Theatre review: Black Mountain

The two women in Paines Plough's three-strong rep cast dominated Out of Love, now Hasan Dixon gets to take centre stage in Brad Birch's Black Mountain. He plays Paul, who 's just arrived at a remote holiday home with Rebecca (Katie Elin-Salt.) The two are staying in separate bedrooms, an early indication that this isn't a straightforward holiday; they are, or at least were a couple, but he's hurt her and this is a last-ditch attempt to take some time together and talk over whether they have a future. He starts with at the very least the appearance of calm and optimism, she's spiky and curt with him but quickly starts to relax even as he goes the other way, becoming anxious and jumpy. This is because he's hiding the fact that Helen (Sally Messham) had stalked the pair to the side of a mountain.

Theatre review: Out of Love

Paines Plough seem to have found a regular London home for their Roundabout shows at the Orange Tree, Richmond 's permanently in-the-round theatre meaning they don't even have to find somewhere to set up their portable stage. As the company often does, they're currently touring three new short plays in rep with the same cast and creative team, and as usual this includes one kids' show I'm skipping, leaving me with a double bill to catch up on. First up is Elinor Cook's equal parts blunt and romantic look at a lifelong female friendship, Out of Love. We first meet Lorna (Sally Messham) and Grace (Katie Elin-Salt) as children, but after that their story jumps backwards and forwards in time to gradually build a picture of a tempestuous relationship that sometimes seems to have turned into hate, but in reality will always come back to the genuine love they feel for each other.

Theatre review: Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage

An interesting day to see Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage, as today director Max Stafford-Clark has been interviewed for an article about how, despite great reviews, his latest touring show has played to dwindling audiences, blaming arts funding cuts for the regions losing their taste for new theatre. Of course, last year's offerings from Out of Joint were This May Hurt A Bit and Pitcairn, so people may just have been wary of getting burned a third time. Robin Soans' verbatim play (with a few reconstructed scenes) about openly gay rugby player Gareth Thomas is, though, a much better proposition; and if tonight's audience at the Arcola is anything to go by, it's coming a lot closer to filling the house on this final London leg of its tour. Gay audiences will surely find a lot of interest in the story of the first major international sportsman to come out, but Thomas isn't the sole focus of Soans' play.