Intermission Theatre’s mission is “acting to save young lives”. Each year it recruits, from all across London, vulnerable young people living in socially-economically challenging environments and experiencing high levels of anti-social behaviour, family breakdown, dependency and criminality – and works artistic miracles with them. Artistic Director, Darren Raymond’s trademark working method is to rework Shakespeare by addressing current issues and devising work using a blend of London street-speak and the original language of the plays. This time, Raymond and the group have, I think broken new ground – even by Intermission standards – and excelled themselves.

The play explores how these complicated, issue-affected characters might be if they were in their mid teens and all in the same place. It’s a fascinating concept because, of course, all the things which worry 21st century young people are there for the plucking in the plays – lots of knife crime (Julius Caesar, Macbeth), drugs (Romeo and Juliet), sexual abuse (Measure for Measure, Othello), family disfunction (Hamlet), racism (The Merchant of Venice) and so on. The format also allows Beatrice to tell Romeo what she thinks and Macbeth to be one of the conspirators planning to knife Caesar in an alley for example, But however well you know the plays and recognise lines and speeches here and there nothing prepares you for the shock and horror of the surprise end.

The huge cast all do a grand job, heckling in class, introducing themselves, acting short scenes to such an extent that it seems almost unfair to single out individuals, Nonetheless Ashley Hodges puts in an exceptionally naturalistic performance as the teacher who more or less manages to hang on to control of her class and to establish a rapport with them as individuals. She’s very convincing – and wise. Crear Antony is excellent value as Bottom too – convinced she’s going to be a wonderful professional actor, full of herself and frequently launching into speeches at which others groan. I particularly enjoyed Andrew Senesie’s take on Othello too and Oliver Knight finds a lovely brittle angst in Hamlet.

This play is a magnificent achievement on several levels. For a start it’s strong theatre by any standards. It’s also very encouraging to see drama becoming such a powerful tool to support people at risk of a wide range of unfortunate outcomes, Third I am always moved at the sight of young people doing well at anything, There’s a lot of talent in this group some of whom might eventually work professionally in the performing arts. Many others will now feel empowered and confident as they work in other fields. Whoever the next Secretary of State for Education is, he or she, should make it a priority to get along to Knightsbridge and look at this work.

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This is a play which doesn’t get many outings. I was one of four critics seated in a row to confess that none of us had seen it before. And it was a relief in the interval to overhear Michael Pennington, no less, telling someone that even he had seen it only twice before.

I can see why directors might shy away from it. It feels in places like an amalgam of other plays with its bed trick from Measure for Measure, a lot of business with rings as in The Merchant of Venice and the character of Parolles which seems to be Lucio from Measure for Measure mixed with elements of Twelfth Night’s Sir Andrew Aguecheek seasoned with Falstaff from the Henrys. And has for the title, well I just hope desperately that Shakespeare was being ironic because given everything that has happened all cannot possibly be well at the end. A marriage founded entirely on lies and deception really doesn’t have a lot going for it.

Nonetheless, Tom Littler and his team and well cast company of six have created something watchably entertaining out of it. The story telling is direct and the whole piece is accessible – provided you can suspend belief and manage not to worry about plausibility.

I particularly liked the use of two actor musicians in the cast – Stefan Bednarczyk and Ceri-Lyn Cissone play pianos on either side of the playing space which acts a lot of atmosphere to the rather wistful 1960s setting. Cissone is also an accomplished comic actor and Bednarczyk brings plenty of self important gravitas to the character of Lafew, a Polonius type.

The thrust of the plot is that Helena (Hannah Morrish) wants to marry Bertram (Gavin Fowler) with whom she has been brought up but he rejects her because she isn’t noble enough. She manages to trap him in formal wedlock but has to resort to shennnigans with the help of another woman in order to get the marriage consummated.

Morrish has a compelling knack of listening with her eyes and Fowler is good at naturalistic mood shifts. Miranda Foster plays three different older women, including the Queen in Paris who replaces the King in this production. She distinguishes between them effectively, bringing warmth to Bertram’s newly widowed mother and authority to the Queen, once she’s been miraculously cured by Helena of her illness and left her deathbed. Robert Mountford is fun as the blustering braggart and “snipped taffeta fellow”, Parolles who simpers, postures, prevaricates and argues.

Part of The Memories Season at Jermyn Street this production stresses remembering. Morrish spends a lot of time mournfully looking at old papers in boxes although it doesn’t add a lot and is sometimes confusing. Are we to presume that Bertram is now dead? It’s not clear.

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This thoughtful, sparky immersive three-hander invites a teenage audience to reflect on mental health problems. Written by three performance poets (Desiree, Laura Rae and Slam the Poet), who also perform it, the narrative presents three school leavers at a music festival. Although each of them has contributed around 15 minutes of material, dramaturge, Rosemary Harris, has woven it into a coherent piece of theatre.

They’ve just finished their exams. One of the relentless rap/mantras which sometimes overpowers the music they’ve come to dance to is ‘no more tests’. Another is ‘everything depends on this’. Another voice obtrusively chants ‘not normal’ over and over again. At another point one character complains of being ‘a stranger in your own body’ and I love the image of ‘I found her self esteem where she left it on the floor in Primark’.

