THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER 2017 THISWEEKLONDON.COM
ROCKY RODRIGUEZ JR: A NAZI COMPARISON
Producing company Craft Theatre's latest show is a fast-paced and humorous thriller, focusing on a young woman who becomes disenchanted by the world she lives in when she realises just how manipulative the media is. It seems like a very pertinent and important theme for the times we live in.

To find out more about this show, and about Craft Theatre in general, I spoke to company founder and director of the piece, Rocky Rodriguez Jr. Read the interview here.

'A Nazi Comparison' is on at Waterloo East Theatre from 3-29 Oct, see the venue website here for details.



JANE UPTON: ALL THE LITTLE LIGHTS
We first became aware of playwright Jane Upton when we sent a reviewer to see her play 'Bones', at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival, who promptly gave it a glowing five star review. A few years later, this summer just gone, in fact, another member of our team handed a resounding 5/5 score to a more recent work, 'Finding Nana'.

It's probably no surprise, then, that I pricked up my ears when I heard that another of her plays - 'All The Little Lights' - was headed Arcola-wards this month. I spoke to Jane, to find out more about this particular piece, and her career thus far. Read the interview here.

'All The Little Lights' is on at Arcola Theatre from 10 Oct-4 Nov. See this page here for more information and to book.



FRIDAY 6 OCTOBER 2017 >>

Suspicious Minds | Pleasance Theatre | 3-8 Oct
I was really keen to see this when it was on at edfringe in the summer, not least because it has a time-travel theme, and I am a lover of any and all culture involving time travel (yes, even 'Time Cop'), but it was not to be. However, we did send a reviewer along and he thought it was fabulous so you can rest assured this is very much worth your time. See this page here for all the info.

The Terrible Infants | Wilton's Music Hall | 27 Sep - 28 Oct (pictured)
This was on my list of 'things to tip' quite a while ago, so I am not quite sure why it's taken until ten days into the run for me to actually tip it. So, don't ask. Anyway, there's still time to take in a performance of this acclaimed show, brought to you by an enormously talented troupe, full of puppetry, live music, storytelling, darkness and hilarity. Click here for details.

Yuriko Kotani: Green in English, Blue In Japanese | Museum Of Comedy | 6 Oct
It's a work in progress, but it's a work in progress from an up and comer who is doing awfully well at this comedy business: In 2015 she won the BBC Radio New Comedy Award, was first runner up in So You Think You're Funny, and came third in  Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year, then in 2016 was nominated for Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year. See the venue website here for more.


SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER 2017 >>

Upstream Comedy Festival | Hackney Attic | 7 Oct
Upstream Comedy takes over Hackney Picturehouse's attic for the day, presenting six hour long shows from the acclaimed likes of Kat Bond, David Earl and Brett Goldstein. Most of these have successful Edinburgh runs behind them, if my memory serves. Though I might be wrong, I am old now, and my memory is failing. Anyway, if you head for this page here and then scroll down a bit, you'll see details for each of the shows, so get ye hence.

The Gin Whore Tour | Museum Of Comedy | 7-8 Oct (pictured)
This has had great reviews over the course of a couple of years, and it involves gin, so what more do I need to say? I suppose I could elaborate on the whole gin thing - you get to taste four different kinds - and point out that it's definitely a learning experience - you will glean historical facts from your host Katherine O'Neil - and add that your aforementioned host is rather entertaining. Is that enough? Book your tickets here.

Droll | Rosemary Branch Theatre | 7 Oct
"In 1642 theatre was made illegal. Theatre didn't die. Without a stage, without costumes or props, one man made it his mission to keep performing and to keep British theatre alive - stitching together Shakespearean scenes and medieval interludes, soaking them in sex and violence and bawdy, unintellectual humour. So it was that a strange and dangerous new type of illegal theatre was born: The Droll". We've recommended this one before, and with good cause. For all the details, see this page right here.


SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER 2017 >>

Eastern Star | The Cockpit | 8 Oct
A play focusing on the experiences of journalist Christopher Gunness, who, in 1998 as a young reporter for the BBC World Service, found himself at the centre of the Burma/Myanmar revolution that brought Aung San Suu Kyi onto the international stage. Rather timely, I feel, given all the shit that's going down there at the moment, though the show seems to focus primarily on who it is who writes history, and therefore determines what we view as the truth of it. See this page here for info.

Handa's Surprise | Jacksons Lane | 8 Oct
I've got a soft spot for 'Handa's Surprise', because it was a book that my daughter and her friends focused on during her early years at primary school. It's a sweet and engaging story for little ones, and should be especially so at this performance, with its physical performance, puppetry and live music. See the venue website here for details.

Eleanor Morton - Angry Young Woman | The Bill Murray | 8 Oct (pictured)
"Fabulous", "vivid", "appealing", "cheeky", "whimsical", "endearing" - just some of the words we have in the past used to describe Eleanor Morton. So hurrah, that this definite TW favourite is headed to The Bill Murray to entertain us with her latest show, which she performed up in Edinburgh in the summer. Click here for more.


