YOUR GUIDE TO THIS WEEK IN CULTURE
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Comedy Dance & Physical Festivals Musicals Theatre ThisWeek In London
Three To See 30 Jan-5 Feb: Funny Stuff, Festival Stuff, Theatre and More…
By TW Editorial | Published on Friday 26 January 2024
FUNNY STUFF
Gay Witch Sex Cult | Pleasance Theatre | 2+9 Feb
Boy am I in need of something to laugh at this week, which is why the funny stuff gets top billing. It’s admittedly a list of things I probably can’t go to because I have some form of the plague, but maybe you’re all in better health than me. In which case, maybe head over to Pleasance Theatre for some hot spooky comical gay witch action. Go on, you know you want to. Click here.
The Funny Side Of Earlsfield | Tara Theatre | 3 Feb
The previously tipped thing is a show with a plot and themes. If what you’re craving is the kind of entertainment where a classy line up of comedians get up and do a set each, then this suggestion is for you. This is a night that’s been around for a good while, and great acts are in store: Carey Marx, Gabriel Ebulue, Blank Peng and Josh Elton, hosted by Gareth Kane. Click here.
Paddy Young: Hungry, Horny, Scared | Soho Theatre | 2-3 Feb (pictured)
On the other hand, if you’d like to see a one-comedian show that won a lot of acclaim at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, then this might be the one for you. Our own reviewer was pretty impressed with this debut hour from Paddy Young and all the other edfringe critics were dishing out praise too. Head to the venue website here for all the information and to book your tickets.
FESTIVAL STUFF
A Silent Scandal | Old Red Lion Theatre | 1-3 Feb
Speaking of festivals, there are quite a few of them going on in London right now, so let’s take in some shows at those, shall we? We visited the Old Red Lion Theatre’s new theatre focused Freshfest last week, and it’s still ongoing. My latest pick is ‘A Silent Scandal’, which focuses on a single mother and a scandal at the school she works at. See this page here for more information.
The Beautiful Future Is Coming | Jermyn Street Theatre | 30 Jan-5 Feb (pictured)
Another festival we’ve visited a few times already is the Footprints Festival at Jermyn Street, and I’m very happy to be making a return visit for ‘The Beautiful Future Is Coming’. It sounds really intriguing as it’s set in different times, the past and the future, and covers 250 years of climate change. For all the details and to book, see this page here.
Romy And Michele The Musical | Turbine Theatre | 30 Jan-1 Feb
And now to a festival that’s only just beginning, MTFEST2024, which is all about new musicals, and takes place at the Turbine Theatre and The Other Palace. No contest as to which one I most want to see, it’s this one, because I’ve always loved the comedy film it’s based on. See The Other Palace website here to book, but remember that the show is on at the Turbine.
SHORT STOPS
Until We Stand | Wilton’s Music Hall | 30 Jan-1 Feb
Now onto some short running goodies, and this one is for all you dance fans out there. It’s a show first staged by the James Cousins Company back in 2017, but here it’s in the hands of third year London Contemporary Dance School undergraduates. “Torn apart by flames. Rebuilding in the ashes. A city, divided, too often devastated, silently holds us”. More info here.
Trials Of Galileo | OSO Arts Centre | 31 Jan-3 Feb
“Galileo never understood his differences with the church were not about reason, logic and scientific fact. They were about politics. When he finally came to realise this, it was too late”. We first saw Tim Hardy performing this one man play by Nic Young a fairly long time ago at the Edinburgh Fringe, and it was amazing. And it will still be amazing. Click here.
Remythed | Omnibus Theatre | 3-4 Feb (pictured)
A storytelling show that uses characters from myth and legends – the likes of Sheherazade, Anansi, Lady Godiva – and “shapes, reforms and retells them”, offering a “joyful reimagination of what queer history could look like”. And not only does it sound good, we kinda know it’s good, because of the critical acclaim it got when it premiered at Vault in 2023. More here.
LONGER RUNS
This Might Not Be It | Bush Theatre | 30 Jan-2 Mar
Some longer runs for you now, so, if your diary’s already a bit full for this week, relax, you’ve got time. Especially for this one, it’s on until March. This one focuses on NHS mental health services, and Jay, who has just started work at a Child And Adolescent Mental Health Service office, and who ends up breaking the rules in a desperate attempt to help patients. All the gen here.
Broken Water | Arcola Theatre | 30 Jan-24 Feb (pictured)
“Thirty-something Linda wants what her neighbours have but her carefully laid plans are about to come unstuck. Fifty-something Philippa’s youngest child is about to leave home. Seventy-something Olive is pursued by unresolved grief, but a wonderful find gets her out and about again”. A moving award nominated play from Michele Winstanley about three women living on the same street. More here.
Just Stop Extinction Rebellion | White Bear Theatre | 30 Jan-10 Feb
Finally, one that’s not on for an enormously long time but is on for a bit more than a week. It’s a romantic comedy about Millicent and Ben, who meet at an environmental activist group. Millicent discovers, though, that her peers aren’t keen to take the extreme action she thinks they ought to, and turns tactics on the group itself. Info here.
