PROS: The thought and passion that went into the poetry was a pleasure to watch. CONS: It was hard to avoid the slow pace of the dialogue once a slam poem was finished, it only ever picked up during the poetry. I Stopped…when, tells the story of three young slam poetry contestants. The lives of Wren (Tom Nguyen), Naya (Nicole Acquah) and Adele (Lauren La Rocque) are all intertwined; they face ongoing battles due to their identities and the wrath ...

The sweat, the blood and the tears behind the tumbles. A must see for any fan of circus arts.

Pros: Smart, well-written, and extremely well-acted. Cons: Elements around life and afterlife aren’t always clear, and some familiarity with the story is helpful. This is an energetic and enjoyable production which looks at the true life story of Gerda Taro, the first female photographer killed in action. Taro was a force of nature and she’s brought to life wonderfully in this production. Born Gerta Pohorylle (a Jewish woman in Stuttgart pre-second world war), she moved to Paris in the midst ...

Pros: Excellent musicianship and a good range of song styles Cons: Lack of memorable tunes and a confusing storyline Calling all producers! Please stop pasting microphones to your singers’ foreheads! If you can’t hide them under their hair (although, why?) then the jawline is a far better option. Your audience is connecting to a singer’s eyes, and they don’t want to be distracted by a bundle of wiring in the middle of their face. Sorry, just had to get that ...

Pros: Excellent performances by the three cast members.  Cons: The ending is a bit of a damp squib. So the Vault Festival is in full swing beneath Waterloo station. With its interesting spaces and buzzing atmosphere it is well worth a visit. Looking at the eclectic mix of shows available you will surely find something that takes your fancy.  With some planning it may even be possible to see more than one per visit. But one of the problems of ...

Pros: Nicely menacing Gothic atmosphere. Cons: Shallow characterisation and a complete lack of variation in tone A word of warning to anyone planning a visit to Notre Dame de Paris at London Coliseum. Brace yourself. Brace for histrionics. The breast-beating starts early, with the first big number, Les Sans-papiers, and never really lets up for the rest of the show. The understandable anguish of the outcasts, the vulnerable and the falsely accused is rendered with the same power ballad intensity ...

Interesting and compelling debut by Warden which imagines the effects of a Harvey Weinstein type on the women closest to him - his daughters and wife

Pros: Has little to commend it, aside from a cast who are clearly enjoying the material.      Cons: Suffers from an overdone plot, clunky dialogue, poor characterization and, most regrettably, nothing to say. Brexit was, for better or worse, a defining moment in British history. Depending on your outlook, the vote to leave the European Union could represent triumph or travesty, a chance to redefine British society and identity or a woeful regression to a darker time in European politics. Theatre can, ...

Pros: Tremendous acting, wonderful writing, and a fantastic look into the past of an incredible woman. Cons: There are some slight questions around the character development. If you ever needed a reason to venture into South East London, Gentleman Jack at the Brockley Jack theatre is it. This true story of a remarkable female pioneer is inspiring, absorbing, and deserves a full house at every performance. The story of Anne Lister is set across three different decades in the 1800s, ...

Pros: The set. The sound design. The projection. The lighting. Cons: Far too many people in the audience filming the show on their phones. A silvery particle spins and tumbles from above, setting in train an evolutionary journey from primordial soup to space exploration. Well that’s the idea, anyway. More prosaically, Totem is a high-spec review show, in which circus acts, loosely themed around ideas of man’s evolution and environment, are interspersed with quirky comic vignettes. The circus acts are ...