FESTIVAL STUFF 

The Love That I’ve Lost | Bread & Roses Theatre | 8-9 Oct
So much festival shenanigans to talk about again this week, so let us get right on with it and head to a lovely Lambeth Fringe show. Our tip for this week is ‘The Love That I’ve Lost’, a female led play about three women, written and directed by Morgan Clarice. It focuses on three members of the same family, all of whom are fed up with love just never going their way. Find out more about it here. 

The Notion Of Recompense | Old Red Lion Theatre | 13-15 Oct
And now – for it is October and we are entering spooky season – a pick from Grimfest, which takes place at the Old Red Lion, Barons Court, Drayton Arms and Bread & Roses Theatres. You can find links to all the venues and therefore the shows here, but you could definitely also take a look here to find our more about ‘The Notion Of Recompense’, which looks at generational trauma through a folk horror lens.

User Manual For A Broken Machine | Holy Cross Church | 9-10 Oct (pictured)
Next it’s time for a jaunt to the Bloomsbury Festival, which is also full of lovely events that you can read about here. I’m intrigued by this darkly comic piece looking at failure and burnout, capitalism and diaspora: expect Korean traditional music and a performer who “reads, repeats, mistranslates, repairs and gradually becomes the broken machine she is trying to fix”. Lots more info on the show right about here.

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MORE FESTIVAL TYPE STUFF

Not For Glory | Cecil Sharp House | 13-14 Oct (pictured)
And so to more festival and festival-related shows. This one is on as part of the Dance Umbrella fest, which has loads of great events, read about them here. It’s a dance theatre gig that melds highland dance, Irish dance and live piping, and is described as “a relentless unravelling of traditional dance and music”. Promises to be funny and engaging, and to feature “kilts, queerness and ceremonial violence”. Well, I’m sold. Click here. 

X Marks The Spot | Canada Water Theatre | 10-11 Oct
This is the second time I’ve put Theatre Peckham’s Young Gifted & Black season in the festival section knowing full well it’s a season not a festival, but I’m yet again going to stand by that decision. This show is about a teenage graffiti artist who, suffering from memory loss, embarks on an odyssey through gentrified Elephant & Castle and is forced to confront what is being erased around him. Find out more here. 

Dom McGovern: Prize Hog | Soho Theatre | 12-17 Oct
Another one that’s not actually on at a festival, but this very show was on in Edinburgh in the summer, and our reviewer absolutely loved it, so I reckon it deserves a place in this section. And of course, we weren’t the only publication that thought it was brilliant. He’s a BBC New Comedy Award nominee, co-writer of Chicken Shop Dates, and has supported loads of brilliant comedy types, so why even question this? Book your tickets here.

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EVIL STUFF 

The Banality Of Evil: Hannah Arendt, France, 1940 | Arcola Theatre | 8 Oct-7 Nov (pictured)
Disclaimer: I can’t guarantee that every show in this section is evil, but they do all have some kind of connection to it, including, in this case, having the word in its title. The show blends satire, physical theatre and cabaret, and explores the history of women caught between exile, imprisonment and survival. It’s about three German Jewish women arrested in France in 1940, one of them future political theorist Hannah Arendt. More here. 

Sorry Isobel | Drayton Arms Theatre | 11-12 Oct
“Heather has always been told she is descended from the legendary Scottish witch, Isobel Gowdie. However, her understanding of the story is challenged when Isobel herself appears from beyond the grave, armed with numerous corrections and one apocalyptic warning”. Well, the ‘real witches’ weren’t really evil, were they? But people thought they were. A Scottish folk musical dealing with some very dark themes. Click here. 

Ghosts | Jermyn Street Theatre | 8 Oct-14 Nov 
A staging of the Ibsen play that’s less about evil (but come on, ghosts can be evil) and more about family dynamics and the drive to be free: “Years ago, Helene sent her beloved son away from the family home. Today, Oswald returns. But as mother and son reunite, long-buried secrets emerge – setting off a chain reaction that threatens to consume them both”. Find out more about it here. 

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MORE GREAT STUFF 

Baby | Brixton House | 8-31 Oct (pictured)
Three more brilliant shows for you to prioritise, starting with the latest show from the very excellent Clean Break. Written by the renowned Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, the play is performed by the talented Pearl Mackie, who once played one of my favourite companions, and deals with some tough themes – imprisonment, adverse childhood experiences, and more. It’s going to be amazing, book here. 

The Seafarer | Greenwich Theatre | 13-24 Oct 
“It’s Christmas Eve and Sharky has returned to Dublin to look after his blind brother, Richard. As the two men rattle around their old house, they are joined by local layabouts Ivan and Nicky – and a stranger. Over a night fuelled by alcohol and resentment, a game of cards is on the table. But the cost of losing may be higher than anyone imagines…” A staging of Conor McPherson’s darkly funny 2006 play. More here. 

Stuffed | New Diorama Theatre | 13-24 Oct  
“This is about food banks. This is not about food. This is about the bad stuff. This is an emergency. This is a clowning show”. And finally, another compelling show for you, in which five clowns search for hope and community, offering “physicality, electronica, and uncompromising personal testimony from the frontlines of the UK’s food banks”. Head to the venue website here to find out more and book.