The Shape of Pain made its debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and went on to win a Fringe First Award. Since then, the show has received critical acclaim for its unique capturing of Director Rachel Bagshaw’s personal experiences of living with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). A crucial piece of theatre showcasing just how powerful the integration of technology can be, the show is a culmination of carefully crafted sound, lighting and video and projection design. Ahead of the show’s return to Wilton’s Music Hall before embarking on a UK tour, Theatre & Technology Award winning Video and Projection Designer Joshua Pharo discusses further about the show’s collaborative creative process.

This year, we celebrate 6 years in July. Within this time, it’s been great to witness a variety of shows within the capital as well as regionally. We very much look forward to continuing this journey, and seeing what happens next. We’re living in a very exciting time, whereby changes are made within our industry and crucial conversations are being had, and we hope to keep you updated on companies and shows contributing to our theatre landscape. Each week, we bring you the latest theatre reviews and interviews, and have now introduced a weekly newsletter. This is your chance to stay updated on the very latest theatre news, competitions and reviews!

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Did GCSE History teach you how sassy and irresistible Henry VIII’s wives were? Didn’t think so. Brand new British musical SIX has achieved what every new theatre show could hope for; a fresh, buzzing production that’s the insatiable talk of the town.

We’re living in a time where changes within the industry are proving incredibly significant; conversations around making theatre accessible and a lot more diversified are greatly prominent. There’s a feeling that within the next few years that theatre will truly reflect its audience, both on and off stage. It’s a very exciting time and offers hope to many who perhaps wouldn’t have thought theatre was a space for them, due to the feeling of theatre being an elitist art form. Many initiatives are shaping our landscape, one of which – #CONNECT: Black Women in Theatre offers a space for black creatives within the theatre industry to contemplate various issues to further advocate change. Founder and Executive Producer of the initiative, Stella Kanu tells us more about the event’s second year!

A topic receiving greater prominence within wider conversations is that of ‘cultural appropriation’; an issue regarding taking an aspect of a culture unfamiliar to an individual, an aspect of great significance and commodifying it for financial gain or trivialising it due to its aesthetic. Playwright Lekhani Chirwa explores this issue in her debut play Can I Touch Your Hair? Ahead of her 2 date performance at this year’s Vault Festival, Lekhani talks about the show’s themes, working with Ovalhouse, HerStory Festival and Blacktress prior to the Vault Festival and what audiences can expect.

At the beginning of The Paper Man, the cast asks audience members to raise their hands if they don’t like football. About half the room’s go up. But like the sport or not, everyone’s got a story about football.

With the Royal Court I often find that it’s the smaller shows upstairs in the Jerwood that are actually the most powerful explosions across the London theatre scene. Clean Break’s Inside Bitch is no different.

Courtesy of Ali Wright.

Technologically impressive, with a fascinating sci-fi concept that ultimately falls short when searching for depth or meaning. Tesseract is divided into two halves like many pieces of conventional theatre, yet more unconventionally, Tesseract’s first act is a 3D film, the second a live performance. Armed with 3D glasses, Charles Atlas’s film exhibits incredibly impressive visuals, the clarity and scope makes for an immersive experience. For want of better terminology, the performers look as though they are truly popping out of the screen in such clear lucidity, far more-so than any 3D cinema experience.