SILVER & GOULD at the Wardrobe, Bristol

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Substance & Shadow Theatre return to the Wardrobe in a play by Midge and Rosie Mullin. Leonard Silver (Nathan Simpson), with a tightly puckered mouth, gormlessly and expectantly open for much of the time, and a whiny midlands accent, sloths around in his dressing gown. His cousin, Melvyn Gould (Midge Mullin), has the finicky aspiration to culture of the uneducated with a corresponding tendency to circumlocution – darts become, ‘the trusty spears of destiny’.

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THE DIARY OF A HOUNSLOW GIRL at Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol

THE DIARY OF A HOUNSLOW GIRL at Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol

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This is a slickly choreographed and beautifully lit production. The set may be simple, but during the course of the show we discover that it has a number of tricks up its sleeve, as when we see Shahida’s video messages projected on the bedroom door. This is laugh out loud funny, poignant and thought-provoking by turns, and it fully engaged my interest.

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THE FLYING LOVERS OF VITEBSK at Bristol Old Vic

THE FLYING LOVERS OF VITEBSK at Bristol Old Vic

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Kneehigh’s The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is a portrait of Marc Chagall’s and Bella Rosenfeld’s marriage. It is a portrait as colourful, as quirky and as inventive as Chagall’s own paintings, and it has enormous charm. Writer Daniel Jamieson and director Emma Rice created their first version of this story over twenty years ago for Theatre Alibi. This new production marks the end of Rice’s long association with Kneehigh, as she has now moved to become Artistic Director for Shakespeare’s Globe.

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FEMINASTY at the Wardrobe, Bristol

FEMINASTY at the Wardrobe, Bristol

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Megan Ford is an American writer and comedy performer based in London. She describes herself as an obnoxious liberal Jewish feminist who will change the world using nothing but her bare hands and some fabulous wigs. In Feminasty Megan rattles through a series of satirical sketches with increasingly bizarre and obnoxious characters whilst trying to explain what’s wrong with the world today. It’s fast and frantic; there is scarcely time to laugh at one joke before the next one is finished.

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H.M.S. PINAFORE at Bath Theatre Royal

H.M.S. PINAFORE at Bath Theatre Royal

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This is a young, good looking and muscular cast and Lizzie Gee’s choreography is superbly inventive, funny and imaginative. I realised I was watching an all male navy production of a show, perhaps put on in the Second World War with its quirkiness and wit and simple scenery. It was not so much about gender fluidity but about constraints. I am never impressed by low budget productions. What never? Well hardly ever. This is a very impressive production.

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BalletBoyz LIFE at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

BalletBoyz LIFE at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

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The mostly female, near capacity enthusiastic house last night for BalletBoyz confirmed the proposition that quality will out. On paper, the idea of an all-male ballet company doesn’t, or at least didn’t, seem very attractive – ballet without tutus, white tights and hair in a bun was not something that was going to have mass appeal . . . Their work is original, creative and imaginative and above all, cultured and immaculately executed. I find it impossible to fault BalletBoyz – I love ‘em.

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