Theatre review: The Win Bin

A satire on arts funding cuts takes a surreal turn in Kate Kennedy and Sara Joyce's The Win Bin: There is now only enough cash for one person a year to get a job in the arts, and it's to be decided by a behind-closed-doors mix of interview day and talent show. After a series of preliminary rounds - which may or may not have involved Rock, Paper, Scissors - six finalists have been found, all played by Kennedy and Wilf Scolding. The three men and three women pair off after a while: A photographer's project documents his life after being dumped; it turns out the ex-girlfriend in question is another of the candidates, a highly-strung puppeteer. An unprepared but charming choreographer flirts with a comic book artist - but is he just trying to put her off? We don't see much of the third pair - whose talents appear to be taxidermy and "trying to put her whole fist into her mouth" - they cower nervously in a corner while the other four implode.

Theatre review: Bears in Space

Bears in Space has been doing good business at Soho Theatre thanks to strong word of mouth. LOL no, not really, it's because the cast includes Jack Gleeson, who's been quoted as saying he might give up acting, so for any Game of Thrones fans trying to see as many cast members as possible on stage, this might be the only opportunity to collect Joffrey. It has, though, been getting all that positive word of mouth, and it's not surprising as fans of all things silly will find a lot to love here. Gleeson stars alongside Aaron Heffernan, Cameron Macauley and Eoghan Quinn* in a story about two elderly cosmonaut bears in the distant future, left to fend for themselves when their captain is quarantined in stasis. A Russian polar bear (Quinn) assumes the captain's role of investigating a mysterious nearby planet.