The year is 1941. France is occupied by the Nazis, who wield significant influence in North African Casablanca. A stream of desperate refugees clamour to leave for America, but only the rich or powerful can hope to make it. European flotsam and jetsam gravitate to Morocco – but once there, they wait. And while they wait, everybody comes to Rick’s… There is an art deco-style set at the lovely Ghillie Dhu venue that evokes memories for anyone who has seen the film – and it’s ut

Three Can Keep A Secret is piece of comedy drama with a twist: there is frequent audience interaction to influence the plot, making it a cross between drama and the ‘choose your own adventure’ genre. A boys’ poker night is the setting. The host, Mason, is expecting various party guests and with his wife, Denise, safely out of town, it promises to be raucous. Sonny and Moose arrive, yet…they don’t especially seem to be cordial with one another – are they in fact friends at al

Kofi is on stage, attired (if that’s the word) in an orange jumpsuit. A Black man is in prison – cue the pearl-clutching – and he has a life sentence. But it’s not what you think. Kofi (Quaz Degraft) is a numerical marvel, entertaining his fellow inmates by solving mathematical puzzles, and is clearly articulate. So, how did he come to be incarcerated? He is first-generation Ghanaian, raised in New York. His family has imbued him with a strong work ethic, and he has, albeit n

It's Eileen’s 90th birthday party in Northern Ireland. Her daughter Gilly has gone to some trouble to make it a special occasion, including the arrival of her own daughter Jenny and granddaughter Muireann – meaning there will be four generations of women under the same roof. There are party hats, balloons and the promise of a cake. It should all pass off rather smoothly – right? Eileen (Julia Dearden) is prickly, demanding and frankly more than a little truculent. She relentl

The sister of a famous pop star, Standing in the Shadows of Giants is Lucie Barât’s personal story – and it’s not quite what you might expect. Barât recounts her adult journey through drama school, auditions, fending off predatory industry suits, an unfulfilled career and part-time jobs. Her brother Carl has formed an indie band, The Libertines. History recalls how they find fame and an endless stream of parties, launches and media hype ensues. Frontman Pete Doherty’s drug

Grand Guignol de Milan, fresh from their recent triumphant, award-winning show at Prague Fringe, export a further series of vignettes, all with a distinctly Italian flavour and themed around the company’s stated raison d’être to revive Italian horror stories. Gianfilippo Lamberti takes to the stage, elegantly attired and with horns on his forehead. The Devil is the host and puppetmaster for the evening; however, he is interrupted by Salvatore (Lorenzo Balducci), not only rais

The social science of economics is not widely understood and is largely underappreciated. It examines macro decision-making – such as interest rates – and micro – for instance, at what price point a consumer may switch from high street to supermarket-brand butter. Ever wonder how a local authority decides whether to install a streetlight? Chances are, there’s been a study using economic data; the Value of a Statistical Life is frequently employed, giving rise to the idea of a

Science fiction as a genre takes many forms. It can have its roots in fantasy, transporting the reader to parallel worlds. On the other hand, it can serve as a warning to humanity, attempting to preemptively prevent catastrophic events from unfolding — 1984, for example. We meet Rey (Jake Mace), a 20-something queer nightclubber. Rey’s best friend, Robin, appears to be embarking on a polyamorous relationship. Rey's friend Flora has an almost omniscient quality. Rey is on a mi

Siobhán arrives, or, as she puts it, is “chucked off” the airport bus, in central Paris. She has booked a holiday apartment and can barely contain her excitement as she is shown around. The apartment, belonging to Anna, is located in the exalted Latin Quarter and radiates style – wooden floorboards, artsy posters, original artwork and books. The host’s agent meticulously reels off a list of forbidden fruit: access to the locked wardrobe and drawers, her belongings, her food a

Some performances—especially those featuring circus and juggling—can only truly work in a large space. However, Café de Profundis has at its core an intimacy, making the Beseda stage at Prague Fringe a fitting venue for this show. The stage is minimally yet intriguingly set: a small table and chairs stage right, and a glowing circular shape affixed to the backdrop. Ofelia Grey enters deliberately and strikingly. Is she stalking? Her movement evokes a flamenco style. She beg

