A thoughtful response to generation Gogglebox.

Pros: This is entertaining, creative, eye-catching and full of good moral values. Cons: The merging of two-well known stories adds a great deal of complication. As something of an Iris Theatre super-fan, I couldn’t wait to review their latest offering, a kid-friendly production of Hansel and Gretel and the Witch Baba Yaga, in the charming St. Paul’s Church in Covent Garden. The format matches their previous outstanding productions, as the audience is led through a wonderland of stages and scenes both ...

Pros: It is always important to share stories of suffering when the practice of the penitentiaries is still so recent. Cons: Lacking in story arc. FilthyCOW are an all female troupe driven to create theatre that explores the roles of women historically, culturally, socially and politically. They strive to strip away the male gaze and show womanhood at its truest, bravest, strongest, messiest, most flawed and most beautiful, embracing the diversity of women’s experiences around the world by exploring and ...

Pretty set, actors give it all they’ve got, but limp writing and absence of humour means this is one farce that never truly makes an entrance.

Windows is a fascinating, sweet-natured and yet socially-aware play. It flows smoothly between its three scenes, rarely flagging and with enough soft humour that a smile is never far away.

Pros: The production values are excellent in every respect. Cons: Not suitable for audiences in search of easy entertainment. There is something intimate and profound about Gunshot Medley that stays with you long after you’ve left Venue 13 in Edinburgh. This must have to do with the sweet whispers of the High Priestess (impersonated by playwright and director Dionna Michelle Daniel) or with the piercing eyes and husky voice of the slave Betty (Morgan Camper). Standing in the middle of a field covered in ...

Pros: Strong physical performances and lovely music Cons: The theatre wasn’t big enough to house all our dreams Since the premiere of Joan Clevillé’s Plan B for Utopia in 2015, we’ve seen the referendum vote to leave the EU, the election of Donald Trump, and the continued spate of terror attacks. With impressive clarity of vision, Clevillé has succeeded in creating a choreographic language that resonates with humanity and remains relevant in these rapidly changing times. Fittingly, the two performers ...

Pros: Powerful physical performance Cons: The relentlessly punishing choreography feels pointless at times On a thrust stage, performer Markéta Vacovská pushes herself to her physical limits as she explores the intensity of a boxer’s experience. Whirring limbs become a blur as she punches to the point of exhaustion. At other times she appears to be receiving the blows, shaking her head from side to side repeatedly before reeling backwards and landing sprawled on the floor. Vacovská’s strength and stamina are ...

Pros: Mesmerising and unprecedented. Cons: Watching the puppeteers work in the foreground is fascinating but can also divert the attention from the main screen above their heads. Living in a caravan stationed in the middle of the desert, by a vast satellite field, Lula Del Ray lives a solitary life. Her favourite pastime is to sit on the edge of a satellite dish and look at the moon. Swinging her feet in the empty space below, she wonders about the men who ...

Pros: Nate Edmondson’s original music score is a journey in its own right. Cons: The plot’s dramatic elements aren’t properly developed. British expat Noëlle has inherited from her beloved dad a passion for cartography and, inspired by her childhood readings, she decides to embark on an enlightening journey along the Amazon river. When she comes back, though, she discovers that her father has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Recollections from her past empowering adventure merge with the chronicles of his degenerative illness, ...