Comedy Dance & Physical Festivals Musicals Theatre ThisWeek In London

Three To See 16-22 Apr: Festival Stuff, Funny Stuff, Tragicomic Stuff, Song And Dance, and More… 

By | Published on Friday 12 April 2024

FESTIVAL STUFF

Homegrown Festival | Battersea Arts Centre | 16-20 Apr
Yay, festival time again, and you know how much festivals put a spring in the TW step. Not sure if that sentence makes much sense, but I like it. Anyway, let’s start with the Homegrown Festival over at Battersea Arts Centre, a strand curated by young people for young people. It’s a small but interesting range of events, and it’s all free or pay-what-you-can. Head to the venue website here for all the listings.

Poetry Plays | The Cockpit | 18-20 Apr
Right, next up, we are headed over to The Cockpit for Poetry Plays, which is a new festival of poetry in performance from Théâtre Volière and The Pomegranate London magazine. The event consists of nine performances over the course of three days, all of which are multidisciplinary shows featuring or inspired by poetry. No time to tell you about all the many interesting and alluring themes and topics addressed here, so head this way and read about it yourself.

Housemates Returns: Is Dat U Yh? | Brixton House | 17-27 Apr (pictured)
Full disclosure: this is not actually a festival thing, but it is connected to Brixton House’s Housemates Festival 2023, so that’s why I have put it in this section. Expect dance, theatre and nostalgia for a certain time: “It’s when you couldn’t be on the phone and the internet at the same time. It’s where you learned insults were a love language. It’s when spittin battles at lunchtime could get you happy-slapped”. Find out more here.

FUNNY PEOPLE

Live At The Works with Paul Chowdhry | Woolwich Works | 20 Apr
Whoo, time for some comedy, which I feel especially in the mood for this week, to be honest. Maybe it’s because I keep seeing people talking about their Edinburgh shows and listings for works in progress. But edfringe medlinge, there’s top quality funnies to be had in London town, starting with this comedy night at Woolwich Works featuring Paul Chowdhry, obviously, but also Jen Brister, Abi Clarke and Gbemi Oladipo. Click here.

Matt Chorley: Poll Dancer | Bloomsbury Theatre | 22 Apr
If you’re the sort of person who enjoys knowing about politics but also enjoys laughing, then Matt Chorley’s ‘Poll Dancer’ might very well be the show for you. And, of course, if you are that sort of person, you probably know this already – you’re probably aware of Chorley’s time reporting from Westminster and regular appearances on ‘Have I Got News For You’. But did you know he was bringing this to a venue near you this week? No? Click here.

Tamsyn Kelly: Crying In TK Maxx | Soho Theatre | 18-20 Apr (pictured)
“When working class, Cornish comedian Tamsyn discovers footage of her estranged father in a Channel 4 documentary, she’s forced to stop and reassess her life. How have men shaped who she is? Will the chicken-shop guy ever give her the time of day? Why was Mr Blobby her first crush?” Expect something brutally honest, and absolutely hilarious, from this critically acclaimed show. Book your tickets right about here.

FUNNY PLAYS

Banging Denmark | Finborough Theatre | 16 Apr-11 May (pictured)
Okay, so hear me out here: why don’t we just carry on laughing? Yeah? Let’s go see some funny theatre next. First up, the European premiere of ‘Banging Denmark’, a black comedy from Australian writer and activist Van Badham. It’s about a broke and feisty feminist academic who is offered a significant sum to assist a misogynist podcaster and pick up artist. Will she sell her soul? Find out more here.

Silver Lining | Upstairs At The Gatehouse | 18-21 Apr
“On a dark and stormy night in the Upper Day Room of the Silver Retirement Home, five elderly women are trading stories of their (un)remarkable lives. But with a Biblical storm brewing outside, the flood waters rising, and no rescue team in sight, the residents are faced with the realisation that in order to survive they are going to have to do it themselves!” Sandi Toksvig’s 2017 play about retirement home residents under threat of flooding. Click here.

