2026, Uncategorised

“Darkling” at the Bush Theatre

Titas Halder’s play tells the story of the Bhopal chemical disaster through the experience of one nameless character. Giving this woman, from one of India’s lowest castes, a potent voice and focusing on her in such detail is stirring. At first, the poetry used to describe her difficult life includes moments of childhood joy and chances for a better future. The vivid descriptions are strong on colour and the sense of touch.

This is a huge role for one performer, not least as 90 minutes is a very long monologue. Taking on the challenge, Linnea Berthelsen secures respect but, unfortunately, there are moments when she does not do the script justice. The delivery is sometimes rushed, repetitious and, perhaps, nervous. Performing as a wide-eyed child, the naivety comes close to grating. And some of the script, especially at the end of a thought, is hard to hear, which is frustrating.

Berthelsen gets a lot of help. Matthew Xia’s direction is unflinching, embracing the brutal realities of the piece. The minimal set and lighting design, from Simon Kenny and Rajiv Pattani, are strangely beautiful, and the use of dry ice is particularly effective. Berthelsen also improves as her character grows up. Scenes of the disaster are done well, while her life afterwards – difficult to comprehend let alone perform – is depicted with a passion and skill the actor should be proud of.

The aftermath of the chemical spill gets relatively little time, but is uncomfortably intense. After a miscarriage, there is also a stillborn baby. The question arises: is that the depth of the cruelty here? It isn’t just what happens to this woman or her fears for the future we are asked to face. It is the destruction of hope. It’s a bold move for a playwright. And while it risks being simply bleak, Darkling carries that danger proudly.

Until 24 October 2026

www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Photo by Alex Brenner

2026

“Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It” at the Soho Theatre

It is impossible to deny the energy in this fringe hit. It’s written and devised by its performers, Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland, who bound around the stage with impressive gymnastics and embody numerous roles. Their hard work is clear, their physical skill admirable and their efforts contagious. The duo command their stage, and the show is packed with moments and a soundtrack that’s sure to prove memorable. It is a real shame that the problems in the piece cannot be disguised by such antics. Despite the clear talent involved, we never break out of a sketchy treatment.

The story is not easy to follow. Two teenage friends claim that the cause of a road accident is a Sasquatch, and their little lie rapidly expands. Hysteria hits their “three-traffic-light town”, there are more sightings and people become scared. A lot of this is well done, especially the quick switches between characters. Some excellent lighting and sound design reflect the mania. But there’s a thinness to the characters – even in our lead protagonists, who talk a lot about Dairy Queens – while a sheriff with a backstory feels like a missed opportunity. It all ends up just a little too puzzling.

The sense of place is vague (to me, anyway), with a flood having rendered the town’s water supply dangerous. The treatment of its inhabitants borders on caricature, and the attempts at humour through this are unsuccessful. Thankfully, there is more going on than simply mocking the locals, who join in with the lie, each with their own motivations in mind.

The show’s strengths come in sections showing political pressure and the involvement of a government agency called the Crisis Response Team. The idea that the truth is being played with, and that fear is being enjoyed and manipulated, is interesting. A final suggestion that Bigfoot might be real – or at least real now that the stories have created it – could be explored more. The show comes close to moments that are both sensible and sinister. That combination intrigues, but too much gets in the way.

Until 26 September 2026

www.sohotheatre.com

Photo by Jennifer Forward Hayter

2026

“There is a Light and a Whistle for Attracting Attention” at the Hen and Chickens Theatre

This thought-provoking monologue, written and performed by Henri Merriam, is impressive throughout. The story of one woman’s search for love – and a troubled relationship – is sincere, insightful and full of ideas.

The pacing, impeccably handled by director Sophia Capasso, is skilful. The woman looks back on her childish ideas of Love with a florid L, inspired by Disney and Celine Dion (they’ve both got a lot to answer for). The tone is observational, the character is appealing, and Merriam has a knack for comedy, despite dark moments.

Tension mounts as a relationship progresses (some of this is not for the faint-hearted). From dating and marriage to lockdown, therapy and divorce, each period gets attention. There are fascinating links to how women are viewed by society, the pressures placed on them and how they subsequently judge themselves. But, throughout, Capasso keeps the action swift so that the show never feels like a lecture. The production is aided by fine sound design from Frazer Merrick and Shahaf Beer’s set – a chest of drawers full of surprises.

If there’s a problem, it’s that the story is not new. The guy, whose voice we hear through recordings, is awful. The gaslighting and abuse are clear and predictable. It isn’t Merriam’s fault, but the piece becomes depressingly familiar. The show is saved by strong acting and, in a satisfying twist, by the woman herself.

