These Theatre Thoughts

Photo credit: Mark Senior Date: 7th February 2025  Seat: K28 (Stalls) Stars: 3.5 If you’ve ever sat in a waiting room and thought it was absolute chaos then DocDoc takes that feeling and dials it up to eleven. This internationally acclaimed comedy – having had audiences in 37 countries laughing themselves into a medical emergency – has finally checked in for its UK debut. And trust me, it’s just what the doctor ordered.  The premise is comedy gold: Dr. Cooper, a world-renowned specialist in obsessive-compulsive disorders, is running late so his patients, each with their own quirks, anxieties, and neurotic tendencies, are left to their own devices. Meanwhile, poor Anna (Isabella Leung), the practice’s long-suffering assistant, is desperately trying to keep things from spiralling into total bedlam. Spoiler alert: she fails spectacularly. Instead of a calm and orderly queue, this bunch of misfits take self-help to a whole new (and completely misguided) level, resulting in misun...

  Date: 29th January 2025  Seat: Unallocated Stars: 4 Haunted Shadows at the White Bear Theatre takes a bold and minimalist approach to the ghost story genre, trading spectacle for quiet tension. It’s adapted from Edith Nesbit’s collection of ghost stories (she didn’t just write for children), and this one-woman show offers moments of genuine unease, which isn’t always an easy thing to do – it’s the central performance and Jonathan Rigby’s understated direction that does it. There’s something uniquely unsettling about a ghost story that isn’t trying to shock you with jump scares – Haunted Shadows takes its time, lulling you in slowly but surely before hitting you with the full weight of its eerie twists. The piece is beautifully subtle – there’s no gimmicky sound design or overly elaborate set pieces, just a simple, intimate stage and an actress – Claire Louise Amias – who knows how to make your imagination do the rest, and that simplicity is what makes the experience so g...