Recommended by Christine Foster

Living in the tropics, I tend to agree that tinsel can look pretty tacky on palm trees and I absolutely relate to the pain of doing without treasured traditions recalled from growing up in the north. This short play is a sympathetic examination of the whole dilemma of place and memory and adapting to change, with a lot of gentle wisdom woven in. Above all, it reinforces the bottom line...love can wrestle almost any sort of conflict to, at the very least, a tie - and, in this case, a bow.

I just had the pleasure of watching Theatre Three's production of the play on Youtube. It's a fresh and delightful piece in which a 60 year old widow conjures, warns and counsels four of her younger selves on the not-so-great choices they are about to make (choices that she herself did make) in her romantic past. The collision of their comparative innocence with her own humorous self-awareness might just give her the courage to get back in the "dating pool." Maybe it's not so bad to be "sadder-but-wiser." And it's great fun.

A warm-hearted treat for actors and audience, lots of subtext and side dishes make this a family feast of the best kind, with the very best kind of Christmas surprise for desert.

Hugely enjoyable and believable dialogue between two passengers on a coach headed for the London Marathon. Nathan is bursting with excitement, eager to share his methodology and memorized strategies with his elderly seat-mate, but Elise has a lot more going for her than her inner calm and her ability to listen.

A mime of a mini-play - rather like a two panel cartoon for the stage. It would be delightful in an evening of droll snapshots of similarly sheeplike moments. A great smile.

The play is a mix of gutwrenching emotional confrontations between a mother and daughter (with the adult daughter obsessively unforgiving about alleged trauma) and a creepy, philosophical journey into looping through time in a spiritually susceptible hotel which is ultimately able to comfort and release them into a kind of peace. It's a clever idea, the dialogue is gripping and the visuals are a treat.

There are plenty of goosebump moments in this short play about three generations of women facing the dementia of the eldest. The teenage granddaughter becomes nearly hysterical at the realization of how many of the care home residents seem to be living out hopeless days, yet the grandmother herself calmly recalls, or invents, situations that aren't stressful at all. An emotional, perceptive look at our responses to losing contact with our loved ones and, potentially, ourselves.

This skillful piece succeeds solidly on two levels: as a tale of corporate corruption and greed exposed, deflected and (temporarily) managed, and as a story of four determined and intense characters on a personal and passionate collision path. Clever, bitingly satirical while also deceptively relaxed, this one packs a real punch.

Clever, fast and funny. A great idea with lots of scope for physical comedy and satire, this is such good fun I would like to see it longer and the virtual realities the "lions" enjoy developed even further.

The experience of reading "Nonsense and Beauty" is uplifting, perceptive, heartbreaking - all the very best sort of things a mere 'read' can provide, so I can only say how much I would love to enjoy/endure it on stage. Tender and beautifully drawn characters explore the bitter complications of life and love amid overwhelming challenges. And, as it's based on real lives, it's all the more gripping and poignant, as we can mourn and celebrate the brave hearts that actually experienced this journey. A terrific play.