Pros: This is a full-throttle production by a contemporary theatre company oozing with confidence. Cons: The action is distractingly far-fetched, to the point of total implausibility, while the characters are never developed much beyond surface-level. It’s also about 45 minutes too long. Shrödinger’s Dog, the second production from young theatre company Break the Verse, is presented as “a black comedy about the epidemic of male suicide with an LGBTQ+ twist”. It also features a cast of nine, and touches on ...

Pros: An original play with a largely female cast. Good use of props and set pieces to create the multiple locations of the play as well as nice use of puppetry. Cons: The issue of feminism wasn’t really explored despite the gender swap of the lead characters. It felt like the script could have done with an edit to make it more succinct as was a little meandering in places. Burn-Bright’s production of Frankenstein replaces the male scientist from Mary ...

Comedy, clowning, black magic, sexual healing, rituals and cross-dressing. Tell me that doesn’t sound like a good night out.

Pros: An exciting and unexpected take on the race debate. Cons: A good story, let down by the acting. The Incident, written by Swedish playwright Joakim Daun is a new and exciting piece of theatre that brings a fresh perspective to the international conversation about race, prejudice and otherness. It is a deeply worthy piece that brings some very interesting and unexpected nuances to a familiar debate. It’s a story of cross continental love between a Swedish teacher and a bright ...

Pros: Two Little Ducks speaks to the present with unaffected language that cuts to the heart. Cons: While the poems are all beautiful, the show’s impact could be enhanced with a shorter run-time.   In the aftermath of the Brexit vote, news crews filed report after report from places that might otherwise have never made national headlines. Towns and cities long-ignored and long-suffering were suddenly in the news for voting to leave. In poet Matt Abbott’s town of Wakefield, two-thirds ...

Pros: It’s not often you can say that an office chair put in a sterling performance, but here it almost steals the whole show.  Cons:  Still very much a work in progress, and there is an imbalance that will need addressing. Roddy Frame’s ‘Loneliness and being alone don’t always mean the same’ has always been a song line that plays in my head regularly.  But it wasn’t a line I expected to come to mind whilst watching Jake, the debut show from ...

The story of Charles Darwin’s voyage of discovery that would go on to change the world is a visually spectacular production of a fascinating period in history.

Declaration provides an entertaining and educational insight into life with ADHD. Well worth watching if you want to gain a better understanding of the condition – a must see for people working in caring professions.

A quirky interpretation of a classic, with curiously comedic nuances and gory details aplenty.

POT is Heaven Can Wait set on an inner city council estate. It’s bleak, desolate, and full of abject hopelessness. It’s also essential viewing for anyone who cares.