FESTIVAL STUFF 

When Harry Met Aly | Bread & Roses Theatre | 26 Jan 
I might be wrong about this, but I am fairly convinced that it’s been a while since we had a dedicated festival tips section. But you know me, I love tipping three festival shows to see whenever the opportunity arises. So, first up this week we’re going for quality time at the new Rosebuds Comedy Festival, curated by the excellent Defectors, and an improv show that tells a love story through audience inspired scenes. Yay. Click here. 

Tell Me | The Place | 23-24 Jan (pictured)
Don’t think Mime London calls itself a festival, because it is – of course – the collection of events all under one umbrella that’s the successor to the London International Mime Festival. It’s still really a festival though, right? Anyway, the season runs for ten days (more here) and I am very excited about ‘Tell Me’, by the Sadiq Ali Company, a circus, dance and theatre fusion that follows a woman following an HIV diagnosis. Info here. 

The Greater Good Company | Old Red Lion Theatre | 23-24 Jan
“In our overwhelming, ever-darkening world, reliable torchbearers are more precious than ever. But even if you’re a lifelong ‘good egg’, what happens when your own career high has the potential to be a planetary low?” Over to FreshFest at the ORL for a work in progress performance inspired by real life stories of political and social resistance figures. See details for this one here, full fest line up here. 

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FUNNY STUFF 

Christian Dart: Gumshoe | Museum Of Comedy | 23-24 Jan 
As well as being connected by their comical status, these three are all also linked by their recent and successful runs up at the old edfringe, and this show well and truly won the heart of our reviewer, who called it “a joy to witness”. As you might expect from that title it’s about a detective, one who is attempting to solve his most deadly and ridiculous case yet. Head to the venue website here for more. 

Jessica Barton: Dirty Work | Soho Theatre Dean Street | 21-24 Jan (pictured)
You can very much expect good things from this one too, not least because it won much praise, and an Edinburgh Comedy Award newcomer nomination, at the most recent Edinburgh Festival. Expect Poppins-like clowning, song and dance from this talented performer: “The Perfect Nanny is back to teach all you little boys – and girls – a thing or two about running a prim and proper household”. Click here. 

Eric Rushton: Innkeeper | Soho Theatre Dean Street | 26-27 Jan
“In 2004, Eric Rushton was cast in his primary school nativity. Despite absolutely smashing it, he immediately retired from being a child actor. Now he’s found the correct antidepressants to give showbusiness another go”. Another acclaimed edfringe success for you, and it’s by an act that we managed to find time to have a chat with last summer: read our Q&A with him here and book your show tickets here.

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MUSICAL STUFF 

Cosi Fan Tutte | The Cockpit | 22-25 Jan
Well, you know we’re pleased about having a festivals section this week, but I am also pretty chuffed that there are enough musical shows for a musical section, and they are all compelling in some way. Ensemble OrQuesta is back at The Cockpit with three operas including this one, a new adaptation of Marcio da Silva’s minimalist 2018 production of the well loved Mozart classic. Find out more here. 

Why Would We Care? | Union Theatre | 26-31 Jan
When it comes to a musicals section, it’s probably not a surprise that we are next headed to a venue like the Union Theatre. ‘Why Would We Care?’ is a new work about a seemingly perfectly idyllic community led by a pair of visionary leaders, so you can kind of see where that’s going and the sort of darkness that might be bubbling under the surface. Intriguing, yes? And “emotionally charged” and “hauntingly humorous”. Click here. 

Ballad Lines | Southwark Playhouse Elephant | 23 Jan-21 Mar (pictured)
Over to another frequent host of musicals for ‘Ballad Lines’, a new folk musical blending Scottish, Irish and Appalachian ballads with a contemporary score. The show sees Sarah, a New Yorker, pulled into the history of her Scottish and Irish female ancestors, in a storyline that explores what it means to be a mother, and at what cost. See the Southwark Playhouse website here for more information. 

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SHORT STOPS 

Beat | Canal Cafe Theatre | 27 Jan
Oops, one of the musicals seems to have fallen out of the musicals section and into Short Stops. But it’s very definitely a short stop, so it will be very much at home here. I was really intrigued when I read about this “genre-bending verbatim song cycle” that promises to be humorous and unsettling and explore what it means to be alive. Go, read all about it here and be as intrigued as I am. 

Absent | Barons Court Theatre | 22-26 Jan 
“In 1990s Baghdad, Dalal is studying French at university and looking forward to her future. But then bombs start falling and sanctions turn neighbours into informants. All around is the wreckage of war… when people start disappearing, Dalal no longer knows who to trust”. A solo performance, adapted by Penny Black from the acclaimed novel by Betool Khedari, which sold out at the Voila fest last year. Don’t miss it this time! Click here. 

Flashbang | Greenwich Theatre | 27-30 Jan (pictured)
The critically acclaimed Proforca Theatre are behind this equally acclaimed piece that transfers to Greenwich following a successful run at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre. It’s about a group of friends, an exploration of the ties that bind them together and the entwined lives they lead. “Ryan and his gang were going to be mates forever – but then came the night when everything changed”. Book your tickets here. 

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LONGER RUNS 

Maggots | Bush Theatre | 27 Jan-28 Feb (pictured)
None of these are massively long runs – this is the longest and it’s on for about a month. Don’t be blase and end up missing it though, because it’s a promising look at the importance of human connection, and focuses on a group of tenants who start to ask questions when the stench in their building increases and infestations spread. See the venue website here for all the info and tickets. 

A Grain of Sand حبّة رمل | Arcola Theatre | 21-31 Jan
“Renad, a young Gazan girl, embarks on a dangerous journey. Carrying only the echoes of her grandmother’s tales and the spark of her own imagination, she searches for her family and the ‘Anqaa’ – the mythical Palestinian Phoenix”. A one woman show looking at war through the eyes of children, blending folklore with real life testimony, and offering a story of resilience and hope. Click here. 

Jorvik | The Glitch | 21 Jan-9 Feb
And so to this one last thing, which obviously called out to me because I am a lover of all things historical, because it’s an interactive and immersive Viking play set in the aftermath of the conquest of York. And yet, the show aims to explore the modern day through the Viking lens, which sounds interesting. Anyway expect “celebration, song, combat, larger than life characters and plenty of toasting!” Hurray. Tickets here.