Tough Time, Nice Time
Sticking to the same slightly barmy spirit of innovation that has defined the 15 year history of their two man troupe, David Woods and John Haynes return to the Barbican with another of their wonderful Ridiculusmus performances. Two rather unpleasant individuals, one a drug-dealing, former rent-boy turned lawyer, the other a jaded writer, meet in a bathtub in a Bangkok spa and spend the next hour relating a series of dark, delightfully bleak tales in an absorbing spin of sharp dialogue and outrageous, beer-fueled language. Hardly one for the faint of heart, Tough Time, Nice Time is nothing if not captivating.

Jerwood Moving Image Awards
Fast approaching a decade old, the Jerwood is one of those rare and wonderful groups that provides support and opportunity for a wide variety of arts, but with sufficient funding, space and knowledge to do it damn well. Their newest initiative, the Moving Image Awards, sees them extend their reach into new-fangled digital media, where 30 shortlisted artists, drawn from a massive range of competitors, have been vying for one of three £10,000 prizes. Working from every conceivable tradition, from hand-drawn animation to dance and documentary, the 8 finalists are on show at the Jerwood Space in the build-up to the award announcements on March 4th.

Shen Yun
When I was a wee sprog, history was a thing trapped in dull, dusty tomes and relayed by a monotonous Welshman: needless to say, it was a subject jettisoned as soon as possible in favour of more dynamic fare. Shen Yun, which arrives in London for the weekend, relates a series of tales drawn from 5,000 years of Chinese history, portrayed with astonishing perfection by a cast of 100 impeccable singers and dancers and some of the most astonishingly colourful sets imaginable. If I'd had this lot had got to me all those years ago, who knows, maybe I wouldn't have keyed the Welshman's car.