... Family Viewing King's Head The four actors involved in this bloated and ugly satire form something of a composite and likeable Frankenstein trying to animate a lifeless carcass. No bolt of lightning is forthcoming however, and the play lies dead on the operating table. Ostensibly a comedy, Trevor Baxter has in fact written an ill- judged, heavy-handed and finally offensive rant on consumer ...

... Hymns Lyric, Hammersmith Frantic Assembly's latest show blends psychological drama, stylised acting, dance and even acrobatics to make visual the emotional turmoil of four men unaccustomed to verbally expressing themselves. The quartet, played by Scott Graham, Steven Hoggett, Simon Rees and Karl Sullivan, are old mates coping with the suicide of a fifth friend. As scenes of speech alternate or ...

... The Rise, Fall and Rise of Gyro Prune Edinburgh Lung Ha's. Scotland's only professional theatre company for performers with learning disabilities, makes a strong return to the Traverse with this new play by John Harvey, directed by Lung Ha's founder Pete Clerke. Much theatre of this ilk is devised to give expression to its performers' lives. Harvey, however, has taken a fairly standard poverty ...

... Macbeth High Wycombe/Touring English Touring Opera has revived Robert Chevara's staging of Verdi's work, which I did not much care for originally. The chorus still tends to amble around and rhubarb away, the witches still twitch and writhe as though in an infant school show, but the overall drama now seems stronger. The change of conductor is less happy. Martin Andre has proved his worth in ...

... Platee Gent Rameau's extraordinary work is an anti-masque in which Jupiter practices a cruel joke upon the swamp-nymph Platee (sung by a high tenor) in order to arouse Juno's jealousy. A prologue sets it up as the boozy Thespis' creation. The wonderfully evocative score's dazzling orchestration, rhythmic energy and infectious dance music bring to life birds and frogs, letting loose the ...

... Vern Allen Premiere Showcase Exmouth Showcases used to be a hotchpotch of acts thrown together without any semblance of providing a show for the audience. The acts appeared almost as though they were on a factory line. Thankfully those days are long gone and one of the prime movers towards making show case events such enjoyable spectacles has been Vern Allen. His talents in this vein were ...

... Paying tribute to the greats Hemel Hempstead Peller Artistes Jumpin' Jaks was the venue for this showcase, and the direction taken by the Sheffield agency was clear on first glance at the 20 plus act programme. Johnnie Peller has embraced the tribute market and this was designed to showcase that side of his business. Kicking off was Earth Win Desire. This two males and one female act took ...

... This Lear goes Noh-where Barbican Theatre King Lear In this co-production between the RSC, Thelma Holt and Saitama Arts of Japan, our text-based Western drama meets the Noh tradition. Here. Shakespearean tragicomedy is staged against a setting of vast double doors bearing an oriental pine tree in sculpted relief. With a cast of leading British actors, Nigel Hawthorne's Lear was eagerly ...

... Supersonic philosophy Lyric, Hammersmith Max Black Sometimes it is breathtaking to see what 70 minutes can contain. Heiner Goebbels' latest excursion into the literal laboratory of theatrical possibility sees the eponymous hero (inspired by a Russian-American scientist who wrote on ness) investigate the nature of sound and, by default, the question of creativity itself. Max Black, played ...

... Hyacinth Blue Lyric Studio, Hammersmith It is that tiresome millennial conceit again, rearing its hackneyed head to damage what is essentially a strong and simple tale of three women in prison. If only playwright Kara Miller had resisted the urge to tie her play's loose ends into one clumsy symbolic knot that of a certain date in the Christian calendar, which is due to fall around two months ...

... Learning to Fly Camden People's Theatre Paul J Martin has written a competent and well-structured play which perhaps suffers from too tidy an ending. Its moments of crystalline lucidity and beautifully cadenced monologues of loss and grief release emotions which are frustratingly hemmed in by over-insistent plotting. A little too much scene setting is a dangerous thing, and the first half ...

... Talking About Men Oval House Six guys, four black two white, drift in and out of the sauna one evening, striking new bonds, reaffirming old ones, setting the world to rights--as guys do. They argue whether forepHay is for cissies, debate ethnic origin as a solitary white guy wanders in I (But we're all British too! he unwisely avers), educate each other about what women really want and ...