Various Writers and DirectorsVault Festival produced by Heritage Arts Company★★★★ Pros: A variety of performances in a completely different fringe setting, affordable theatre and a fantastic fringe atmosphere. Cons: Individual shows likely to be risky and inconsistent, not a guarantee for excellent theatre! Our Verdict: Definitely make time to go and see something at the Vault Festival, no need to be too fussy about what! Courtesy of Vault Festival We all have a long list of things we hear about ...

George FarquharDirected by Josie Rourke★★★★ Pros: A great play, some sublimely funny performances, and a highly entertaining evening. Cons: None really, one slightly weak performance and a very hot venue (if those count!). Our Verdict: Highly recommended, a very funny production which is well worth seeing, and a great start for Josie Rourke. Care of Johan Persson It’s all changed at the Donmar since I went to see Streetcar Named Desire a couple of years ago. Well, not all changed. ...

Alan Ayckbourn Directed by Jeremy Herrin  ★★ Pros: A good performance by Kara Tointon, some occasionally amusing moments. Cons: A frankly dull script, lacked pace and energy and without any sparkling performances. Our Verdict: Not the best we’ve seen, can’t recommend spending money on seeing it. Courtesy of Simon Annand It has always been our intention to publish reviews that are straightforward and unpretentious. We’re not experts; we don’t do intense research of the text, director and actors before we ...

A brilliant piece of performance worth seeing just for Tyne Daly, but perhaps not a must-see.

Absolutely worth going to if you fancy challenging yourself and broadening your horizons - we genuinely enjoyed it and we know nothing about dance or sculpture.

Oscar WildeDirected by Henry Filloux-Bennett★★★ Pros: A fun and novel staging of an excellent play. Cons: Some of the comedy in this fringe production’s transfer is lost in the bigger space. Our Verdict: A good production worth seeing, although it drags a little in places. Courtesy of London Theatreland The Importance of Being Earnest, subtitled ‘A Trivial Play For Serious People’ is almost certainly Oscar Wilde’s most famous play. Its opening night was the climax of his career, but also the ...

Alexander WrightDirected by Dominic Allen★★★★  Pros: A thoroughly engaging performance by Jethro Compton. Cons: Not the best from Belt Up and may have lost some audience members along the way. Our Verdict: An intimate and moving evening of theatre, offering something entirely different from the norm. Courtesy of Belt Up Theatre Sat on a sofa in a dimly lit study, watching two characters struggle with each other as one tries to have sex with the other, it occurred to me ...

Sutton VaneDirected by Louise Hill★★★★★ Pros: Fringe theatre at its best, wonderful venue, fantastic acting and a completely engaging performance. Best fringe production we’ve seen.  Cons: None worth mentioning. Our Verdict: Superb. If you haven’t been to the Finborough before, then you’re missing out. Courtesy of the Finborough Theatre On Wednesday, one of my co-bloggers and I worked a normal 9-5 day. At 7pm, we met at the Finborough Theatre, our first visit to this much ballyhooed fringe venue, and ...

Michael FraynDirected by Lindsay Posner★★★★ Pros: Frayn’s superb script, the ridiculous achievement that is Act 2, Robert Glenister’s wonderful portrayal of Lloyd Dallas. Cons: Hardly any, slight issues with the deliberate bad acting in Act 1. Our Verdict: Probably the best farce ever written, an absolute must for all theatre fans. Courtesy of Alistair Muir for The Daily Mail Many of my deeply unfortunate friends (of which there are very few as it is…) have recently had to hear me ...

Alan BennettDirected by Christopher Luscombe★★★★ Pros: Alan Bennett’s script is superb and David Haig’s performance is outstanding. Cons: We can’t think of any… Our Verdict: A resounding success and highly recommended. Not ground breaking, but just very, very good theatre. Courtesy Tristram Kenton for The Guardian Having never seen the film or play before, I was really excited to see this production of Alan Bennett’s The Madness of King George III, and I was not disappointed. Without wasting any time, ...