The impossibly awful Val opens the proceedings by ranting at Jess for taking lunch-breaks and for her pedestrian progress in her work. As she goes off to complain to the MD (again), her sweet and new-agey colleague Erin sympathises, and speaks admiringly of Jess’ relationship with her boyfriend. The scene is set for a piece […]

The initial framing device of Beowulf – A Thousand Years of Baggage is strong: three characters with a different take are our guides to the Anglo-Saxon epic poem. Each has their own intonation and style of speech; I particularly like the literary academic who speaks in that odd way that Air Cabin Crew do, emphasising certain words […]

Since 2008 Les Enfants Terribles have been wowing Edinburgh audiences with their combination of strong physical storytelling, vaudeville styling (episodic storytelling combining ‘turns’, puppetry, wild costumes and song) and new writing from one of the two directors Oliver Lansley, who also stars. The Trench comes to Brighton Fringe hot from a barnstorming Edinburgh run with a clutch […]

In which Victoria Melody, a 35 year-old performance artist with a winning smile and an interest in anthropology, and her trusty dog Major Tom, a six year-old Basset hound with lovely long ears and an interest in Schmakos dog treats, pursue parallel paths of gruelling competition in their endeavours to become beauty queen / champion […]

Chaucer’s ‘The Pardoner’s Tale’ is a staple of GCSE and A-Level English; it’s a better bet than ‘The Knight’s Tale’, slightly cleaner than ‘The Wife of Bath’, and has a good strong narrative at its centre. This show is aimed at a school audience, with all the workshop potential (and income – let’s not forget […]