FESTIVAL STUFF

Maya Ricote: Ay Am! | Soho Theatre | 2 Jun (pictured)
All this sunshine has me very much in a festival mood, which is good, because I have so many festival-ish things for you to take a look at this week. The first one is the London Clown Festival, which starts this week, and this is our first pick from it: Maya Ricote, who performs her “Latin-melodramatic-soap-opera slash camp musical”. Head to the venue website here for more. 

Second Speaker | Theatre Peckham | 30-31 May 
As you may guess from the venue name, this is our latest pick from the lovely Peckham Fringe, and it’s a show about two friends who are reunited in prison twelve years after they last set eyes on each other as children. Their shared past emerges, in particular the history of a day that changed their lives, and questions about blame and responsibility follow. Click here.

Baleen | The Hope Theatre | 1-3 Jun 
Up next, something from Bokfest 2026, which, as you may know, stages the work of early career queer writers. ‘Baleen’ promises Jamaican stories, magic, wonder and puppets. “Deep underwater, deep in the stomach of a whale, sit two people huddling around a small campfire. All they have is the old stories they tell”. Find out more on the venue website here. 

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MORE FESTIVAL STUFF 

Just In Case | Union Theatre | 29 May
I know, a second section of festival stuff. Crazy, huh? And good news if you ask me. We’ve tipped some stuff from the Union Theatre’s One Act Festival in previous weeks and here’s another, one that I find rather intriguing because it’s about an interrogation: Kevin is questioned by police about the death of his toxic friend. Did he do it? Or was he a victim? Click here. 

Voyage / Hakko | The Place | 29-30 May (pictured)
Over to The Place now for another pick from A Festival Of Korean Dance, and it’s a very alluring double bill from the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company. In ‘Voyage’ a solitary spacecraft moves towards a singular point, while ‘Hakko’ explores transformations of the body and mind, inspired by a traditional Japanese cup-and-ball toy. All the details here. 

Homegrown Festival | Battersea Arts Centre | 29-30 May 
This all takes place over just one weekend, so I thought I may as well just recommend the whole thing and let you decide what to take a look at. It’s curated and produced by BAC’s young producers and features installations, workshops, exhibitions and experimental new writing, so there’s quite a range of stuff to choose from. Take a look at the venue website here. 

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FUNNY STUFF 

Sam Jay: We The People | Soho Theatre | 2-6 Jun (pictured)
Now for some funny stuff, because we love funny stuff. And we reckon you will love the award winning/nominated Sam Jay. “Following two successful specials and a US tour, how does a black queer woman who never felt truly a part of her country grapple with its certain demise? Through contemplation, analysis and harsh critique”. Expect good things, and click right here. 

Jack Docherty In The Chief – No Apologies | Soho Theatre | 1-6 Jun 
Jack Docherty brings Cameron Miekelson back to the stage to dissect the state of the nation and also read excerpts from his memoir telling how “a white, middle-class, public school educated boy from Edinburgh somehow overcame all the odds to become the Chief Commissioner of The Scottish Police Force”. Head this way to book your tickets. 

Burning Down The Horse/It’s Gonna Blow | Pleasance Theatre | 27-30 May 
These are two different shows by one company – Fishing4Chips – so I thought I might as well talk about them both, not least because we have seen both and loved both at edfringe, in 2024 and 2025 respectively. They’re both set in the past (concerning the Trojan Horse in one and the eruption of Vesuvius in the other) and they’re very funny. Click here. 

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OLD FRIENDS 

The P Word | Bush Theatre | 28 May-27 Jun   
The label ‘old friends’ is a bit flexible here: this show is one that was first staged in 2022 to huge acclaim and now it’s back with the same cast, and we are really glad to see it return. It’s an Olivier-winning story about two gay Pakistani men, one of whom flees homophobic persecution to seek asylum in London. Head to the venue website here for more info and tickets. 

Sh!t Theatre Drink Rum With Expats | Wilton’s Music Hall | 2-6 Jun (pictured)
We’ve seen so many shows by Sh!t Theatre, and run so many interviews, and done so many tips, that we definitely feel like the company is an old friend. This won a Fringe First in Edinburgh back in 2019, and I love that the fabulous duo are still staging the show and revisiting this work. Expect general all round brilliance, and quickly, get your tickets here. 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream | The Space | 27 May-6 Jun 
This one’s an old friend because it’s an old play, one we all love, a Shakespeare fave. But it might be a little harder to recognise because apparently it’s getting a “psychedelic makeover straight out of the Summer Of Love” in the hands of producing company Shakespeers. But you know, expect the usual magical mayhem and comedy. More on this page here. 

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MORE GREAT STUFF 

Night Light | Upstairs At The Gatehouse | 27-30 May 
And so to the final section, where we begin with yet another comedy play, and this one is by OFFIE-nominated writers Tom Chandler and Maeve O’Haire. It’s about twentysomethings who are putting off growing up but are finally forced to face the fact that “there is more to life than nerf gun fights, in-jokes and a mattress that wasn’t built for three”. All the details here.

Do Not Attempt This Conversation | Lion & Unicorn Theatre | 2-6 Jun
“Nneka is a resident doctor finishing a late shift, but just as she is about to leave she is suddenly asked to lead a Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) conversation with the relative of a patient she has never met, and about a patient she doesn’t know, all under intense time pressure”. A show that asks what it means to remain humane within an inhumane system. More here.

Mark Thompson’s Spectacular Science Show | Leicester Square Theatre | 30 May (pictured)
This one qualifies as a kids’ show (and it’s good that we managed to squeeze one in as it’s still half term) but it’s very much aimed at both children and grown ups, so it’s a great family option if your smaller ones are older than five. “You think science is boring, think again; this is science like you have never seen it before”. Yay, and I love science, so bring it on. Click here.