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Bear with me: Sun Bear @ParkTheatre

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If The Light House is an uplifting tale of survival, Sarah Richardson’s Sun Bear gives a contrasting take on this. Sarah plays Katy. We’re introduced to Katy as she runs through a list of pet office peeves with her endlessly perky coworkers, particularly about coworkers stealing her pens. It’s a hilarious opening monologue that would have you wishing you had her as a coworker to help relieve you from the boredom of petty office politics.  But something is not quite right in the perfect petty office, where people work together well. And that is her. And despite her protesting that she is fine, the pet peeves and the outbursts are becoming more frequent. As the piece progresses, maybe the problem lies in a past relationship, where Katy had to be home by a particular hour, not stay out late with office colleagues and not be drunk enough not to answer his calls. Perhaps the perky office colleagues are trying to help, and perhaps Katy is trying to reach out for help. It has simple staging
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Sex and violence: Private Lives

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Private Lives , currently playing at the Gielgud Theatre, is a sexy and bitchy night out at the theatre that is hard not to like. With a strong cast that brings out the sexual tensions and a production that enjoys lingering in the sophisticated smuttiness of it all. The central premise is that two recently remarried divorcees meet while they are honeymooning and pick up where they left off. But they soon discover that while they can't live without each other, they can't live with each other either. It's morally wrong and the characters should be unappealing but you root for them anyway as they ditch their spouses and head off to Paris.
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Site specific aimless wandering: The Drowned Man

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Site specific theatre has never seemed more pointless and inept than in Punchdrunk's latest outing, The Drowned Man . A large, cavernous space near Paddington Station is converted into Temple Pictures Studios. You are meant to wander through the spaces and discover the unfolding dramas that are inspired by the drama Woyzeck . These dramas are mostly about people on the margins of the film industry struggling to make ends meet and where high emotions that take people to the point of insanity. It could be spooky and imaginative and a little bit of fun, but instead it is executed so casually that the end product is dreary, aimless and confused. Throughout four floors, the spaces are so large and empty, the lighting so dark that it all seems a little pointless and lacking any direction. It is all too big, too dark and too empty to be interesting.  With all the mazes and rooms with props it seems as if you have inadvertently dropped in on a fuck club on the night it is closed for
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Power struggles and slow poisons: Simon Boccanegra

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Verdi's Simon Boccanegra is a great opera to get stuck into. It's full of rousing music and has a terrific story about internal power struggles, young love and family against the backdrop of the establishment of the first Doge of Genoa. Everything has its consequences.  While Simon becomes the man of the people and crowned Doge of Genoa he discovers that his lover has died and their baby disappears. And that is just in the opening minutes of the prologue. The piece moves forward in time where young love, revenge and political intrigue take over amidst a plea for an end to internal fighting that is pulling a nation apart.
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Gospel, poverty and all that jazz: The Amen Corner

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The Amen Corner , currently playing at the National Theatre is an uplifting and emotional play. Poverty, religion, hypocrisy, gospel singing and jazz feature throughout. But while it might be a predictable journey, what makes it special is the finely drawn characters and nuanced performances and observations about poverty, race and religion. The piece focuses on fiery preacher Sister Margaret. As the play opens, she is about to go on a journey to Philadelphia to visit a congregation that needs her help. Yet her departure coincides with the return of her husband Luke and wayward antics from her son, who is staying out late with jazz musicians. Her congregation soon start calling on this hypocrisy and challenge her authority, which sets in motion a series of events that will pull Sister Margaret's world apart.
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Broads and beefcake in the heat: Sweet Bird of Youth

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Florida may be hot and steamy with characters who are restless with pent up sexual tension, but the audience watching Sweet Bird of Youth will more likely be restless due to boredom. The play is a repetitive three hour piece covering lost youth, unfinished business, broken dreams and the lure of stardom over and over and over again... It's a shame really, as the publicity shots alone are fantastic and make this look like it is the sexiest show on in town at the moment rather than the longest. The play is about Chance Williams, a bit of a drifter but also a looker with a fine set of pecs. He is played by Seth Numrich here and judging by the number of young women in the audience he is already attracting a solid fan base, which is no doubt will grow after they see him parade around the stage in his boxer briefs.
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Testosterone at the Vaudeville: The West End Men

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It's a slick and great sounding night out at the Vaudeville Theatre with The West End Men  (not just any men obviously) . This is a show that plays tribute to a host of musicals with both conventional and jazz-infused arrangements that had the audience cheering for more. It's great to see on the West End a show that just focuses on making some great music, peppered with a little bit of banter and fun, put together in such a great looking show (and the men aren't that bad to look at I suppose either). It has been touring (including internationally) over the past year so the format it is not new. It is only on for a month but well worth seeing this testosterone charged concert that will blast you off your seat.
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Religion and fennel salad: Disgraced

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You feel like a voyeur watching Disgraced , the fiery Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Ayad Akhtar, at the Bush Theatre . Over the course of 90 minutes everything that is civilised and awfully respectable about two New York couples is gradually undone and at times the conversation is so frank and uncomfortable that you forget you are at the theatre. It turns sour in moments over a fennel salad. As each character presents their views on religion and racial discrimination in today's modern world, they stumble and fall over their arguments and soon there is no turning back from a car crash. It is funny and topical but perhaps a little unnerving, particularly as the recent events in Woolwich bring religion and terrorism back in focus.
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Chance encounters girlfriends take: Blind Date

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It is unusual to be raving about a show that nobody else will see, but Blind Date which is having a limited seven week run at the Charing Cross theatre, is an improvised show that is original and funny where no show will be quite the same, but where each show no doubt shows the magic, sweetness and humanity that arises from chance encounters. Keeping it all together is Rebecca Northan as the optimistic Mimi, who finds herself stood up on her blind date. Rather than let that get her down, she turns to the audience to help her out. She wears a clown nose, speaks with a French accent and has a great set of legs. What then happens for the next ninety minutes is a masterclass in improvisation and working with the audience. Northan, who hails from Canada, and her show has won several awards. She is the recipient of two 2012 Canadian Comedy Awards for "Best Female Improviser" and "Best Comedic Play" for Blind Date, a winner of the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Aw
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