FESTIVAL STUFF 

A Fine Kettle Of Fish | Old Red Lion Theatre | 1-3 Feb
Hurrah, another week, another festival section, because I know how much you love that. Or maybe it’s because I love it. Either way, we are all winning. Let’s start with a trip to FreshFest at the Old Red Lion Theatre and a comedy play in which a bunch of student flatmates try to work out who is responsible for the murder of Poppy’s pet fish. Find out more about it here. 

Boxes | Soho Theatre | 3-4 Feb (pictured)
Another festival of new things and creatives is Soho Rising, which features a multi-genred line-up of work by participants in the venue’s Soho Theatre Labs. Our first pick is ‘Boxes’ by Shona Bukola Babayemi, in which “one woman clings to a box from her past as the world tilts and sweeps shelter from her feet”. Head to the venue website here for info and to book. 

International Poetry Festival | Theatre Deli | 31 Jan 
Yay, a poetry festival. I love poetry. Obv this is a one-day one-big-show thing, more like a music festival in format, I guess. This one’s presented by the Institute For Experimental Arts and promises a gathering of thirty artists from twelve countries featuring spoken word, poetry, performance and visual art. Find out more about the line-up on the venue website here. 

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EDFRINGE SUCCESSES 

Palestine: Peace De Resistance | Park Theatre | 29 Jan-7 Feb  
And from festivals in London to a section full of shows that have won acclaim and fans in that big old festival up in Scotland. First up, comedian Sami Abu Wardeh’s hit show about resistance and Palestinian identity. “Expect an open call for mass civil disobedience, equitable distribution of hand puppets, and some of the silliest faces you’ll ever see”. Click here. 

Monstering The Rocketman | Arcola Theatre | 3-21 Feb (pictured)
We usually end up saying nice things in our review section about pretty much any work by Henry Naylor and this one was no exception, our reviewer was most impressed by it. If you haven’t heard of it already, you can probably guess from the title that Elton John is involved, and possibly also that the focus is misinformation and media harassment. Find out more here. 

Brainsluts | Seven Dials Playhouse | 3-13 Feb
“A clinical trial. Four guinea pigs discover the sheer lengths each of them will go just to fill the silence. Oversharing ensues, secrets emerge and the stresses of their precarious lives are laid bare. This may not be the dream, but if they listen to each other, they might just learn something. Or maybe they won’t”. A critically acclaimed, hilarious Fringe hit. Details here. 

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SOMEWHAT SPOOKY 

Dead Time Stories | Etcetera Theatre | 29-30 Jan
I called this section ‘somewhat’ spooky as opposed to just spooky, because I can’t altogether guarantee the level of spooky involved in these shows. But you know, I did look at them and think “oooh, spooky”, so that’s how they ended up here. First up, a darkly comic horror anthology play, written and performed by Lynsey Balloch. Find out more and book tickets here. 

Guidelines | New Diorama Theatre | 3-14 Feb (pictured)
“We cannot allow you to go into the heart of that silent dark forest and to the door of that cabin. You will not like what is in the cabin. We know what is in the cabin and it is very, very bad”. An intriguing one, this, because in this play, the spookiness is happening via the internet/social media. No time to explain further, but please have a look at this page here to read all about it.

Edgar In The Red Room | The Hope Theatre | 3-14 Feb
An acclaimed piece, this one, that’s taken theatre festivals in the US and Canada by storm, and which sounds really interesting. It’s focused on the mysterious death of spooky American writer Edgar Allan Poe, and – using music, movement, shadow play and projections – offers a “haunting and hallucinogenic re-imagining of his final nightmare”. Yikes, see this page here for more. 

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MORE GREAT STUFF 

Our Little Hour | Greenwich Theatre | 3-7 Feb (pictured)
And now for a final section of rather good stuff. We begin with a return to Greenwich Theatre for acclaimed musical drama ‘Our Little Hour’, which is about Walter Tull, grandson of a Barbadian slave, first black footballer to play at the highest level in the UK, and first man of his heritage to become a British army officer, serving in WW1. A sad ending, but a great story. Click here. 

The Virgins | Soho Theatre | 30 Jan-7 Mar  
“Friday night. Four girls. Two boys. Alone in a house. Some of them are in love. Most of them are virgins. Everyone’s pretending they know what they’re doing. Tonight’s the night they stop pretending”. A new work from Miriam Battye, described as a “funny and devastating fever dream of desire and teenagerhood”. Great cast that includes TV face Ella Bruccoleri, directed by Jaz Woodcock-Stewart. Info here. 

The Ophiolite | Theatro Technis | 29 Jan-22 Feb 
Another one that’s intrigued me, not least because it had me wondering what an ophiolite is (if you were ignorant, like me, it’s a section of the Earth’s oceanic crust and mantle that’s been exposed and sticks up). It’s a contemporary piece set in Cyprus and England, and focuses on Penelope, who clings on to the past when her beloved father dies. Head to the venue website here for more.