Coming to a stage near you: what to see this month

There’s the chance to see something fun and enjoyable at the White Bear Theatre this week with romantic comedy Potato/Tomato. A heartwarming, sharply funny, romantic comedy drama it brings together five unforgettable characters for one life-changing night.

The scene is a wedding reception where emotions run high, timing runs late, and nothing goes quite to plan especially when Josh, still mourning his relationship with Naomi, sees her arrive with new partner Gary, and Josh’s friends decide to step in to “help”. This new play, by writer and director Harry Harding, who plays the part of Josh, is produced by the Room One Theatre Company.

With quick-fire dialogue, the play is billed as deeply relatable, with a cast of lovable, flawed characters delivering big laughs, and a storyline packed with charm, chemistry, and sparkling banter.

Potato/Tomato is White Bear Theatre until 7 February. whitebeartheatre.co.uk

Understudies are the unsung heroes of the theatre world. It can be a thankless task knowing that, when you do make your stage debut, it could be that only one’s family and friends will be pleased to see you. And as for the audience, they may be disappointed that you’re not the billed performer. But Jewish actor and writer Kara Alberts-Turner is determined to put understudies in the spotlight with her new podcast launching next week called You’re On Tonight.

The 12-episode weekly podcast is produced by London’s largest recording studio The Sound Company and celeb. With guests including Eddie Marsan and Ellie Leach, You’re On Tonight celebrates the extraordinary high pressure world of understudies the first episode is on 11th February.

Watch the trailer here: https://shows.acast.com/youre-on-tonight

The latest performance from the Jewish Dramatic Association of London (JDAL) is to be an evening of Jewish music. Being staged at Upstairs at the Gatehouse Theatre, the show promises a one-night only celebration of Jewish songwriters featuring a whole range of people from legendary composers including Bernstein, Sondheim and Loewe along with music from contemporary songwriters Estee Stimmler and Alexander S Bermange.

“JDAL likes to showcase Jewish creatives,” says its founder Natan Paul-Collis. “We know there are many talented people out there, but not all of them have time to learn and rehearse a play, so we thought, this show should be a musical one. It means we can feature many more creatives and showcase their work.”

JDAL Sings is on 15 February at Upstairs at the Gatehouse. upstairsathegatehouse.com

The dark side of AI and the internet are dramatically brought into focus with Swans are ****holes, a new play written by Jewish playwright Emma Zadow.

This cautionary tale, staged at the Canal Café Theatre is the story of Sarah whose life is suddenly spirals out of control, when a completely false, AI-generated, sex tape of Sarah and a swan, goes viral. Sarah insists it isn’t her, but in a world where images feel more real than truth, denial means very little. As the video spirals into memes, outrage, and public judgment, one question haunts everything: who made the tape, and why?

A dark comedy that is absurd, alarming and painfully human it is a wakeup call, highlighting how social media can misdirect reality.

“When Emma first showed me the script, she had written just the first 10 pages, but I knew then that the play was going to be fantastic,” says Ben, who is one of the cast of four, and whose theatre company, BS Productions, is producing the play

“That was a year ago and we have all worked together to bring the play to realisation. It is an especially relevant play because AI is now so sophisticated. We are living in a world of such fast-paced and distracting forms of media, that there is a risk of us not just being replaced, but our personalities and character being manipulated. And when this happens, as is the case with Sarah, in this play, how do you deal with it and what impact does it have on you.

Swans are ****holes runs 20-22 February at Canal Café Theatre. canalcafetheatre.com

London’s Fringe theatres are honouring Holocaust Memorial Month with many plays focussing on holocaust themes. Savage is the brutal and savage story of an obsessed and forgotten Nazi war criminal and the young man who was one of his victims.

Based on a true story and set in Copenhagen in 1940, Savage is the tale of Dr Carl Vaernet who claimed he had found a “cure” for homosexuality. A barbaric surgical procedure, the doctor demonstrated the experiment to a German general. He was so impressed with the doctor’s “results” that he invited him to Germany. There Vaernet was  appointed to “cure” homosexuals in Buchenwald concentration camp.

Savage is not just the tale of Vaernet’s brutality, it is also the tender love story of one of his victims, Nikolai.  This highly acclaimed play was written seven years ago and garnered four and five star reviews when it was first performed.

Savage runs 25 February – 15 March at The White Bear Theatre. whitebeartheatre.co.uk