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Take me to the world: Hide and Seek @parktheatre

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In a small town where everyone knows everyone, if you don't like it, you might feel that the only logical thing to do is to disappear. Especially if you think it will help your social media rankings. The loneliness and isolation of youth meet influencers in the wild in Tobia Rossi's Hide and Seek. And while events take a darker turn, the humour and the intimacy make this piece about youth on the edge (of trending) fascinating and enjoyable. It's currently playing at Park Theatre .  Mirko (Nico Cetrulo) is exploring a cave with his camera when he stumbles on Gio (Louis Scarpa). Gio has been missing for a while, and the town has been looking for him. But Gio is more interested in how much he is trending on TikTok. He also had a crush on Mirko. Soon, they establish a friendship and a bond. In the cave, they explore feelings they would not dare share outside. However, things turn darker when Gio is confident enough to leave the cave, while Mirko doesn't want his double life

Tits and Teeth: Devilish! @LandorTheatre

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Strong performances and a marvellously silly premise can't overcome Devilish feeling not much of a guilty pleasure. Currently playing at the  Landor Theatre , the venue has been the home of a number of inspired (if a little rough around the edges) new works or fresh revivals of older ones.  With Devilish, an interesting premise did not lead to a particularly engaging show. The paper thin plot and various superfluous characters and songs made it a tough night. And for a show with cardboard characters, it takes itself a bit too seriously.

Monkey Business: Frank Sumatra @TheatreN16

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  Frank Sumatra is a funny piece of monkey business playing at the N16 Theatre, now confusingly situated in Balham.  The audience that finds its way to the theatre at the famous Bedford pub in Balham will be treated to an amusing piece of theatre presented as a live radio play.  The piece focuses on Bev and Keith. They're a nice, do-gooding young couple trying for a baby. They only eat organic, they separate their recyclables and so on. They also briefly adopted an orangutan in a Sumatran sanctuary. But despite letting the direct debit on the sponsorship lapse after a few months, the orangutan shows up on their doorstep one day and then starts wrecking havoc on their lives as he first eats them out of their organic food, and then starts behaving like a moody teenager. 

Reminder to get writing: The Adrian Pagan Award 2016

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The Adrian Pagan award is back for a third year. If you think you’ve got what it takes to address the state of the nation rather than reading random blogs on the interwebs, then this might be for you. The King’s Head are looking for directors, producers and creative teams to pitch plays that capture the current mood in an exciting, thought-provoking and entertaining way. Other than that, anything goes - new writing, revivals and musicals... They will take anything that pokes them the right way. The winning company will receive a full King’s Head production budget to produce their show at the venue. Applications are open until 31 July. To enter, you need to download an application from the King’s Head website and it by the deadline.

On long runs and intervals: 90 minutes straight through

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When is too much of a good thing, too much? I love going out to the theatre, but there is nothing more I love than hearing that what I am seeing is ninety minutes straight through. The fun of going out, the magic of theatre, brilliant performances, terrific writing... All in an hour and a half. I was thinking about this during the week when at The Maids at Trafalgar Studios I misread the play length. I thought it was one hour fifteen but it actually was one hour fifty. "Do make sure you go to the bathroom beforehand," I thought I heard the usher say in a motherly voice. I'm sure they didn't say that but that is what I heard. The Maids is a stylish new translation where two maids plot macabre ways of killing their mistress. It is a new translation of the Jean Genet play by Benedict Andrews and playwright Andrew Upton. It was first staged by Sydney Theatre Company in 2013. In this production Uzo Aduba (from Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black) and Zawe Ashton

Previews: It curtains with Ron Arad’s Curtain Call this summer

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Bloomberg Summer at The Roundhouse returns for its fifth year this August with Curtain Call by architect and designer Ron Arad. It is a return performance of this piece after its original outing in 2011. This time around Arad will reinvent the curtain experience by inviting new collaborators to work with him on the 360° immersive installation, alongside returning artists from 2011. The work will be showcased at the Roundhouse from 6 – 29 August 2016.

Play that song again: Blind Man's Song @ThePleasance

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Theatre Re's Blind Man's Song is a fascinating meditation on the subject of dreams and immagination. For just over an hour you are mostly entranced by the story unfolding before you. As the theatre opens you are informed that the best views were from the back of the theatre. This was intriguing (and counter-intuitive). But here the seating has been reduced at The Pleasance , making the space more intimate than usual. Taking my seat, I couldn't help but notice the eerie haze that hung over the stage at the begining. What space were we staring at? The main character, a blind musician soon enters. The space turns out to be his room. He is tapping about to find his way and soon this becomes the soundtrack.

Adult themes and other tunes: Closer Than Ever @ThePheasantry

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Closer Than Ever, which had a brief run at The Pheasantry last week, was a musical appreciation of the more serious works of Richard Maltby Jr and David Shire. With its provocative subject matter and jazz infused score I am hoping it won't be long before we see it return. Closer Than Ever follows on from Maltby and Shire's earlier revue, Starting Here Starting Now. The latter had songs of innocence and wit, here the stories are more reflective about the compromises, disappointments and other charms of adult life. Getting old, mid-life crises, sex during lunch breaks. It's all laid bare here. Many of the songs had been intended for shows (five of them were cut from the musical Baby). Others were musical ideas that Maltby had been compiling over the years. It is intriguing that many of these songs don't seemed to be performed much as cabaret standards. Given many of the songs dramatic and comic potential hopefully this revue will inspire more mining of the Malby

Man caves: Blue On Blue @TristanBates

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The vagaries of co-dependency, self harm, rehabilitation and a lot of blue language is the subject of Blue On Blue. But what sets the piece apart are the strong performances by its leads as they explore the traumas past and present in a man's world. Written by Chips Hardy, the piece is getting a revival at the Tristan Bates theatre. It is a dark piece which doesn't always land its jokes given the seriousness of the subject matter. But it's worthwhile all the same.

Always look on the bright side: My Mother Said I Never Should @St_JamesTheatre @tinyfiresltd

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My Mother Said I Never Should is a night to remember at the St James Theatre. An epic and detailed character study, lively performances and a great production makes this revival a must see. Charlotte Keatley's play covers the opportunities, disappointments and secrets of each generation of women in this character study. There are no men on stage here, but they are often the subject of the discussion. Each scene is so economically written; giving insight and meaning about their choices and challenges. It's also clever as it puts the audience in their shoes and has you reflecting on your own family and their experiences.

Quick snatches: The Future of Sex @wardrobensemble

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The sexual revolution wasn't quite as it seemed in this style over substance account of sex in the seventies (or should that be present day)? The Wardrobe Ensemble had a hit in Edinburgh last year with this show that goes beneath the hype of the sexual revolution, only to find that things were just as awkward then as they are now. Narration, inner monologues and jump cuts to the present day pepper this story of a group of young people discovering sex in the 70s.