pick of the week

Flesh and Blood / Jude the Obscure

Method and Madness complete their trilogy with Philip Osment's powerful play which has been going down a storm on tour. In rep with Private Lives and the magnificently detailed Jude the Obscure. Book now.

Lyric Hammersmith, London (0181-741 2311)

Talking Heads

In the original TV version of Alan Bennett's A Bed Among the Lentils, Maggie Smith was merely excellent. On stage in the author's own production, the performance is brilliant beyond belief.

Minerva Studio, Chichester (01243 781312)

Barclays New Stages Festival

A celebration of experiment in what is rumoured to be the last of its kind. If the opener, the Tron's remarkable The Trick is to Keep Breathing, was anything to go by, it may be a classic.

Royal Court, London SW1 (0171-730 1745)