Katie Kirkpatrick

An award-winning LGBTQ novel, adapted for the stage by playwright of the moment Jack Holden (Cruising; Kenrex)... It sounds like a surefire hit for the Almeida, and sure enough, the entire run is currently fully sold out. But can a production be too sure of itself? Slick but straightforward, this premiere bucks the venue’s recent trend of plays that push the envelope.

There’s a lot of pressure on an Artistic Director’s first production at a new venue, especially if they’re directing it themselves. Nadia Fall kicks off her tenure leading the Young Vic with a revival of a classic Joe Orton play, promising ‘seduction and devilish wit.’ But could this show seduce its audience?

Alice Birch’s Romans, a novel is an expansive portrait of literary masculinity through the ages. With an ever-shifting form, an array of subtle references, and an intricate, thought-provoking script, this is a play that many will find difficult and impenetrable. At its core, however, it’s a truly perceptive piece that understands masculinity like little else.

Not Your Superwoman has already sold out its entire run, which is pretty unusual for an Off West End play. It’s less surprising, however, when you consider the combined star power of actors Golda Rosheuvel and Letitia Wright, and outgoing Bush Artistic Director Lynette Linton. In this play, co-created by Linton and writer Emma Dennis-Edwards, it’s easy to see how each of them have risen to fame – and how richly their success is deserved

Ambika Mod, of This Is Going to Hurt and One Day fame, is pretty perfect casting for the part. Exuding warmth and approachability, she handles the play’s demands with the ideal balance of humanity and confidence, putting audiences immediately at ease. She never feels like she’s fully playing a role, but rather telling a story.

Deaf Republic is a marvel of a show. Using puppetry, live video, aerial, and a combination of spoken English, BSL, and captions, this is the kind of theatre that steps not only out of the box but into a whole new world.

Unusual and unflinching, Dear Young Monster delves into the parallels between the creation of Frankenstein’s Monster as a ‘man-made man’ and the experience of a trans coming of age. Playfully incorporating horror and the gothic, it’s a queer hidden gem of this summer’s theatre offerings.

Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses has long been something of a YA classic. Rather than dreaming up a sci-fi future, however, this story presents instead an uncanny alternate present – one where discrimination and racial violence are worse than ever, but it's Black people who are the privileged ones.

This Bitter Earth, the UK directorial debut of Tony winner Billy Porter, is a play with a lot to say – about race, about activism, and about love. First produced in 2017, the show follows the twists and turns in the relationship between Jesse (Omari Douglas), a Black writer, and his boyfriend Neil (Alexander Lincoln), a white BLM activist.

#Pop Off, Michelangelo! might just be the gayest show in London right now. And that’s saying a lot. But this high camp new musical, overflowing with pop culture references, has to be seen to be believed. The show transports us to the Renaissance – no, not Beyonce’s hit album, the other one. When best friends Mike and Leo come out to each other, their main concern is that God might not be the biggest fan of gays. So what can they do about it? Talk to the Pope of course!

A journalist writing a story about death and terminal illness finds out she herself is dying. The irony is off the charts, and it’s undeniably a fascinating set-up. Edinburgh Fringe hit Outpatient turns this premise into a witty one-person show, now running in Park Theatre’s studio space.

Rumours are flying, people are fucking, and the queen’s been taken to the tower. Ava Pickett’s debut play 1536 tears through a story of female sexuality and male violence, bringing a distinctly twenty-first century language and sensibility to the era of Anne Boleyn.

In this version of the familiar story, we are whisked away to the 1800s American West. The sparring young men are now gun-touting cowboys, the ball is a barn dance, and the soundtrack is all banjos and whistles. It’s a bold transposition of the star-crossed Verona lovers, but one that works surprisingly well. 

When physical items take over your life, what space is left for real people? Personal Values, the debut play from Chloe Lawrence-Taylor, seeks to answer this question, digging through boxes and bags to examine family, grief, and memory. What it uncovers is intriguing, but doesn’t quite hold together. 

It would be fair to say Weather Girl was the talk of last year’s Edinburgh Fringe. With a Scotsman Fringe First, a Lustrum Award, and a queue stretching back into the Summerhall courtyard, it was only a matter of time until this sweltering success got a much-anticipated London transfer. Now fully sold out at Soho Theatre, it’s clear to see why this show had audiences talking.

Drenched in eerie green and red light, Wet Mess’ Testo is a unique, subversive fever trip through masculinity, transness, and queer identity. A hidden gem of last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, this inventive piece fuses drag king performance with verbatim and cabaret, incorporating the voices of people who have started taking testosterone.

One room, two people. A murder case, as yet unsolved. Jamie Armitage’s An Interrogation takes a simple premise and layers it with questions of gender, class, and responsibility.