Paige Cochrane

Each year Brighton Fringe is home to some of the UK theatre scenes wildest and most unique performances. Make It Mine’s offering is Glad To Be Dead, a cycle of monologues from gothic horrors most notorious characters, waxing philosophical and lamenting their own misfortune, all wrapped up in one hour.

Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial brings a social media nightmare to a shocking and amusing reality. This adaptation of a well-known cultural phenomenon is an autopsy of the intricacies behind existence as a partner of one of England’s highest profile footballers.

Wham Bam Thank You Mam is a collaboration straight from the minds of Frances Keyton, Su Mi and Marty Gleeson. Exploring heartache, cultural identity, and ways to stick a middle finger up at social expectation, this trio have combined an hour of captivating storytelling with some truly brilliant comedic skill. This show gives a taste of the very best that each has to offer.

What’s that famous quote, never work with children or animals? After a peek behind the curtain at Noises Off, there should be no doubt that drunks, adulterers, or actors prone to nosebleeds should be added to that list.

It all starts with a friend request out of the blue. Welcome to Paradise, the latest multi-level marketing scheme for every girl boss in need of a financial lift. Who could argue a £250 start-up fee and enough essential oils to fill a swimming pool when you’re so close to paving the way to self-employed luxury?

With winter nights growing ever darker and Christmas just around the corner, now is the perfect time to treat yourself to everyone’s favourite festive entertainment. Who doesn’t love a pantomime? This year, the Lyric Hammersmith’s offering is a re-imagining of Jack and the Beanstalk. Nostalgia is thrust into the present with a soundtrack packed full of Beyonce, Billie Eilish and many more.

This is a theatrical experience unlike any other, crafted with accessibility at the helm. The framework of each unique production is built around empowering disabled people’s autonomy; Rachel has every freedom available to her as both cast and audience await her next creative decision.

Nestled deep underneath the Waterloo railway, get ready to be reintroduced to all your favourites, who will have you laughing your way through the chaotic events of season one (yes, that includes a dancing Demogorgon.) Even if you’re not a fan of the original, there are enough quirky pop culture references and nostalgic 80’s synth for you settle in and enjoy the on-stage absurdity.

Nigerian born writer, Inua Ellams, originally turned down working on Antigone due to feeling “no distant kinship with the protagonist.” Five years of work later, how could Ellams have predicted that his modern adaptation would feel so responsive to the current socio-political climate.

Joan of Arc has long been a symbol of female empowerment. Her ascent to patron saint of France is often described as a tale of gender non-conforming rebellion for women to aspire to. Shakespeare's Globe and writer Charlie Josephine (they/he) have dismantled this depiction of womanhood, redefining Joan's experiences through the lens of trans existence. In I, Joan, the protagonist traverses the same war and faith we as an audience are accustomed to, whilst also advocating for and navigating their nonbinary identity.

With an expansive career directing for both stage and screen, Olivier-nominated director Amy Hodge has worked at some of the most respected theatre venues across the country. Her latest collaboration at Shakespeare’s Globe is Henry VIII, a punchy revival of the infamous classic that saw the original Globe burn to the ground.

As the most notorious monarch in British history, Henry VIII's rule was tyrannous and imposing. Known for his colossal physique and consort of six unlucky wives, Henry Tudor has long stood as an example of the damage done by brutish men with excessive power. His reputation as a prolific abuser of women has inspired an array of assertive feminist theatre and this offering by Shakespeare's Globe is no exception.

It must have been said at some point in history that the course of lesbian love never did run smooth. Jules is vivacious and unconventional, whereas Juniper is thoughtful and quiet. Lustful glances across a noisy bar leads the pair to embark on a fiery relationship, learning to love and trust each other even when they don’t want to.

Chichester Festival Theatre welcomes their 60th Anniversary season with The Taxidermist’s Daughter, a gothic tale of revenge set across the Sussex marshes in 1912. Adapted from her best-selling novel, author Kate Mosse has transported her literary vision to the stage in the very heart of the town that she grew up in. The novel is oozing with narrative potential and moody landscape, but surprisingly Chichester’s adaptation felt underwhelming.

Myah is in her thirties, recently single, homeless, now unemployed, and agonizingly uncomfortable in her own skin. After a tense weekend at her parents it's time to get her life together... again.

What do nuns, granola bars and a string of pearls all have in common? It sounds like the start of a bad joke but really, they’re all part of Sarah Hanly’s vibrant one-woman show, Purple Snowflakes and Titty Wanks.

John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Doubt: A Parable, is a court room built to question your understanding of integrity. Chichester Festival Theatre's offering is equally sharp and profound, echoing the vast ambiguity and loss of faith hidden within a pursuit of righteousness.

In Chicago, 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb each receive life, plus 99 years, for the despicable murder and kidnapping of 14-year-old Bobby Franks.

What happens when Christmas Day becomes a playing ground to expose the tangible relationship between privilege and identity? Written by Young Jean Lee, Straight White Men is an ambitious study of those who gain the most from the world and their awareness of the power they possess.