My Cultural Life - London

Emma Rice marks the centenary of David Lean's birth with a stage production inspired by his film 'Brief Encounter' and Noel Coward’s play 'Still Life', Shamini Sriskandarajah reports.

Director Bruce Jamieson’s robust approach to one of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays tackles head-on the issue of religious intolerance at its heart. Whilst losing some of the sparkle of the romantic subplots, it directly addresses important contemporary questions.

In this superbly staged entertainment, June Abbott's snappy direction and a cast whose sparkle matches the script carries the audience on a tide of laughter. The satire is directed mainly at the vagaries of TV news presentation, but darker issues surrounding attitudes to women also surface in this provacatively titled play.

Sheila Cornelius finds 'Counterfeit Skin' to be a witty, farcical and thoroughly engaging portrayal of modern gay men and their relationships - with darker overtones.

Illona Linthwaite’s excellent revival of My Sister in This House is based on the real-life murder in France of a mother and daughter by two servants in 1933, and provides a seasonal reminder of how bad weather accentuates dark thoughts.