In Everglade Studio | The Hope Theatre | 16 Apr-4 May
A comedic thriller featuring original music that had a critically acclaimed run at the old edfringe, and which I have heard myriad good things about. “In 1974 London, three musicians and their manager seal themselves inside an underground recording studio to complete a country-rock album, unaware that materials in the walls are driving them to the brink of insanity”. For more information and to book tickets head to the venue website here.

TRAGICOMIC STUFF

Algorithms | Park Theatre | 16 Apr-11 May
Okay, now we’ve had some comical stuff let us move on to… more comedy! But this time with some added tragedy! This is a show we first heard about up at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe a few years back, but – also – it’s done more than one London run since, and – in fact – we interviewed creator Sadie Clark back in 2021, and you can read that Q&A here. We’re more than glad to see this story of a “bisexual Bridget Jones for the online generation” return. Click here.

Three | Seven Dials Playhouse | 18-19 Apr
This is “a tragicomedy about the difficulties that come with running baths. Exploring the trials and tribulations of one woman’s life experiences both in and outside of her mind, this intimate show places the ordinariness of her everyday life under a microscope, laced with heartbreak and humour”. A much acclaimed work from writer Christie Peto with successful festival runs behind it. Check the venue website here.

The Glass Menagerie | Rose Theatre | 17 Apr-4 May (pictured)
And finally for this section, a real classic of a tragicomedy (though not everyone would agree that it is comical, to be fair): Tennessee Williams’ ‘The Glass Menagerie’ in an acclaimed production directed by Atri Banerjee and starring Geraldine Somerville. “Tom escapes a suffocating home life through cigarettes and long visits to the movies while his sister, Laura, withdraws into her records and collection of glass animals. But their mother, Amanda, harbours dreams for them far beyond their shabby apartment”. More here.

SONG AND DANCE

cheeky little brown | Stratford East | 16-20 Apr
Okey Doke, time for a section of shows united by their rhythmic content. This piece, by Papatango Prize winning playwright Nkenna Akunna, features original songs and is a coming of age story about a friendship “between two black women on diverging paths of self-love and acceptance”. It’s funny, too, so might well have been at home in an earlier section! Find out more on the venue website here.

Ruptured | Camden People’s Theatre | 22-24 Apr
“How does migration affect our ability to understand each other? And how do we untangle the messy mixture of cultural, linguistic and generational barriers that get in the way?” A multidisciplinary piece from Joanna Woźnicka that features dance and poetry, and explores the influence that migration has on identity and family relationships. For more information and to sort out tickets see the venue website here.

Futuristic Folk Tales | The Place | 18 Apr (pictured)
Another dance piece for you, and one that offers a really interesting blend of styles – contemporary, breaking and Scottish Highland dance – which questions “the preservation of tradition, myth and identity whilst scrutinising borders, body politics and reproductive injustice” through a narrative focused on the tale of the first womb. Read lots more about the piece and creator Charlotte Mclean on the venue website here.

MORE GREAT STUFF

Agathe | The Playground Theatre | 17 Apr-4 (pictured)
Lots to talk about this week, but here we are at the final section. Firstly we are headed over to the Playground Theatre for ‘Agathe’, a recent work from award winning US playwright Angela J Davis that tells the true and tragic story of Rwandan political figure Agathe Uwilingiyimana. Set thirty years ago, during the horror of the 1994 genocide, it sheds light on the overlooked history of an extraordinary woman. More here.

Little Boxes | New Wimbledon Theatre | 18-27 Apr
A witty and acclaimed one woman show from Joann Condon in which the actress shares personal anecdotes to highlight assumptions made about her based on things like her looks, background and sex. She “explores the ‘boxes’ she has been in throughout her life: The hopes and dreams of a child, the frustrations of an acting career, the tensions of parenting, the grief in losing loved ones, the fear of being… herself”. More here.

Once Upon A Bridge | OSO Arts Centre | 17-21 Apr
Well, this one jumped out at me, and it’s because I remember so clearly the event that inspired it. Do you remember? That time when that guy was running on Putney Bridge and suddenly pushed a woman in front of a bus? Who was only not hit because of the swift reaction of the driver? Well, this takes that incident as a jumping off point. It’s a few years old, but – as far as I am aware – this is the first time it’s been on in London. Click here.

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