Recommended by Paul Donnelly

Wickedly funny dialogue and dazzling physical comedy propel this play from a discussion of an impending grandson's birth through an emergency involving his father to a very vivid effort to get Judy beyond her fear of flying. We should all have friends like Carol and Joan!

A brilliant take-down of the circle of developmental hell known as the talkback. As it dawns what play is being discussed the satire of pompous responders soars. Every word rang horrifyingly true and the playwright's final resolution was deeply satisfying.

This Bliss-Band is an ingenious riff on the Fitbit, quantifying that most elusive and intangible concept - happiness. It leaves Max dissatisfied with being pretty darn happy because he hasn't achieved perfect happiness. His journey to that goal is the center of this most imaginative and engaging play. He and Elle together stumble onto the recipe for that perfect happiness at the play's most satisfying conclusion.

What seems like an engaging and suspenseful police procedural turns out to be something quite different in this clever and amusing comedy.

Poor Henry has to go to extreme lengths to get his busy wife's attention. Fortunately for both of them he is ultimately successful. The letters to Penelope's column and her responses are quite amusing. Something I would say about this entire play.

How refreshing to encounter a customer service representative who admits she doesn't care. Unfortunately while this honesty doesn't move Peter any closer to a resolution of his service issue , it fuels his (legitimate in this case) anger management issues. The customer service nightmare and Peter's novel resolution are both presented with great wit in this thoroughly engaging play.

Chatty Olive is an absolute riot. One funny line piles on top of another so often that I laughed aloud continuously. And the final twist, which I didn't see coming, is a moment of comic gold. The fear of immersive theatre is real and hysterically portrayed.

Two old friends share a vacation at a new location. Initially this pleases one but not the other. One friend has embraced change in her life, one resists it. This charming story lets us see how one friend leads the other to accept new possibilities in her life.

Painfully funny and oddly familiar, this delicious satire of the gatekeeper/playwright relationship is a dark delight. The heightened obstacles posed by the gatekeeper ring regrettably true. Have your euros ready desperate playwrights.

What a delight! Melissa's husband provides her with a unique birthday experience. Things do not start well when the gift turns out to be a clown, Her fear of clowns has a complex backstory that ultimately rebounds to her husband's benefit. This play received a glorious production on Gather By the Ghost Light.