Paul in London

For a brief moment last week, Guilt and Shame took over the upstairs space at the Soho Theatre for some random therapy on addiction, drugs and masturbating penises through glory holes.  Alternating between the bizarre and the offensive, it made for a great night of comedy. Arriving at the theatre everyone is instructed by Gabe to put on a name tag as everyone is about to take part (unwittingly or not) in an addicts anonymous group. Then his best friend and eternal gay virgin Rob arrives dragging both themselves and the audience on filthy journey literally to hell and back. The journey includes acting out sex with a swan (pictured above), getting a member of the audience to confront his fear of penises in men's toilets and observations about gay men who have an unhealthy liking for Downton Abbey ...

Torture, boredom and having strange things done to plants are explored in Fiji Land, a thought-provoking piece currently playing at the little space within Southwark Playhouse for a short season. The title comes from the testimony from a Professor Ali Shalal, who became a symbol for the torture at Abu Ghraib after catching the interest of the New York Times and it mistakenly attributing him as the man hooked up to wires and a black hood. His testimony describes a part of the prison in open space and made up of five sectors, surrounded by walls and barb wire as Fiji Land, where anything could happen. The play is a short piece about what happens when cell doors are closed and nobody else is watching. You walk into the little space within the Southwark Playhouse to be greeted with what looks like a cross between a cold storage facility and an indoor plant growing facility. Unsure about what the next eighty minutes had in store for us, @Johnnyfoxlondon and I opted for seats towa

The tale of a cigarette worker and a promising soldier who throws his career away in lusting after her seems like an unlikely premise for an opera. But Bizet's rousing music and the melodramatic tale of love and obsession woven around it make Carmen  hard to resist. The casting and current production make for a satisfying night out at the Royal Opera . I caught this production just before Christmas with the alternative cast. Korean tenor Younghoon Lee as Don José delivers a thrilling performance with his range and gradually escalating dramatic intensity. By the finale the audiences were cheering.  Christine Rice as Carmen was equally thrilling and has a dark timbre and luscious sound that is well suited to the role. The rest of the cast rise to the drama of the occasion. As Escamillo, the  Johnny Depp of opera  Kostas Smoriginas, dominates his scenes with a commanding voice and presence.  Francesca Zambello's stylish production evokes Seville but what lingers ev

Another handy guide has been created to find some of the major London theatres around London, what are the nearest tube stations and how to get from them. Combined with the on-street Legible London signs, there should be no excuse for missing the 7.30 start (unless of course the show starts earlier or you spent more time than you expected dining on the pre-theatre menu)...   Created by TicketTree.com , The Theatre Break Specialists.

It is panto season again and the first pantomime, Aladdin at the New Wimbledon theatre was the same production I saw last year in Richmond . It still looks great with some incredible costumes and set pieces and makes for a great (if a tad overlong) family night out. I thought last year's production needed songs from this century and better jokes. Well this time around the songs this are more recent (such as Daft Punk's ear worm Get Lucky) and the street dance troupe Flawless , as the Peking Police Force adds some variety to the proceedings. With Matthew Kelly's very amusing turn as the pantomime dame Widow Twanky, comedian Jo Brand and some genuine west end stars with Oliver Thornton and David Bedella it is like a chocolate box of random assorted entertainment, there is bound to be something to please everyone.

The Shape of Things , currently playing at the Arcola Theatre in Dalston is a smart and good looking production that captures the banality and earnestness of Neil Labute's high concept play of young love in a university town. Ten years on from its first presentation at the Almeida, it still is an interesting observation on people and relationships and art. Or perhaps. The lady seated next to me who was an art historian was not particularly impressed by the analysis of art. She found Labute was getting things wrong. But coming out of the the theatre, my partner commented, "That's just how people act in my hometown." The mind started to boggle about the games people in his hometown play, but he thankfully clarified he mean that people once they get into relationships change and cut people out of their lives. And this is what makes the piece fascinating. Its observations of the four characters and their interrelationships as they talk about love, sex and art. They

At the preview of American Psycho  at the Almeida Theatre I caught last week, the audio wasn't great, the cast seemed uneasy and props were knocked over. At one point a dancer blinded by the projections seemed to fall off the stage. But there was something about this slick,  thoughtful and funny production that suggests that these are mere early days for a show that has all the makings of becoming a great new musical. The first half is too long and it could do with some more gore, but you will walk away amazed by the spectacle, style, music and performances. American Psycho is based on the book by Brett Easton Ellis . Famous for its graphic violence and sexual content, it tells the story of Wall Street investment banker who details his life from drug-fuelled clubbing with colleagues, to obsessions over business card fonts and forays into mass murder. He is in a loveless relationship with a fellow yuppie and violent murders seem to be his release, whether they are real or imagin