Calling on religion and mythology, embracing the darker side of her nature, seems to be the way out. From chats with the serpent in the Garden of Eden to imagining herself as a vengeful Medusa, there’s a playful edge that might be further explored. The conclusion leaves the audience wanting more for itself and, more importantly, more for the protagonist.

Until 13 September 2026

www.playnicelytheatre.com

Photo credit Scott Godding

2026

“Galaxy Train” at the Underbelly Boulevard Soho

Five-star hits at the Edinburgh Fringe are often weird and wacky. Nonetheless, this Japanese show might be one of the strangest to subsequently travel to London. It’s a musical for children (kind of) that takes the audience to the stars, performed by near-naked men with an emphasis on physicality, informed by kabuki and clowning. If that appeals, then fair enough. And there are plenty of laughs. Thankfully, there is a lot more to the show than just silliness.

The story, based on the work of Kenji Miyazawa, is simple. A fantasy tale, impressive for its emotional sting, it recounts the adventures of two young boys, Giovanni and Campanella. Parents and classmates feature, the boys have difficult lives, and they escape to travel to the Milky Way. Chobi Natsuki, who plays Giovanni, directs the production and takes the lead in singing, accompanied by the show’s playwright, Maruichiro Maruo, who gives a sterling performance. It’s crazy, funny and surprisingly emotional.

Every movement is exaggerated; the cast break out into dance and could win gurning competitions. The energy is astounding and the level of dance and acrobatics accomplished. It takes real skill to be this silly. The mix of references – Japanese traditions, surely commedia dell’arte and a great Pina Bausch gag – is bewildering, but every joke and emotion is clear. If anything, the show might be a little too concerned with making sure its British audience follows what’s going on – such care dampens the wonder a little. Despite protestations that “nobody understands everything”, most of the piece is performed in English and there are a lot of paper signs to ensure we understand the words.

Did I mention that the men wear only shoulder pads? The story is that the company, called 2 Shoulder Pads, was so broke during Covid that it couldn’t afford costumes, so its players use shoulder pads as a kind of codpiece. Who doesn’t love that level of invention? As it happens, the extra props in the show (mostly hats) are handled superbly. You don’t have to be much of a cynic to see this as a gimmick. But hold on. The aim is “free” theatre: the company is crowd-funded (donations welcome), and the idea is that the costumes liberate the imagination. They are certainly a lot of fun – sweet, even – and if the lofty aim doesn’t quite convince, the show is memorable and far more than just a space oddity.

2 September 2026 only

www.shika564.com

2026

“The Haunting of Verity Evans” at the Hope Theatre

Freya Jackson’s play combines trauma, mental illness and ghosts. The writing is neat, the action intense and the twists original. It’s an intriguing premise from the start. Ellie ran away from an abusive home and, as an adult, has written about it. But her sister Verity stayed. It is a bold move to suggest that writing about trauma, a familiar therapeutic exercise, hasn’t helped Ellie to escape it.

She returns to meet a resentful Verity after many years and finds they have much to resolve. Their childhood home turns out to be, literally, haunted. And the sisters are inexplicably trapped in it by a locked door. There are some genuinely creepy moments that help to power the action along. There are also problems. The dialogue is too quirky too often. Yes, Verity is odd, and her sister is described as a “liability”, but their vocabulary is sometimes convoluted and the mind games they play too transparent.

Perhaps Ellie’s efforts to be sincere constrain the character? The performances – from Alex Dickson and Liberty Jackson – might also be more confident. The production would benefit from greater variety. The depictions of the sisters being cruel to or consoling each other need more time to develop.

In fairness, there is a point to Verity’s often muted delivery. Even when she explains that she is “cursed”, she does so calmly, which makes it scarier. And Ellie’s anxiety makes sense, too. But the short scenes in which the sisters “switch” roles don’t convince. Introducing these so clearly makes them easy to follow, but also takes away tension. They need more time and greater nuance to justify their inclusion.

Jackson has interesting ideas about the haunting, and the way the past can feel alive to those who have experienced trauma is intelligently explored. For a short piece that raises a lot of issues, she manages a strong conclusion that is neither predictable nor pat – and that is impressive.

Until 26 August 2026

www.camdenfringe.com

2026

“How The Other Half Loves” at the Old Vic Theatre

Like any farce, Alan Ayckbourn’s 1969 hit needs strict direction and with Phillip Breen at the helm of this revival, the necessary precision is achieved. An inventive in-the-round staging, which you’d think would be tricky for this kind of comedy, generates theatrical excitement. And, while there’s no pretending the show isn’t dated, there’s a lot of fun and truly wonderful performances to enjoy.

The plot is a pretty standard sex comedy: two troubled marriages, one affair and a third couple drawn into events when they are used as a cover story. The thrills come from a script bursting with observations and misinterpretations arising from characters being literal. The twists are provided by Rob Howell’s set, which creates a ‘shared’ living room for all the action and plays with time and space in the way Ayckbourn intended.