Each of them becomes concerned, or involved with another unseen person. Slam, for example, meets a friend and feels attracted in a new way. The sex of the other person is deliberately left open so that we, the audience, can freely interpret it as we wish.

There are voices and echoes in the sound track too as well as dance music and songs. Other issues the piece brushes against include bulimia, depression and isolation even in a very crowded place. There’s certainly plenty to discuss once we get to the fifteen minute post-show Q&A.

Slam has extraordinarily expressive rhythmic feet along with a rhythmic body and a rhythmic voice. Rae is tall with striking stage presence and a strong voice. Desree acts as a foil to both of them – just as talented but with a slightly more homely style.

They work very effectively together in a playing space configured as a ring with benches on the perimeter and a few seats in the middle. The three performers move round the space occasionally moving an audience member without a fuss if they need to stand on a bench. I saw it with two school parties who cooperated with commendably little fuss.

The festival atmosphere is effectively enhanced by Faith Austin’s set which included an appropriate hessian floor, a colourful tent-like roof and lots of lights which sometimes flash.

This is an important piece of work and I’m glad that it has a ten venue tour following the run at Half Moon because it means that lots more young people will see it.

One of my greatest pleasures – both now as a journalist and formerly as a teacher – is seeing young people achieving things especially when it includes engagement in the arts. That’s why this show at the Whitstable Playhouse gave me such joy. Not only were there nineteen young people on stage doing a grand job and learning a huge amount even as I watched but, I sat in the audience amongst a Year 7 party from The Whitstable School who were clearly enjoying their evening out. Their teacher (note she was cheerfully and voluntarily working in an evening) told me that quite a few of her charges had never been inside the Playhouse. Win win.

I’m pretty certain this show uses the Mike Kenny adaptation of E Nesbit’s famous novel although, oddly, the programme doesn’t mention this. If not, it was very close to it and yes, we get a good dramatic train moment. No spoilers about how they manage it on a tiny stage with modest production values and a low budget – but the youngsters sitting around me were mesmerised.

It’s more challenging to bring off a straight play than a musical with young inexperienced actors but directors Lucie Nash and Libby Wallace have certainly brought out the best in their cast. Niamh Connolly catches the right blend of childishness, curiosity, and adolescence in Bobbie, Lydia O’Reilly sparkles as Phyllis and Edward Evans who plays Peter is a promising actor – convincing and naturalistic.

Joseph Rowlstone has worked up rather a good Yorkshire accent as Perks and manages the gruff, kindness with plenty of stage presence. George Barber, with a magnificent moustache and nicely studied heightened RP accent, is good as the Old Gentleman too.

There is sometimes a tendency to gabble – borne I think of trying to sound natural which causes occasional “dries” and audibility problems. Bearing in mind that these actors, most in their early teens and some younger, are working unmic’ed in fairly large space this is a very minor quibble. This production of The Railway Children is a fine example of what a youth group can do and I’m very glad to have seen it.

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I was curious to see this production because Murder in the Cathedral, written in 1935, is a famous play which I had never seen. It has become deeply unfashionable and I now understand why. T.S. Eliot was, of course, one of the 20th Century’s finest poets (“sombre November” and “the scrubbers and sweepers of Canterbury”) but he was no playwright. This very wordy play, uncut as it is in this version, is awfully short on action however much you try to make visual use of side aisles and steps to move the cast about. And two hours straight through is hard going.

Originally performed in the Chapter House at Canterbury Cathedral the play explores the events leading up to the brutal murder by four knights of Archbishop Thomas Becket at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral in December 1170 at the behest of Henry II. It is written in verse and ranges through many different metrical forms. In the middle Becket (Jasper Britton) delivers a full length sermon which is, I gather, usually cut but director Cecilia Dorland, in her wisdom, leaves it intact as she does with every other word in the play.

The piece is underpinned by Eliot’s own Catholicism and interest in mediaeval doctrine and liturgy so there’s a lot of prayer and a capella singing (not very well in tune) by a group of priests and a chorus of six women of Canterbury. The candles work nicely in the ambience of Southwark Cathedral and one of the chorus is swinging a censer as the audience files in so the “smells and bells” atmosphere feels authentic. There are topical resonances too if you want to pick them up: Becket has been travelling in Europe and the faraway Pope is ultimately in charge but, we’re often reminded by the text that this is England where we do things in a certain way.

Britton is strong as Beckett enunciating every word in his mellifluous “classical voice” and making the verse sound quite conversational. He even makes the sermon feel reasonably arresting. The chorus of chanting women, though, reminded me at times of the witches in Macbeth which is entirely the wrong message.

The only point at which this show really blossoms into arresting theatre is the scene in which the four knights take it in turns to defend their actions. It’s prose and they sound like modern politicians, well, campaigning before a general election perhaps. David Keogh was particularly entertaining here.

There were problems with the sound system on press night. It was crackling occasionally and, with actors wearing radio mics, it’s disconcerting that all the sound comes clearly from speakers near the front and when you look at the actors you often can’t tell who is speaking.

A great deal of hard work has evidently gone into this show and I think there’s academic value in taking a look at the play but on balance it ticks few theatricality boxes. The production is touring to Oxford and Guildford, Surrey later this month.