men are able to see over the wall. This is how equality works: providing equal resources to everyone, but ignoring the specifics of each individual. On the bottom half, ...

The tenderness of brotherhood vibrates in the words of a WWI soldier.