Sean Michael Welch Directed by William E.P. Davis  ★★★ Pros: Very funny with plenty of wordplay and physical comedy.  Cons: A few jokes wore out their welcome.  Our Verdict: A hilariously infuriating short piece that features its actors well and rarely ceased to elicit laughs. Courtesy of AXIS Arts Following Unwrap Your Candy, the White Bear houses Gentlemen, Please – the tale of a duel gone terribly, hilariously wrong. Where the previous show fails to find its comedic hot spot, ...

Doug Wright Directed by Nick Bradford ★★  Pros: Good framework and interesting choices, some very funny moments.  Cons: The three pieces were bizarre, but not always in a good way: they didn’t match in tone, and all were quite anti-climactic. Our Verdict: The show made a good effort, and had some interesting things going on, but it wasn’t that enjoyable.  Courtesy of AXIS Arts The White Bear Theatre presented two separate shows this past week, the first being the bizarre ...

Presented as part of the AXIS Emerging Artists Festival alongside Vesta Created and directed by Menelaos Karantzas ★★ Pros: A clever set for a black box venue with some lovely direction and staging.  Cons: Quite slow which made it hard to follow and I was unsure if all the pauses were necessary.  Our Verdict: A worthy subject to explore, bringing ancient stories into the modern world and contrasting them with much more current geo-political events. Sadly I was left unaware of ...

Presented as part of the AXIS Emerging Artists Festival alongside Publius Horatius  Devised by Fighetta ★★★ Pros: A group of versatile female performances not restrained by stereotyping. Cons: It was very abstract with no real plot. I find it hard to get into a show with no real fictional purpose or characters that I can relate to. Our Verdict: Some real talent on stage, and while I recognise that it is pushing the somewhat fixed boundaries of theatre and performance ...

Presented as part of AXIS Emerging Artists Festival Written and Directed by Shaun Kitchener★★★ Pros: Great atmosphere with laugh out loud moments thanks to some fantastic writing. Cons: Some of the dialogue was lost on delivery leading to some awkward and polite audience laughter. Our Verdict: Makes for an enjoyable evening in the cozy environment created by the White Bear Theatre. Courtesy West Avenue Theatre Walking into the theatre you could be forgiven for thinking you’d made a complete idiot ...