Recommended by Dan West

Today is the day. Today is the day that Felix and Nick finally put down the game controllers and collaborate on that screenplay that is sure to make them rich and famous. All they need is an idea…and some burgers….or maybe kebabs? This smartly written and absurdly funny comedy about two slackers on a mission to make something of their lives before dinner arrives is sure to leave its audience in stitches.

What starts as a community theater post-mortem session after a fraught production breaks down into an airing grievances before becoming a full on whodunnit in this genre subverting dark comedy that examines the egotistic fragility of adult “theatre kids” and the damage they can cause, not just to each other, but to all those that dare enter their world. Erica Tatum’s deft use of humor mixed with episodes of Shakespearian verse make this far more than just a richly witty peek into backstage politics, but a poignant indictment of those unable to relinquish the spotlight.

Finley of Morris Island is no one’s fair maiden. And when almost legendary pirate Captain Jason Montgomery and his crew seize her and take her onboard their ship the Dawn Chaser to join them, it is up to Finley to show them the error of their ways. With rollicking sea shanties and thrilling swashbuckling (along with a bit of magic), this adventurous one-act comedy is sure to bring smiles to audiences both old and young.

When elderly sisters Mabel and Alice get in deep with the local loan shark, they must rally their pensioner friends to help them come up with the necessary 10,000 quid by Monday. Their reckless schemes and outrageous machinations are downright hysterical. And the third-wall breaking mob enforcer, Dirty Dave, takes this dark farce completely over the top for me. Truly, this may well be the funniest play that I’ve read on this platform all year.

Urban exploration of abandoned buildings seems like it would be such fun, doesn’t it? Nick and Kara thought so too, until - to their growing horror - they learn that it is not ghosts that haunt this space, but a temporal paradox. Can they break the endless cycle of repetition? And who are those eyes that are watching them so intently? This creepy and tightly crafted meta-theatrical two-handed is sure to enthrall any audience- captive or not.

Public apologies in the YouTube/TikTok era have become increasingly elaborate rites. And in this 10-minute immersive holiday satire, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer goes the practice one better by commandeering an entire theater class in order to make his performative amends for a past transgression. Clever, witty, and fun can only begin to describe this creative seasonal take on our traditional Yuletide fair.

A musical spectacle with all the grandeur of the French Revolution. Maximilian Robespierre is brought back from the dead and set loose to clean up modern Washington D.C. and, before you know it, he and his Committee for Public Safety are running their very own Reign of Terror (and Song). Heads aren't the only things that will be rolling in the aisles.

In Caleb McCarrol’s “Two People With Autism In the Rain”, the title certainly does describe the action; but that play itself is so much more than just that descriptor. It is a play about sensation and liberation and new experiences and the feeling of loss embedded in any and all partings. The rain may bring wetness and discomfort, but it also washes pretense and allows truths to be revealed. An eye opening short play.

A terrific historical drama about a group of five female pilots who served in the WWII era WASP program and the struggles they faced in gaining recognition for their service. As the young, eager, and committed heroines of War Era Act One grow into the more jaded, mature, and largely forgotten women of 1974; we can feel the pain of their heartache and frustration as they work to reconcile their shared history with a world that refuses to acknowledge it. A powerful play about a subject that will elucidate its audience as it entertains them.

Three close friends pass around the pieces of a French maids outfit as the converse in the kitchen about everything from community meetings to marriage to mourning to breakfast meat (and more). But it is really the rich, naturalistic dialogue and the feelings of kinship and shared connection between the characters that make this short intimate three-hander such a winner.