MONDAY 9 OCTOBER 2017 >>

Doppeldänger | Battersea Arts Centre | 9-13 Oct
"With an uncanny blend of European 1630s-inspired retrofuturism and 1930s wrestling, Doppeldänger explores the boundaries between self and other, gig and theatre, and questions representations of femalehood on stage". Expect experimental live music and Baroque-pop mash-ups, gender-twisting visuals and gothic storytelling from real-life doppelgängers Eugénie Pastor and Shamira Turner, see this page here for more.

Every Brilliant Thing | Orange Tree Theatre | 9-28 October (pictured)
Paines Plough's internationally acclaimed show, written by by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, has its first major London run. A play about depression and the lengths we go to for those we love, and finding reasons to live rather than reasons to die. So many people have said so many good things about this - don't miss this chance to see it, click here to book.

Desiree Burch - Unf*ckable | Soho Theatre | 9-14 Oct
Absolutely excellent, and hugely, hugely acclaimed, I'm worried, frankly, that you haven't booked your tickets yet, because they might all be sold out by the time you get around to reading this. The brilliant Desiree Burch performs her show about sex, race and capitalism, which won oodles of praise up in Edinburgh this summer, and had everyone rolling on the floor laughing. See the venue website here for details.


TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER 2017 >>

Maiden Voices | Theatre N16 | 10-21 Oct
This is a new festival, created by a team of recent Mountview graduates, and promises to feature a line up of nine exciting, original and contemporary feminist theatre pieces from a number of different emerging artists with distinctive styles and voices. See this page here for links to each of the shows.

The End Of Hope | Soho Theatre | 10 Oct-11 Nov (pictured)
"Dermot and Janet are about to have a one night stand. Before sealing the deal, though, Dermot must a) check she agrees that Tony Blair's a war criminal, b) establish whether she killed her ex-husband, c) Find out why she's dressed as a giant mouse. By the end of the night, no taboo is left untouched". This dark new comedy by the very good David Ireland sounds extremely promising, see the venue website here for details.

Jump Out Of Skin | Pleasance Theatre | 10-15 Oct
Another new play, this one from Slovakian writer Zuza Ferenczova, performed by GLYPT's Progression Company, an initiative that supports young artists into the creative industries. It focuses on a teenager who is pregnant in nasty circumstances, and explores themes of mental health, social isolation, and the experience of being an adolescent. See this page here for info.


WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2017 >>

Alistair Green - The Nan Tapes | Leicester Square Theatre | 11 Oct
Alistair Green is very much a TW favourite, beloved by many of our team, and I think this was the show he was doing in Edinburgh this summer. Sadly we didn't manage to see him perform this time, but I have every confidence that this is a good 'un. Get ye to this page here to book your tickets.

As A Tiger In The Jungle | Jacksons Lane | 10-11 Oct (pictured)
"There was a tiger in the jungle behind her mother's house. Crocodiles were hiding in the muddy river. Human sharks passed by in lorries on their way to India, leaving behind a trail of lost children". Nepalese artists perform their deeply personal story of being trafficked into the circus industry as young children, through circus, spoken word, and movement - sad but heart-warming, see the venue website here for more.

Alex Kealy - The Art Of The Keal | Museum Of Comedy | 11 Oct
And another comedian for you, on this very probably rather dull and grey October Wednesday. This time it's talented up and comer Alex Keal with his latest full length show, from which you can expect a decided focus on the political. Head this way for details.


THURSDAY 12 OCTOBER 2017 >>

Promise And Promiscuity | Greenwich theatre | 12-14 Oct (pictured)
The brilliant Penny Ashton heads to Greenwich Theatre with her excellent and hilarious Austenesque musical focusing on the fortunes of one Miss Elspeth Slowtree. I counsel you in no uncertain terms not to miss this opportunity to experience this hugely entertaining one woman tour de force. Click here to book your tickets.

All The Little Lights | Arcola Theatre | 10 Oct-4 Nov
"Joanne and Lisa were like sisters. Then Lisa got away. Now she's back, but the ghosts from their past still haunt her. Amy just wants to belong. Three forgotten girls spending one last night by the railway lines. Desperately trying to recover what they've lost. Friendship. Family. Safety. While the threat of sexual exploitation lurks in the shadows". Up and comer Jane Upton is the writer behind this new, darkly comic piece, see this page here for details.

The Garden | Jacksons Lane | 12-13 Oct
This isn't going to be for everyone, because it won't apply to everyone, but it's brilliant that this kind of show exists. 'The Garden' is an immersive performance for people with dementia and their carers, offering a multi-sensory journey through the seasons, to inspire the imagination and stimulate the senses. See the venue website here for info.
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