Recommended by Paul Donnelly

A luminous memory play that endearingly captures the jaundiced youthful view of parents and the lovely connection the parents share.

How can Nick come to your wedding, Jonah, when he knows there isn't going to be one? Time travel turns out to be trap for Nick, not a gift. His palpable misery is as compelling as Jonah's frustration and Ava's acceptance. This is a clever story with a real heart.

Poor Barry has been done wrong by the world, but does this strangely omnipotent stranger have the answer to his problems or is she offering a bigger problem? Barry's conundrum is wittily explored in this well-crafted two-hander. Both characters are clearly drawn and engaging and the pay-off left me shaking my head at poor Barry's fate.

What a moving portrait of two strangers in pain who are able to connect despite their vast differences. It is heartening to see that a woman facing another terrible loss has not lost her compassion and is able to make a difference in a troubled younger woman's life. A truly touching and uplifting play.

Oh the pressure! As if the stress of preparing for child-birth wasn't weighty enough, these parents-to-be are forced to confront the awesome responsibility of picking their babies' names. A pressure exacerbated by on overly-directive birthing instructor. The concept of names going extinct is a particularly funny construct.

Boy is there life in these older ladies! Their efforts to remedy their palpable frustration and move beyond
Scrabble, even Sex Scrabble are a joy to behold. I hope Fireman Phil's good advice pays off for them. The humor here just builds and builds to a surprising, but very satisfying conclusion. Sheer delight!

A lovely concluding episode that brings the Bear's story full-circle. The wit we have come to expect flows expansively. There are few James Bond tropes left un-satirized and the Bear's heady life as a Lothario is most amusing. Yet the episode ends with a moving farewell that honors the seriousness of the first powerful installment of the Bear's saga.

This is a powerful and accurate portrayal of living with bi-polar disorder. It is also a powerful and accurate portrait of the ways that the most well-intentioned families can respond with concern that manifests as triggering hovering and lack of faith. The intertwined journeys of Lucy and Penny are compelling and the hopeful ending feels earned.

Sally's dementia is portrayed with care and dignity. George's patience and compassion are infinitely moving. This play is both gripping and lovely in its depiction of the persistence and loyalty of one spouse in the face of the other spouse's inevitable decline.

What eerie fun! Who wouldn't believe it's always 1994 in a video store? The dialogue is brisk and funny and the conclusion is memorably unsettling.