Some people simply don’t have a filter, managing to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Our protagonist is one such person. Gobstopper unfolds the story of a young woman in a small Scottish town. For the benefit of international readers, gobstoppers are large, round, boiled sweets, best consumed slowly to avoid breaking your teeth. (The word “gob” is British slang for “mouth.”) Given their size and nature, gobstoppers take a long time to consume, inadvertently silencing c

Grand Guignol de Milan presents three vignettes inspired by real-life events. The first of these is The Butcher . It is just another day for the working ladies at a late 19th-century Milan brothel. However, they are alarmed by reports of a serial killer – a butcher’s assistant – at large in the city. The newspaper article, falteringly read aloud by semi-literate Rosetta (Giulia Mazza), reveals a description of the butcher, complete with an unmistakeable tattoo. The butcher s

It doesn’t seem so long ago that, to go shopping, you’d head for your nearest town centre or mall. The internet drove a truck through that model, though, and click-purchasing has become the norm. So simple is it that consumers can sit at home and bring the world to their doorstep – over and over again. But what if this purchasing became compulsive? Enter Michele Puleio. His character marvels at the simplicity and efficiency of online buying. He is aware of the cost of this sy

Actors As Messengers. We were supposed to be done with this, weren’t we? Children fleeing conflict and persecution in war-torn Europe should belong to the annals of history, it being some 85 years since the Kindertransport saved over 10,000 children. But here we are again - this time it is Ukrainian citizens fleeing their homes for a future that is far from certain, or indeed, not always welcoming. Once Upon a Time in Ukraine takes personal testimonies of Ukrainian refugees

Nigel Miles-Thomas is no stranger to the Prague Fringe. In fact, it’s fair to say that he has had a prolific and varied career on television and stage. His tale, Once Upon A Time In Hollywoodland , might just be the most dramatic though. And it’s all true… Miles-Thomas recounts his deeply personal tale at the intimate Café Míšenská. We learn of a deprived childhood in a north London suburb. His father, a major in the Indian army, abandons the family when he is six years old.

Letters have power. Often they’re just junk mail of course, or bills to be ignored, to be paid even, if that is your volition. Then there are happier communications – invitations to weddings, greetings cards and, for those of a certain era, love letters. But then there are those that change your life irrevocably. This is Joe Rawling’s deeply personal story. Spoiler alerts : 1. he has contracted cancer, but survives; 2. this production is funny. Joe is informed, chillingly, di

There is a light and whistle for attracting attention.” A phrase that rings with easy familiarity for anyone who chooses air travel. But why is it the title of a piece of theatre? The copy for this production was a little opaque – to the point that it felt deliberate. Which, of course, turned out to be the case in this simply brilliant production by Play Nicely Theatre. The stage is set, intriguingly, with a chest of drawers and small wooden boxes off stage left and right. Th

Tish (Letitia Delish) is stuck. In more or less every sense of the word, in fact. She is increasingly uncertain of her gender and wishes to explore nascent alternative sexuality. Tish is studying musical theatre in Bognor Regis, hardly a hotbed of cosmopolitan acceptance or tolerance. And then there’s also rent to pay. A chance encounter on Grindr (a dating and social app, popular with the LGBTQ+ community) pushes her into highly unexpected territory. Tish decides to become a

Identity confusion sits at the heart of this re-telling of G. K. Chesterton’s best-known novel. Chesterton is probably most famous as the creator of Father Brown to the modern audience, but this is an intriguing revival of The Man Who Was Thursday with modern resonance. The year is 1908 and Europe is witnessing political upheaval, which will ultimately lead to the outbreak of World War I. A variety of groups are pushing for reform and governments are increasingly under p

"Are you having a stroke?" Not exactly what inventor Jim (Paul Richards), pitching an idea to his long-term girlfriend Alison (Ruby Florence), wants to hear. But this does not transpire to be Alison’s most devastating line to Jim; it is, however, a microcosm of the personality gap between the pair. The Half A Camel (the upstairs function room of The Joker) is set with a typical domestic scene, except that Jim is miming to Queen’s We Are The Champions , as part of his morning