Ayckbourn’s interest in class is present and correct but this is where you note how much times have changed. Frank and Fiona are proper posh, he’s the boss of the two other men, who provide different versions of the middle classes. But the world of work has changed so much, the trio make little sense. Slightly better, the sexual politics in How The Other Half Loves must have been objectionable all along and just get easier to laugh about (although the ‘fun’ around being a maid is a little too much for me).

The production works because of the cast more than the characters.

Ayesha Antoine and Rowan Polonski have a great time as a couple with a new baby. They bring passion to their on-stage relationship; Polonski makes a convincing lothario and it’s great to see Antoine bring such strength to her character. The couple drawn into their mayhem are played in a broader manner by Laura Elsworthy and Adam Gillen. The silly voices get laughs (with social anxiety another incongruously old-fashioned source of fun) but I wonder what the effect would be to have this final couple less exaggerated.

Dorothy Atkinson has a great time as Fiona, a frightful snob whose husband’s scattiness and pedantry have driven her to adultery. Atkinson’s depictions of frustration are consistent highlights. But the show belongs to Roger Allam, as Frank, who makes every line funny and manages to make the script seem easy. The character may be a bluff old fool, but Allam makes him sympathetic as well as infuriating. Frank’s attempts to work out what is going on, his incredulity about the “promiscuous” set he imagines himself among and his misguided attempts to help are all great fun, even if the production is working harder than the play to make it so.

Until 19 September 2026

www.oldvictheatre.com

Photo by Manuel Harlan

2026

“Mind the Güeco” at WAC Arts

A new show from a new company, this debut production is exactly the kind of thing that the Camden Fringe festival is for. Panela Combo is a ‘collective’ of artists from Colombia who have devised a piece based on their experience of moving to London. The group has a lot to say and says it in an interesting way.

The five performers – Mariana Habeych, María Manotas, Maria Jose Muñoz Rivera, Juliana Ruiz Torres and Paolo Zaccuri-Perez – work across disciplines. The show is heavily invested in dance and movement, and these are its highlights, with whimsical touches balanced by satire and emotional appeals.

The action is occasionally confusing. Centred on a group of friends in the pub, there are several stories being told at the same time, and this proves too much in such a short show. Each character could be explored in far more depth, as their individual histories are interesting. There are also issues of audibility – not the performers’ accents but the volume – and the show seems a little lost in the large space.

The bilingual nature of the piece is handled well and adds humour. The introduction of Marimonda – a carnival figure in Colombia – is excellent, with characters donning a mask or carrying him around to great effect. The group also tell us about key moments in Colombian history. Interesting stuff, but these brief references prove jarring; anger about the state of their nation is clear, but the connection between that history and the experiences of this young group is insufficiently developed, and the dialogue contains too many slogans.

The relationship between the personal and the political is not badly done – it’s just that there isn’t enough of either element. Taking on subjects such as displacement and cultural identity in under an hour needs a lot more focus. Many moments intrigue, but more detail is required. Too much feels slight, tokenistic even. It is as if themes of memory and what migrants miss become items on a checklist, leaving Mind the Güeco feeling more like a plan for a trip than a real journey.

Until 6 August 2026

www.camdenfringe.com

2026

“Deliver Us From Evil” at the Bridewell Theatre

K.S. Norris is on solid ground with this new play – witches always make good drama. Like Arthur Miller’s classic, The Crucible, and many plays inspired by it, there’s no doubt the topic is fruitful. The history is rich and including ‘Witch Finder General’ Matthew Hopkins as a character a strong idea; it’s all interesting stuff.

Striving for balance is an important move. Norris gives the accused, Elizabeth Clarke, her say – we’d expect that nowadays. But the piece takes time over her tormentor Hopkins, even if insight into the man is a little rushed. A lot rests on Anastasia Babich and Finton McCluskey who take these parts but, regrettably, struggle at times over the understandably manic touches. Babich laughs a little too readily while McCluskey’s character is too prone to panic. But there’s also time with Hopkins’ mentor, his mother and potential fiancé, nice roles for Rob Wallis, Emily Fellows and Nika Kamaeva, that prove to be highlights.

Unfortunately, the script does not help the performers. There are too many olde worlde flourishes. It’s not that they’re unbelievable—Norris has a clear sense of how the Bible filled her subjects’ lives—but the actors stumble over them. While the direction, from Norris and Davy Tennison, aims for control, it ends up slow with the drama and efforts at humour or romance uneven. And there are issues around audibility with too many lines lost. Atmosphere is left to the score from Finn Weston and, while this is strong, it is not enough.

