Theatre review: Chiaroscuro

After the explosion of new female artistic directors of London theatres earlier this year, this month sees the start of them all debuting in their new roles with productions that will inevitably be seen in part as a mission statement. It's something Lynette Linton acknowledges at the Bush: It's overwhelmingly a new writing venue but being the opener for a new regime can put a different kind of pressure on a premiere so I can understand Linton's motives for kicking off with a revival. In her introduction to the show, the director says she wants an ongoing theme at the Bush to be the stories of queer women of colour, so Scottish Poet Laureate Jackie Kay's 1986 play Chiaroscuro fits the bill. Meanwhile integrating the music that formed part of the play, so that the women performing are also making their own music - something that becomes integral to the play's themes - gives the show its own identity.

Theatre review: Bend It Like Beckham

With screen-to-stage adaptations the most common form of new musical, it's not always the most obvious candidates that work best. But while a story about women's football and clashing generations doesn't seem like an obvious candidate, in fact the different cultures coming together in Bend It Like Beckham make for an interesting mix of musical styles. Gurinder Chadha adapts (with Paul Mayeda Berges) and directs her own film, with songs by Howard Goodall and Charles Hart. Jess (Natalie Dew) is a teenage tomboy who enjoys playing football in the park, where her talent is spotted by Jules (Lauren Samuels,) who asks her to try out for the local women's team. The two girls become friends and teammates, although the fact that they're both interested in their coach Joe (Jamie Campbell Bower) could put a wedge between them. But just as Jess discovers that football doesn't have to be a dead end for her, her family decide otherwise.

Theatre review: Khandan (Family)

Roxana Silbert recently took over at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, and has started by bringing back a controversial figure from the theatre's past: Ten years ago Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play Behzti (Dishonour) was taken off after offending Sikhs. But Bhatti is also a writer for The Archers, and as her new play Khandan (Family) comes to London, it proves to be less explosive, and more gentle family drama. Jeeto (Sudha Bhuchar) has recently lost her husband, by all accounts a kind man but one with a drink problem. She now lives in a suburban house that's too big for her with her son Pal (Rez Kempton,) who's now running the shop his late father left him. Jeeto keeps up a pretense of disapproval that he married a white woman, but in reality she dotes on Liz (Lauren Crace,) who's as much part of the family as her own children.