Larger than life, postmodern, explosive, and chaotic, Daniel York Loh subverts the notion of the typical British Chinese experience in his latest play which premiered in London last week. The last time I felt such awe and excitement about the possibilities of theatre was when I saw Daniel’s last play at the Arcola Theatre, FORGOTTEN 遗忘 (2018).

Initially, one might wonder what more there is to say about identity politics. I myself thought this as we were forced multiple times to listen to all manner of racist slurs that are specifically directed to East and Southeast Asians. I thought to myself, do we really need to cover the same ground again and again? Can we not put our traumas to bed? But then I am rudely reminded on my Instagram feed where news broke yesterday that we live in a world where the Metropolitan Police are able to arrest multiple South Asian individuals for calling other South Asians a “coconut,” the subject clearly remains painfully relevant. So, this is the question the play is asking, what does it mean to be Chinese? And what does Dao mean? There is no straight forward answer to either.

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The ultimate dream for many performers, making it into Hollywood can be an arduous feat. The journey towards achieving that sometimes unreachable goal, dependent on your route, consisting in a series of actions including drama school training, showcases, agent searches, getting headshots, editing showreels, self tapes with the hopes of this all paving the path for that perfect role. A playful observation of this pursuit and how this plays out for one out of many performers, Zach Zucker presents Zach Zucker: Spectacular Industry Showcase, a comical hour celebrating the craft of performance and self expression.

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Ensuring the health needs of the population are tended to within current constraints, the relentless forces that power the NHS no doubt themselves deserve a fair work/life balance and appreciation. Often overworked and underpaid, health professionals power through overwhelming work days with little to no rest, mental health taking a back seat and, the needs of everyone else taking first priority. Zoning in on a doctor working on the frontlines of an unnamed hospital ward, Nathan Ellis‘ Super High Resolution clasps onto what is to be on top of your game, in spite of being overwhelmed with the non-forgiving feeling of burnout and feeling voiceless.

Courtesy of Helen Murray.

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Birthdays are a time of celebration, a time to celebrate an increased sense of wisdom and life experience. They’re a natural occasion to possibly look back at what has gone before – evaluating decisions made and contemplating scenarios experienced and whether they’ve positively, negatively, or both impacted the now. An exploration of age and the passing of time, writer and performer Haley McGee presents Age is a Feeling, produced by Soho Theatre.

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An idea born out of the need to reconnect during the lockdowns of the pandemic, powerhouses Sophia A Jackson – founder of Afridiziak Theatre News renowned for her championing of Black Theatre within the UK, and Nina Malone, founder of influential digital platform Dope Black Mums, set up to bring a community of women together to share their experiences of motherhood have joined forces to introduce the Afridiziak Theatre News x Dope Black Mums Meet-Up, an opportunity for mums to meet and watch a show in collaboration with Soho Theatre. Having hosted their first ever event on Tuesday 15th February, where the collective met up to watch award winning production Queens of Sheba by Nouveau Riche, the next meet up will have the collective introduced to award winning production Shedding a Skin by Amanda Wilkin on Saturday 19th March 2022. Ahead of the meet up, Sophia and Nina reflect on the first event and tell us what their hopes are for the event moving forward!

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Dealing with the intricacies of running a nation asks for an adept, rigorous, tenacious skillset and mindset. A role not to be taken lightly, imagine suddenly being catapulted into this complex reality. Exploring this further in show General Secretary, comedy duo Cassie Symes and Georgina Thomas place the experiences of two inexperienced leaders as they navigate their way through this new normal for them to the fore. Initially starting life out as a short live-streamed piece last year, before being shortlisted for a Funny Women Award – the work-in-progress’ next stop sees the show performed at the Soho Rising Festival, staged at the Soho Theatre next month. Ahead of the show, Cassie and Georgina tells us more about the show’s creative process so far, what it means to have been recognised for their work by the Funny Women Awards and what we can expect from the show!

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Currently debuting her latest show curious, a show exploring the lives of two young, Black, queer actresses trying to find out who they are, award winning writer Jasmine Lee-Jones returns, this time, to the Soho Theatre until 16th October. Establishing the show’s visual aesthetic, co-set and costume designers Camilla Clarke and Rosie Elnile tell us more about working with the show’s themes to realise the visual language, challenges faced in doing so and what they’ve taken away from working on the show!

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With a mission to place more work by East Asian artists on our stages, Chinese Arts Now Festival returns with a line up of digital, dance, theatre, music, comedy and so much more. Debuting last year, CAN 2020 offers a ‘bigger, bolder, and braver celebration of work’ – Nigel Ng’s stand up comedy show Culture Shocked a brilliant addition to this year’s event.

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From the updating of a status, to the purchasing of products to the sending of an email, these actions are all made possible by numerous algorithms programmed to make our online experiences as seamless as possible. Algorithms silently navigate the day, manipulating the feeds we see on social media platforms to lining up prospective matches on dating apps. Daily life now tends to include the online world, a phenomenon we’ve witnessed grow at speed within the past decade and shows no signs of stopping. Exploring our online era further, playwright Sadie Clark presents ‘Algorithms’ showing at the Pleasance Courtyard at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Ahead of the month long run, Sadie talks more about the show.

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We can all agree that parenting can be tough at times, but imagine raising a son who looks so different that everyone thinks you’ve kidnapped him. BAFTA nominated writer Gabriel Bisset-Smith has based Whitewash on his own experiences as the white passing son of a mixed race woman, and the complexities of race in the gritty London of the 1990s, through to the property obsessed 2010s.

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