Pros: Striking design, beautiful dancing and a focus on building new audiences Cons: Sometimes felt more like a PR stunt than it should have done The New English Ballet Theatre is a young ‘neoclassical’ ballet company whose (admirable) mission is to  create opportunities for excellence across the creative spectrum of dance. Everyone is an impeccably trained dancer. The rest of the team commit earnestly to outreach with a ‘Ballet Boot Camp’ for bloggers,  music festival gigs and more. Now, Quint-Essential: ...

Pros: Well-executed choreography Cons: The ‘princess’ failed to connect with the audience Do not be fooled by the title – Stuart Saint’s Princess is an unconventional tale of feminism expressed through movement and an electro-pop soundtrack. Not expecting a dance piece, I was surprised by this 65 minute show that features non-stop movement by six talented female and male dancers/actors, accompanied by the protagonist princess played by Jennie Dickie. Throughout the piece we see the journey of the princess, who ...

Pros: A high-energy cast kept up the pace with talent and panache. Cons: The syrupy storyline oversimplified the serious and difficult subject matter. Rumpy Pumpy takes its inspiration from the true story of Jean Johnson and Shirley Landels, two women who campaigned for the legalisation of prostitution in 2006, following outrage over the murder of six sex workers in Ipswich. As part of their research these two formidable women travelled the world in pursuit of the “perfect brothel” in an ...

A play about terrorism that approaches a hot topic with lukewarm arguments.

A strong and unique dance piece examining displacement.

Shakespeare’s greatest hits with a hint of Frankenstein make for an innovative and entertaining new take on the Bard’s work.

Fresh and powerful, this production is a well thought out adaptation of a much loved play.  

Pros: Superb cast, strong script and beautiful direction Cons: Unavoidable noise from outside the venue I had the pleasure of seeing this play in 2009 during one of its numerous sold out runs at the wonderful Kings Head Theatre in Islington. I then bumped into some friends at this year’s Edinburgh Festival who had just seen it on the Fringe, so I went again. I’ve now had the delight of seeing this fantastic play for a third time as it ...

Pros: Moving, inspiring and eye-opening. This experience should be part of every school programme. Cons: There is a fair amount of walking up and down the stairs involved so, if you have any access requirements, let the box office know in advance. I arrived at the Battersea Arts Centre after a day of far too much discouraging news on international politics. Most likely, 2016 will be remembered as a year when extensive migration was met with fearful and openly hostile ...

A fun, easy-to-consume show that would be great for anyone looking to give something new a go; a production that allows you to sample a range of ballet to work out what you may want to see more of.