Madrid is made for art lovers on a short break. Three world‑class galleries sit within walking distance, from Goya’s unflinching truth‑telling and El Greco’s otherworldly intensity at the Prado, to Picasso’s devastating Guernica and the calm brilliance of the Thyssen. Highlights there include jaw‑dropping Canalettos, a powerful Holbein portrait of Henry VIII, and a Georgia O’Keeffe I’m still thinking about.

Last Sunday night at the Dominion felt more like a glitter‑splashed anniversary party than a standard theatre trip. I loved briefly meeting original cast members and the enthusiastic, funny fan‑club Q&A, with a shy appearance from Peter Hinwood, the original Rocky, who later left acting for an art‑gallery life. The shadow cast was fun and inclusive at first, Little Nell was a joy, but the constant film heckling wore thin. ⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Joyfully chaotic and packed with nostalgia, Biff To The Future is a fast, funny one-man romp led by a superbly energetic Joseph Maudsley. With pitch-perfect sound cue interplay and inspired audience moments (that air guitarist!), it’s playful, irreverent and all the better if you know the films.

Conceived during Covid-19, TR(IA)L is a tense, claustrophobic sci-fi drama following ‘Subject X’ as she undergoes a mysterious drug trial. Isolated and stripped of memory, she begins to question her reality—and her supervisor. Smart and unsettling, it offers a chilling reflection on control, identity, and modern science