in-i ** - TNT

Combining the talents of a world famous French actress and an equally respected performer from the world of ballet might sound like the foundation for a fascinating collaboration, but the result proves patchy.

As part of the European Culture Season, Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan have put together several short scenes using words and movement to investigate the nature of love. They begin with Binoche recounting how, as a teenager, she spotted a man at the cinema and stalked him until they became lovers. There’s an amusing (but over-extended) segment in which passion gives way to the practicalities of living together and the state of the toilet seat becomes a matter of contention.

But there’s more tempestuousness than humour, and the choreography often verges on the violent as the colours of the flat encroaching wall, designed by Anish Kapoor, mutate. Khan delivers his spoken lines with intensity, and one can’t help but admire the agility and stamina of the forty-something Binoche as she throws herself into the dance moves. But, even at just over an hour long, this experiment becomes repetitive and the uneasy mix of tone never goes deep enough to enlighten.

Lyttelton at the National, South Bank, SE1 (020-7452 3000). Until October 20. £10-£41

Now Or Later **** TNT

Prince Harry caused a ruckus several years back by sporting a swastika at a fancy-dress party. Christopher Shinn’s timely play imagines what might happen if the gay son of the Democrat President-elect made a similar (but in this case calculated) faux pas by dressing up as Muhammad and refusing to apologise.
Set in the anonymity of a Southern hotel room, Dominic Cooke’s convincing production is both intelligent and thought provoking as it explores issues of freedom of speech and intolerance. Eddie Redmayne exudes damaged sensitivity as the Ivy League student, determined to preserve his private autonomy, and Matthew Marsh is calculatingly effective as it becomes clear the principles that helped him get to power now lie somewhere between hypocrisy and compromise.

Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Sq, SW1 (020-7565 5000). Until November 1. £10-£25

LOUISE KINGSLEY

... SOME TRACE OF HER - This is London

Inspired by the book, created on stage and projected on screen, director Katie Mitchell's 90 minute distillation of Dostoevsky's novel ‘The Idiot’ requires as much concentration on the part of the audience as it does from the actors. Deploying techniques similar to those she used in her adaptation of Virginia Woolf's ‘The Waves’ a couple of years back, it proves fascinating and frustrating in equal measure.
The set resembles a recording studio in which the cast scurries about creating small scale effects - the bumpy sway of a train journey, the view through a window streaming with rain - which are simultaneously shown on the large overhead screen where, convincingly, they take on the brooding appearance of an old black and white film. So far, so impressive. But if, like me, you haven't read the original, the disjointed fragments render both the narrative and the characters' motivation hard to follow. As a result, this multimedia hybrid feels more of an atmospheric exercise than the story of a doomed love triangle.

That said, it's still rewarding to see Mitchell pushing the boundaries and to witness the multitasking cast (led by Ben Whishaw's smitten, epileptic Prince Myshkin and Hattie Morahan's intense damaged beauty Nastasya Filippovna) create a mini art house movie before our eyes.
Cottesloe Theatre.
Louise Kingsley

Turandot - TNT

Still unfinished when he died in 1956, Brecht's last play has, apparently, never been performed in this country before. Though intermittently entertaining, it's not one of his best.

It begins in pantomime fashion with Gerard Murphy's rotund Emperor of China (petulant as an outsize baby in silk undies) threatening, as he does at regular intervals, to abdicate. But there's a dark side to his corrupt rule. Having secretly removed a sizeable proportion of the cotton crop, he and his court find themselves unable to explain to the people why, in a bumper year, prices are so high. Turning to the intellectuals to come up with a solution, the Emperor offers his daughter Turandot (an empty-headed little cutie who goes weak at the knees at the merest suggestion of a brain) as the prize. Failure means decapitation.

Brecht mocks these professional thinkers who sell their opinions in the market place, as well as satirising those in power. But despite the efforts of translator Edward Kemp and director Anthony Clark, it's often an unfocussed and uninvolving event which is unlikely to leave a lasting impression.

Hampstead, Eton Avenue, NW3 (020-7722 9301). Until October 4. £25-£15 (£10 for under 26s).

Well - TNT

Although the focus tends to go somewhat fuzzy towards the end, I rather warmed to American Lisa Kron's short and surely autobiographical play, thanks in no small measure to an engagingly sympathetic performance from Natalie Casey as a younger Lisa.

With a mixture of affection and exasperation which will ring a bell with many daughters, Lisa tries to unravel the process by which she herself managed to become well, whilst Ann (apart from one brief period when she tackled the racial ills of a whole neighbourhood) has remained crippled by debilitating allergies for as long as she can remember. Armed with prompt cards, she attempts to orchestrate a "multi character theatrical exploration" of illness and wellness. But events aren't completely under her control as, in the way mothers do, Ann fussily interrupts the proceedings to offer hospitality and suggest corrections, and the quartet of hired actors (all excellent) not only slip out of their roles as neighbours, doctors and fellow allergy suffers but also appear as characters she really doesn't want to include.

Quirky and unusual, Eve Leigh's playful production is full of little surprises and gentle humour, and in the intimacy of this tiny studio space, it's easy to believe that we really are guests invited into the Kron's living room where Sarah Miles' chronically fatigued Ann spends her days wrapped cosily in a blanket.

Trafalgar Studios (2), Whitehall, SW1 (0870-060 6632). Until September 27. £22.50 (£15 Mondays).

Eurobeat -TNT

Some shows are simply beyond criticism and this brash spoof on a 50-year-old institution, the Eurovision song contest, fits firmly into that category. Camper than camp, Eurobeat hits London (via Australia and Edinburgh) in an extended form in which Bosnian hosts Boyka (all teeth and yapping Chihuahua laugh) and Sergei (gold lamé suit and wonky toupee) grin and innuendo their way through the links between 10 international competitors including Russia's KGBoyz and Iceland's weird Björk-like offering.

The costumes are tight and ready to be stripped off, the dialogue banal. But this deliberately trashy show knows its market — so, if you're just out for a good time, grab your mates and your mobile, and get voting.

Novello Theatre, Aldwych, WC2 (0844-482 5170). Until November 15. £10-£42.50.

Joan Rivers - A Work In Progress By A Life In Progress -TNT

For a woman who's become almost as famous for the work done on her face as the work she's done on the screen, Joan Rivers proves remarkably candid about the unwanted aspects of aging. She makes no secret of the fact that she's 75 – or that without a bra she'd probably trip over her tits. Okay, that's obviously a bit of an exaggeration – her clothed body (no doubt with considerable cosmetic help) seems in pretty good nick even for someone half her age. But Rivers is no shrinking violet, and she's not shy about revealing a more vulnerable side either – talking about the suicide of her husband over 20 years ago brings her close to tears, and her never resolved estrangement from fellow TV host Johnny Carson still rankles. At least she's back on good terms with her only daughter, Melissa.

The biographical information doesn't yield many new surprises – but you just have to admire the woman's spirit and determination. Love her or loathe her, she's feisty and funny, and although her new bitchily confessional show(set in her dressing room on Oscar night just before she's due to conduct the red-carpet interviews and in which she's joined by 3 other actors who, to be honest, do very little for most of the time) could do with a bit of cutting, there's enough crude humour and sheer bloody mindedness to keep her fans more than happy. She may not be able to completely hold back the years, but she's a survivor who certainly still knows how to play an audience.

Leicester Square Theatre, Leicester Place, WC2. (0844-847 2475). Currently until September 18. Returns December 2-23 and January 15-29. £47.50-£35