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The greatest show and other bromances: Adam Riches and John Kearns ARE Ball and Boe @sohotheatre

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Alfie Boe and Michael Ball seem to be a bit of a joke act anyway. Their endless interpretations of popular songs (also known as covers) and their double-act bromance make them quintessential crossover artists where popular music meets opera and Broadway. And a perilous choice for the discerning listener. It’s not that they aren’t talented musicians and performers in their own right. Still, their musical choices are always safe, predictable and less than their potential. But every country deserves to have a pair of self-described national treasures that can tour the local arenas and give people a good time for the bargain price of £175 a seat.  And so the concept of Adam Riches and John Kearns - two world-famous from the Edinburgh Fringe comedians taking on this bromance seems like a curious choice for a Christmas musical fare. One can only hope that over the fourteen nights, it is playing at the Soho Theatre that the show evolves into something more substantial than a series of po...
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Mrs Lovett’s forefather: Titus Andronicus @arrowsandtraps @newwimbstudio

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Shakespeare’s gory Elizabethan shocker Titus Andronicus is less a tragedy than a blood soaked exercise in revenge. But it is given a slick (and slightly gory) updating by Arrows and Traps in this production currently playing at the New Wimbledon Theatre studio space. Heads in plastic bags, severed hands, twitter-based uprisings  combine in this production that borrows from a range of current trends to tell this tale of horror and revenge. But the cast assembled mostly keep the focus on the story for a brisk two hours, keeping a fine balance between the comic, creepy and sadistic elements at the heart of the story.
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Couples gene therapy: Valhalla @theatre503

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The second of the joint of the joint winners of the inaugural Theatre 503 Play writing Award, Valhalla ,   is an intriguing and at times frightening tale on science, mythology and a marriage on the edge. This two-hander starts off seemingly normal. Man, a genetic scientist is researching a cure for an epidemic killing thousands. His wife, Woman, is a GP. They are trying for a baby and she is having trouble conceiving. Chaos and rioting has erupted on the streets arising from the epidemic, so they head to a Nordic research facility so he can continue his work.
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Try to say no to this: In The Heights @Intheheightsldn

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It's been over a year since In The Heights stormed London. It is back at the Kings Cross Theatre sounding even better than before. This is a thrilling show directed by Luke Sheppard. It's full of terrific performances, spectacular choreography by Drew McOnie and a pulsating latin, pop and hip-hop-fused musical score by Lin-Manuel Miranda .
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Drinking and jazzin': The Great Gatsby @Blackeyedtheatr

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It’s the jazz age and there is plenty of period music, and lively performances in this spirited and youthful adaptation of The Great Gatsby by Blackeyed Theatre . In this adaptation by Stephen Sharkey, which was commissioned to mark the 90th anniversary of the novel’s publication, live music is combined with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing to give a period flavour to the evening.
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Random access memories: The Father

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The Father is the story of one man as he “looses his leaves,” and through a series of fragmented scenes it is left to the audience to piece together what is happening to him. But the premise of jagged short scenes actually proves alienating and the dialogue is often unbelievable. What we learn over the course of this piece is that Andre is 80 years old. He was once a tap dancer. He lives with his daughter Anne and her husband Antoine. Or he was an engineer whose daughter Anne lives in London with her new lover. Bit by bit fragments of his life are colliding as age takes its toll. Are those around him helping him or have they other plans?
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Previews: Posters, pens and headphones @theotherartfair

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Non Zero One are presenting a work at The Other Art Fair from 15th – 18th October.  They will be performing  Untitled (audio with pen) which is an audio-based piece. Participants are told nothing of what they are going to do. Instead are asked when queuing for the fair whether they are curious... They are then drawn slowly in, until it is too late to turn back, having to continually question how far they want to involve themselves and being encouraged to go beyond the traditional weird stuff set for both theatre and art fairs. Hmmmm sounds like being a writer for theatre and the arts in the social media scene…
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Inspired compilations: Pure Imagination @St_JamesTheatre @pureonstage

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As the lights go down suddenly the familiar tune from the film Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory floats down from around the St James Theatre . And thus begins the journey into the world of the songs of Leslie Bricusse with the revue Pure Imagination. It could easily be called a journey through the last fifty years or so of music, as it does feel like it is a showcase of some of the most popular songs from stage and film. Part of the fun is realising so many of them were written or co-written by one man.
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The family way: The Etienne Sisters @stratfordeast

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A reunion with an estranged half-sister at their mother's funeral provides the backdrop for an unlikely musical subject in the Etienne Sisters at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. The sisters accompanied by jazz pianist Nikki Yeoh perform admirably in this sophisticated and slick show even if the music doesn't feel like a perfect match to its subject matter.
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