The conclusion has impact, even if the sense of history repeating itself is pessimistic. Perhaps it is best to think of Deliver Us From Evil as an introduction to the topic. The setting and the arguments are clear and there’s plenty to ponder. But the play suffers from offering little that is new, whether in its storytelling, its historical insight or the perspective it offers.

Until 6 August 20226

www.khoasproductions.co.uk

2026

“Trainspotting” at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

The misadventures of heroin addict Renton and his friends from Irvine Welsh’s 1994 novel can fairly be called a phenomenon. Trainspotting is no stranger to film or stage. The idea of turning the piece into a musical presumably came from the integral role that songs have played in its popularity. Yet, despite Welsh clearly giving his approval to director and developer Caroline Jay Ranger, and working with Stephen McGuinness on the music and lyrics, the result here does not replicate that success.

For a start, there is the misguided marketing appeal to nostalgia: the boast that the show will “transport you back to the Nineties”. But what is being looked back on is pretty grim and, to his credit, Welsh has never tried to hide that. Unfortunately, in this iteration, the political point connecting poverty, crime and drug addiction feels thrown in. Time and again, characters simply comment on how awful life is in Leith. With little added beyond a string of tragic events, the show generates a bizarre lack of sympathy.

Welsh’s characters, with whom so many people seem intoxicated, are flattened. While Lewis Kidd brings great energy to the stage as Renton, he is far stronger as a narrator than when required to embody the horrors of drug withdrawal, creating an uncomfortable imbalance. Sheridan Townsley seems wasted as an underwritten Sick Boy – we are never given enough sense of where his contempt for other people comes from. And it is a major mistake in Ranger’s direction to allow performances to come so close to screen versions. Kieran Andrew and Frankie O’Connor both seem to be impersonating other actors rather than creating characters of their own.

It is welcome that the women in the piece are more prominent. But nothing can hide the fact that they live their lives through their relationships with boyfriends or sons. Yana Harris and Sophie Hutchinson find this too much of a demand to generate powerful performances, while Rosie Dignan is fortunate to have a more substantial role. The strongest acting comes from Rebecca McKinnis and Ashley J Russell, who play parents of the wayward youths, but their roles are written generically: their characters largely just bicker and moan. Frankly, everyone is a bit of a bore.

It is possible that the attempt to make the action more even-handed is intended to provide greater space for female voices – in the most literal sense. But here lies the production’s biggest problem: what is sung, and how it sounds, is simply not good enough. Although there isn’t much music in the show, what there is is mostly bad. The original compositions are generic or poor pastiches, the lyrics simple and crass. The pop songs everyone associates with Trainspotting are included, but they feel obligatory, making little sense within the action. Everyone knows the words, so when performers become lost in them it is painful and the show comes dangerously close to karaoke. But less fun.

Until 5 September 2026

www.trainspottingthemusical.co.uk

Photo by Matt Crockett

2026

“The Jonathan Larson Project” at the Southwark Playhouse

This tribute show to the titular composer is a must for musical theatre aficionados. With a revival of Larson’s smash hit, Rent, coming soon, the timing is spot on for perfecting your knowledge and picking up trivia. There are numbers from shows never staged and numbers dropped from those that were. Songs written for competitions, cabarets and reviews, and some pop songs too. This packed show offers plenty.

Conceived by Jennifer Ashley Tepper, the selection is varied, the biographical detail light. Each number is energetically directed by John Simpkins, aided by Taylor Walker’s movement direction and Sam Biondolillo’s lighting design. Little unites the show apart from Larson. That’s not necessarily a problem; there is a satisfying distance between the “project” and jukebox biographies.

Unfortunately, the quality is inconsistent. There are strong songs that show the writer’s vision. But too much is included for the sake of interest. You might enjoy the anger on offer from Larson the tyro. You could even make a claim for prescient satire (there’s a song about a 2076 presidential race, and plenty to say about consumerism). But not a lot of humour lands. The rare chance to hear these songs is welcome, but the ratio of those you want to hear again isn’t great.

What ensures success is the quintet of strong performers. Marcus Collins, Max Harwood, Natalie Kassanga, Michael Mather and Imelda Warren-Green all sound great. They make the most of the songs they get to lead. Warren-Green has a great time with ‘Bring on the Booze‘ and shows skill with a very tricky Sondheim-style song. Harwood is particularly well cast for angsty numbers like ‘Rhapsody‘. And even if the material isn’t strong—just too generic or try-hard—Collins and Mather bring great stage presence, while Kassanga makes everything sound stunning.

Highlights arrive when the group focuses on performing together, improving the songs by combining their voices under the skilful musical direction of Livi Van Warmelo. Which makes sense. After all, the choral numbers are the best part of Rent. It’s confirmation like this that fans love, and nice for the rest of us too. So is the show just for theatre buffs? Yes…but only just.

Until 22 August 2026

www.southwarkplayhouse.com

Photo by Danny Kaan