PLAN YOUR WEEKEND: MORE ART, THEATRE AND COMEDY NOT TO BE MISSED IN LONDON

Abad production at the Almeida is a rarity, all the more so when it’s directed by Rupert Goold. But this modern morality tale is bafflingly ill-pitched and dangerously undercooked. It opens with satan introducing himself to the audience, lamenting that people no longer believe in evil –what’s a devil to do?

So he whisks us back to the good old days of the 17th century, where we follow the schemings of Elizabeth, an aristocrat fallen on hard times who is willing to do anything – anything –to save her crumbling country estate, even make a deal with the devil.

Opportunity knocks when a servant girl is accused of witchcraft –perhaps the girl could be spared the gallows if she were to put her talents to

What follows is a tonally bizarre play that pinballs between high camp and Jacobean tragedy, period drama and historical sitcom. The bumbling aristocrat Edward feels like he’s lifted wholesale from Blackadder, a pompous git with a penchant for sleeping with –or perhaps raping –the servants. He’s a figure of fun, a ridiculous caricature, but one who will occasionally punch a woman square in the jaw, leaving the audience tittering uncomfortably.

The young witch, a reluctant accomplice, is able to reassemble reality: bachelors wake up married, the rich wake up poor. Lulu Raczka’s serpentine play uses this device to muse on everything from the concept of goodness, to the impossible demands put upon women and the absurdity of men.

It feels like it’s forever on the cusp of making a great point but one never materialises, and no amount of theatrical razzle dazzle –of which there is plenty –can salvage the strangely hollow play that lurks beneath.

We’re coming into one of the most congested part of the London cultural calendar, with top new plays, exhibitions and movies coming thick and fast. If you’re unsure how to approach your weekend, relax, we have you covered.

Support Vault Festival

The amazing Vault Festival has returned to The Vaults below Waterloo Station, where hundreds of plays are being staged by new writers and actors trialing something a little less ordinary. It’s a great vibe down there even if you just pop in for a drink too. The festival has lost its venue for 2024 as landlords have prioritised more commercial work, so get in now before the festival moves home. At City A.M. we’ve launched a campaign to support the festival so keep an eye on the paper for more news on the festival’s future.

£ The Vaults, until 19 March

MIKE NELSON AT THE

HAYWOOD GALERY

Our critic described this show at the Southbank Centre’s Haywood Gallery as a new high-bar for installation art. Exploring a fictional apocalypse, it converts the space into a sprawling, loosely connected series of works that viewers can stroll through. Amsolutely stunning.

£ Hayward Gallery, until 7 May

SEE RYAN REYNOLDS LIVE

There’s a huge comedy festival taking place at the O2 this weekend. Just For Laughs gathers together the biggest and most well-loved comedians for headline sets: Reynolds is performing, as is Katherine Ryan, Aisling Bea, Shaparak Khorsandi and Reggie Watts, plus something special from the national treasure himself, Graham Norton.

£ The O2, until 5 March

ORCHID FESTIVAL AT KEW

Booking in advance is a must for this annual Kew spectacular. One of the famous greenhouses is decked out in resplendent flowering orchids, this year to the theme of Cameroon. That means native animals from the country are carved out of horticultural displays as you wander. Plus music, food and drink.

£ Kew Gardens, until 5 March

SATURDAY

NIGHT LIVE...LIVE

Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, two of the writers of famous US show Saturday Night Live are performing their own sketch routines in Soho. They got good reviews last year when they played a run at the Edinbugh Fringe, and their videos often go viral online.

£ Soho Theatre, until 4 March

Great British Bake Off

If you love the show on TV then now’s your chance to see a celebration of the baking show live on stage. Sound confusing? We’re with you, but we won’t knock it until we’ve tried it. It’s a musical, with a central love story between two contestants. We can’t wait to see how this one, ahem, pans out.

£ Noel Coward Theatre, until 13 May WATCH A

Thrilling New Medea Production

British A-Lister Sophie Okonedo stars in this vital new staging of the Greek myth of Medea and Jason. If you aren’t into Greek mythlogy, still go: this shiny modern production really amps up the mental health element of Medea’s story, and Okonedo’s commanding performance means Medea could be any women who’s been wronged in the present day. This is properly riveting theatre from an exciting new venue.

£ Soho Place, until 22 April

By Matt Hardy

FORMULA 1 team McLaren would back the sport venturing further into China and the surrounding Asian continent amid a growing feeling that the series is yet to cash in on the opportunities the Far East market provides.

Nick Martin, the director of new business at the Woking-based outfit, told City A.M. that McLaren acknowledges that they haven’t fully stretched their commercial arm to its fullest extent in Asia. China is not on the calendar this year due to its strict Covid-19 rules.

“I think Asia still is a really good opportunity, but we just haven’t really tapped in there as well as potentially we could and I think the sport overall acknowledges that,” he said.

“Clearly Covid-19 has been a challenge there with the region being shut down but in Japan, [there’s] still an incredibly passionate and avid Formula 1 population, I think China is a good opportunity to add another race on the calendar over there.

“I think we would be really supportive of that.”

BEYOND

Asia

But expansion isn’t just eastwards, with Martin backing Formula 1 to enhance its influence elsewhere too.

“South America has always been a hugely supportive group for F1. It would be exciting to see growth in that region and I’ve seen rumours on the calendar about South Africa, which would be hugely exciting for the sport.

“Whether or not that comes into fruition, let’s see but [we] would be really supportive.”

Formula 1 has been at the forefront of global sports reach, attracting brands with multi-continental influence and investing in technological developments such as YouTube and E-Sports.

It has also taken on board the Middle Eastern advertising market and the world of crypto.

There’s a multitude of Gulf states with interests in the motorsport and this year will see the calendar head to the region four times – Bahrain for this weekend’s opening race, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Links with the Middle East remain controversial, however. Only this week UK MPs urged F1 to set up an inquiry to look into the links between human rights violations and grands prix.

But F1 responded sternly. “For