2 BECOME 1
Presented by Swipe Right Theatre
The Vaults 7 – 10 Feb 20:25
Get your butterfly clips and body glitter ready for the ultimate party! It’s the late nineties and Jess has been dumped by her perfect man, so her friends take her on a big night out with a twist – speed dating! What better way to unbreak a heart than to meet a man a minute?
Our thoughts:
“This perfect portion of nineties nostalgia is served up in exuberant style by the talented women of Swipe Right Theatre. Fit to burst with sing-a-long (and at times dance-along) pop classics. Despite its exuberance and shouty sparkle this is a very sharp and knowing play, exploring the themes of female identity, ambition and how little distance we have travelled in the last 20 years.” Reviewed by Katrina Vines at King’s Head Theatre
AI LOVE YOU by Melanie Ann Ball
Presented by Heart to Heart Productions
The Vaults 7 — 11 Feb 19:15
This innovative show features twenty something couple Adam and April: a regular pair all except one of them is an ‘artificially intelligent companion’, tailor made for the other.
Our thoughts:
“TV’s Humans considered the moral and ethical questions involved in living with robots and Westworld manipulates the humans in an AI world, but this interactive show puts the audience in the driving seat. An innovative show that raises important questions” Reviewed by Siân Rowland at Theatre N16
ASSMONKEY: IN CONVERSATION Written and performed by Sophia del Pizzo
Network Theatre 7 – 11 Feb 19:45
This hilariously honest and fast paced comedy about mental health is both brazen and deeply personal.
Our thoughts:
“A glorious, farcical conglomeration of jokes, videos, song, dance, letters, and yoga, this show is another great example of how theatre can be entertaining and a forum in which life experiences are shared. The show is not to be sat back and watched, it involves active participation.” Reviewed by Verity Williams at Rosemary Branch Theatre
BICYCLES AND FISH by Katie Arnstein
Waterloo East Theatre 7 – 11 Feb 19:45
This is Katie’s debut one woman show about the day she stopped being a girl and became a woman. Aged sixteen, still in school and hopelessly in love, Katie is going to have to face demons, witches and an ogre if she’s to win Dan’s heart. A period piece. With songs.
Our thoughts:
“Funny, uplifting and hard-hitting, “Bicycles and Fish” is an impressive debut by Katie Arnstein. This one-woman show is imbued with warmth, charm and humour with a feminist gut punch.” Reviewed by Annie Power at King’s Head Theatre
CONSUMABLES by Matthew Kyne Baskott
Presented by Hello Mozart Theatre
The Vaults 14 — 18 Feb 19.15
A porn star is served a special kind of meal … Lonely leather-daddy Leonard meticulously cleans his plastic-coated flat as he eagerly awaits the star of his online porn collection. Swapping a floral apron for a black PVC one, Leonard polishes everything from a framed photo of his ever-present mother, to a large kitchen knife he proudly displays on the coffee table. He is prepared to go to extreme lengths to please his guest.
Our thoughts:
“This subversive and hilarious first date ultimately moves away from the expected deviant sexual activity into something much more poignant.” Reviewed by Heather Jeffery at King’s Head Theatre
GLITTER PUNCH by Lucy Burke
Presented by Some Riot Theatre Company
The Vaults 28 Feb — 04 Mar 21:15
Gritty, coming of age play about first love
Our thoughts:
“Some punches only hurt, whereas others awaken the unknown beauty within. This production manages to display all that takes place before, in between, and after that kind of a punch, combining an accomplished piece of writing with great, realistic acting style and clever directing.” Reviewed by Vesna Hauschild at Lion and Unicorn Theatre
FATHER OF LIES by Sasha Roberts and Tom Worsley
The Vaults 28 Feb — 04 Mar 19:30
Father of Lies tells the chilling true story behind a mysterious, unsolved murder in West Germany, 1973. It is a horror show about belief, grief, ghosts and betrayal.
Bête Noire Productions present twelve months of meticulous research into this extraordinary, monstrous case. Using photographs, letters, police reports and re-enactments of real events, we bring you this thrilling, twisting tale of haunted priests, jealous widowers and satanic cults…
Our thoughts:
"Compact, polished and devastating" Reviewed by Heather Jeffery at Old Red Lion Theatre
BURY THE HATCHET by Sasha Wilson
Presented by Out of The Forest Theatre
The Vaults 07 — 11 Mar 18:15
Lizzie Borden took an axe ... Andrew Borden and his wife Abby are found dead in Fall River, Massachusetts on the morning of August 4th, 1892.Their daughter Lizzie is the main suspect. Tried but acquitted of the crime, the story goes that she wielded the axe that killed them. Overnight, she becomes America’s original “mad, bad and dangerous to know” icon of tabloid and rumour. Set to prairie bluegrass music, and fusing folktale, nursery rhyme and Vaudevillian horror, “Bury the Hatchet” will settle the age-old question: Did Lizzie escape the hangman’s noose?
Our thoughts:
“’Bury The Hatchet’ is a unique and absorbing look at the notorious historical figure Lizzie Borden. Most people know the nursery rhythm of Lizzie Borden giving her mother “40 whacks” with an axe and then turning the weapon on her father but this production sheds light on the events surrounding the murders, presenting alternative versions of how the killings took place. An imaginatively crafted, quirkily funny show” Reviewed by Annie Power at King’s Head Theatre