This review contains potential spoilers. There is an open coffin on the stage. I have a thing about bodies in boxes and its freaking me out a little bit – that's no dummy body. Fortunately once the play starts, its pace is such that it works as a distraction until there is something else that…

Living a Little, King's Head Theatre My picks from London's fringe offerings in the coming weeks. Clowning about – London's Clown Festival celebrates physical comedy and clown influenced contemporary performance exploring what clown is to the modern performer and their audiences.  Challenging assumptions about the word “clown” and bringing highly entertaining work from across the…

The Gap in the Light, New Diorama Feel I should apologise as I've been a bit lax in publishing my fringe theatre picks for the last couple of months (blame the day job). Anyway to remedy that, here are a handful of forthcoming productions that look interesting. Globalisation When work knows no borders, what's the…

Custody (courtesy Lidia Crisafulli) Custody is a play about the impact of a contemporary tragedy. Brian – brother, lover and son – is killed in police custody and as his family fight for justice they also fight to come to terms with his death in their own way. The play's inventive opening has the four…

POLITICAL THRILLER Ready or Not is a pacy political thriller which sets out its claustrophobic stall in a small suburban house peopled by a handful of characters whose lives are inexorably tied together and whose hasty decisions leave them teetering on the edge of disaster.  Arcola Theatre, Dalston April 11-29th 8pm start, 2hrs. LOVE AND…

Wail – Little Bulb Theatre MAIDS UPDATED Swifties is a new adaptation of Jean Genet's play The Maids, exploring the alienating and destructive effect that poverty, celebrity fetishism and social media can have on the lives of normal people. Swifties is written by Tom Stenton and directed by Luke Davies (The Chemsex Monologues, The HIV…

Haven't seen any of these but they do sound good… Pop Up Opera's I Capuleti e I Montecchi DOUBLE BILL As part of its Cash, Capitalism and Corporations season, Battersea Arts Centre has two plays which can be seen individually or as a double bill. DenMarked by Conrad Murray (22 Feb – 11 Mar) is…

Guards at the Taj, Bush Theatre January was a fringe fest for me with some cracking productions. I definitely recommend Out There On Fried Meat Ridge Road at the White Bear (finishes Feb 4) and BU21 at Trafalgar Studios 2 (finishes Feb 18) and from the off West End sphere Dirty Great Love Story at…

Henry V HENRY V – Set in a First World War field hospital, Antic Disposition bring Shakespeare's play about the warrior king to Southwark Cathedral as part of a UK cathedral tour. You can see it there on Feb 2, 3, 20 & 21. For more details and other tour stops head to Antic Disposition's…

One Last Thing For Now, Old Red Lion GENDER & RACE Am I black enough? straight enough? Jamaican enough? Created and performed by performance artist Rachael Young in collaboration with dance artist and choreographer Dwayne Antony, OUT examines and explores the stigmas associated to queerness and gender conformity within the black community. It's touring but…