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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Bruce Dessau's rating
Reader rating
Description: The irresistible 2006 if.comedy Best Newcomer presents a stand-up set intended to encourage conversation on public transport.
Trains: Tube: Tottenham Court Road 
Phone: 0870429 6883
Website: www.sohotheatre.com
Deceptive: Behind Josie Long's amiable amateurism there is a razor-sharp mind at work
In a profession dominated by men with egos the size of small African nations, Josie Long cuts an odd figure. She sports punky D-I-Y T-shirts, scuffed trainers and her stage is littered with tangerines, fanzines and Haribo sweets. But behind the amiable amateurism there is a razor-sharp mind at work, tackling very human issues.
Long's second full-length show, Trying Is Good, celebrates heroic failure, where it is better to bellyflop than never jump off the diving board.
In Long's literate world, little moments become grand gestures. Nothing makes her heart soar as much as seeing strangers talk to each other at bus stops. Although seeing snails appear after rain comes close.
The fresh-faced 25-year-old, who deservedly picked up an if. comedy Best Newcomer Award in 2006, is the first to concede that her monologue is hardly rammed with punchlines.
Yet what it lacks in gags it more than makes up for in skilfully delivered cute insights. For Long, a funfair is like someone saying: "If you give me £2, I will shake you."
As things progress, darker undercurrents emerge. Asides referring to parental divorce suggests that maybe things were not always rosy during Long's Orpington upbringing. But no sooner has she hinted at domestic disquiet than she is singing the praises of the ever-cool Dalai Lama, the Fonz of religious leaders.
Trying Is Good is not for everyone. Long's set-piece recalling a road trip to a specialist bakery outside Melbourne, though exquisitely told, could try the patience of those indifferent to wheat-free bread. And this occasionally feels like a list of her favourite things, as she indulgently namechecks offbeat musician Daniel Johnston and novelist Richard Yates.
One cannot see corporate accountants appreciating her touching tale of Quaker artist Edward Hicks, who spent his life repeatedly painting the same picture.
But one can certainly see why Long considers Hicks a soulmate. He cornered the market in a single pastoral scene, while Long has cornered the market in singularly eccentric, engaging comedy.
• Until 15 December (0870 429 6883, www.sohotheatre.com).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
