Theatre review: Unreachable

As Anthony Neilson's plays are created in rehearsal, you never know what you're going to get when a new one premieres, even down to what genre it'll be - although odds are something surreal is on the cards. Unreachable has had its press night so is presumably now finalised, but it does at times feel as if the actors are still being taken by surprise. The setting is unnamed, but the character names would suggest somewhere in Eastern Europe, where indie filmmaker Maxim (Matt Smith) has just won the Palme d'Or. This recognition has led to his producer Anastasia (Amanda Drew) being able to secure a bigger budget for his next feature, a dystopian thriller he's wanted to make for the last decade. But the director seems oddly determined to sabotage his own dream project, constantly interrupting and restarting filming - as the play starts he's demanding they reshoot the last three weeks' worth of footage on film as he's gone off digital - as he seeks to capture an elusive, perfect light.

Theatre review: The Solid Life of Sugar Water

Jack Thorne's enigmatically-titled The Solid Life of Sugar Water is likely to be the last thing I see at the National Theatre's Keith before it gets pulled down, and if so is a strong farewell to The Artist Formerly Known As Shed: Phil (Arthur Hughes) and Alice (Genevieve Barr) are a young married couple describing, in great detail, a rather awkward night of sex. The reason for their discomfort around each other is that this is the first time for them since their first child was stillborn. They're both worried about each other - Phil has noticed it's been a while since his wife last showered, while Alice isn't mentioning the fact that her husband hasn't been eating properly for weeks - but they're not sure how to speak to each other since their child's death. Looking back on both the highlights of their relationship so far, and their recent trauma, if they can get their sex life back on track everything else might follow.