Theatre review: Gastronauts

Dinner and a show, although which is which isn't clear in the Royal Court's Gastronauts from writers April De Angelis and Nessah Muthy, and director Wils Wilson. In a "departure lounge" in the Jerwood Upstairs, the audience is encouraged to choose from fluorescent drinks in shot glasses - though if the one I chose was anything to go by they weren't alcoholic but fruit and vegetable juices, I couldn't put my finger on what mine was but it tasted familiar - before going into an area set up with restaurant tables. Andy Clark, Imogen Doel, Nathaniel Martello-White and Justine Mitchell are flight attendants serving us, with Alasdair Macrae as the captain providing music and narration. In between performing short scenes about food, the significance it takes in our lives and the price - not just financial - of it, the cast also encourage the audience to try out some interesting food samples, all with a story to tell.

Theatre review: The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart

One thing that looks likely to become a feature of Vicky Featherstone's tenure at the Royal Court is co-productions with her former company, the National Theatre of Scotland. So it is with the final show in the Open Court "taster" season, which falls under the Theatre Local umbrella, taking it to the London Welsh Centre near King's Cross. Which is a pretty strange choice of location for a show as resolutely Scottish as The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, the brainchild of its writer David Greig and director Wils Wilson. The prevalence of Welsh dragons in the decor aside though, this proves an apt enough space for the piece, the long bar set up for a lock-in as if in the Kelso pub where a couple of crucial scenes take place. The story is told by five actor-musicians, and is a tribute to the traditional Border Ballads - as well as a deconstruction of them.