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Belters and bohemians: Opera Locos @Sadlers_wells

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At the start of the Opera Locos performance, the announcement says that they really are singing. You could be forgiven for wondering that, given the amplification turns up the backing track and the voices so loud that you can't always tell what's real. But this is a mostly harmless and slightly eccentric blend of opera classics fused with the occasional pop classic. However, recognising the pop tunes would help if you were over a certain age. The most recent of them dates back twenty years. It's currently playing at the Peacock Theatre .  Five performers play out a variety of archetype opera characters. There's the worn-out tenor (Jesús Álvarez), the macho baritone (Enrique Sánchez-Ramos), the eccentric counter-tenor (Michaël Kone), the dreamy soprano (María Rey-Joly) and the wild mezzo-soprano (Mayca Teba). Since my singing days, I haven't recognised these types of performers. However, once, I recall a conductor saying he wanted no mezzo-sopranos singing with the s

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?

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…

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.

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.

Live couples therapy: Tonight I’m Gonna Be The New Me @sohotheatre

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Tonight I’m Gonna Be The New Me , currently playing at the Soho Theatre is a theatrical endurance piece, both for the performers and the audience as it attempts to describe a relationship, or a relationship re imagined. It should be part of Soho Theatre’s programme of weird shit to see in the West End. It’s alienating, amusing and infuriating. So depending on your frame of mind you’re going to love it or think you are trapped. I suspect the intention is to feel both. Thankfully it only lasts a little over an hour.

Larking about: And Then Come The Nightjars @Theatre503

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  And Then Come the Nightjars , currently playing at Theatre 503 , is a funny and at times touching two-hander that charts the period of the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 and its aftermath from the perspective a a farmer in South Devon and his friend and local vet. It is astonishing to watch such a finely drawn characterisations  and a beautiful looking production in the intimate space of Theatre 503.

Holographs of my mind: Dusty @dusty_show

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Dusty Springfield is back from the dead in Dusty , a multimedia musical which has her spinning around and singing in 3D holographic spectacular. As for the show, despite other opinions , I liked it for the music. It is a wonderful homage to her, even if the technology gets in the way of the performances and the story.