Since when did Little Bulb go in for glitzy silver-foil curtains, tight curly perms (wigs, thank goodness) and chain-smoking?

Ever since they decided that Squally Showers, the third part of the growing-up/rites of passage trilogy that began with Crocosmia and Operation Greenfield, would be set in the 1980s. Worse - no, better still - they have pitched their eager young adults into the thrusting media circus of commercial television where their naive loyalty, aspirations and lack of any real life experience makes them cannon fodder in the career battles between ageing managers and power-crazed executives.

Given that Little Bulb didn't experience the 80s as adults, young or otherwise, the trends and characters in Squally Showers are shrewdly selected and then nailed, squirming, to the floor in a slickly frenetic stream of madcap comedy. Along the wacky way, however, the piece also crafts a cleverly pithy commentary on an era that saw Margaret Thatcher brought down, but the global reach of television accelerate into the networks of today.

There is a whole unnerving shimmer of unpredictable change - well beyond weather fronts - lurking in the go-getting jargon, the geeky sci-fi chatter, the 'conflict resolution' theories and, above all, in the promotional images of television as a magical force that puts the world at the push of a button.

All this merriment, insight and poignancy is magically brought to you by live theatre, and an all-dancing, quick-changing cast of five who simply fizz with the ability to create remarkable work.

Runs until August 24.

There is a rawly authentic, tinderbox tension in Sandpits Avenue that makes the intimate downstairs space at Zoo Southside feel like a pressure cooker about to blow.

At first, it seems rooted in the no-hope malaise blighting the small rural town that is home to a close-knit group of five friends. In fact, it's the death of one, on active duty in Afghanistan, that acts as a flashpoint. For when his surviving mate comes home and tries to pick up the life he had, he is in a different kind of limbo: burdened with traumatising memories from his stint of soldiering and the secret truths that give the lie to his hero's welcome. Other uncomfortable truths soon slip out between the cracks appearing in every relationship.

It's strong, provocative material, but the young Boneyard Theatre Company - all recent graduates of East 15's Acting and Contemporary Theatre course - take it to the brink with a vehement amalgam of music, movement and text.

It's delivered with an intensity of speed that almost rushes the build-up of guilt, grief and thwarted hopes past you - but the cast of five are too smart for that. There are hidden minefields in Sandpits Avenue, not just in Afghanistan, and they articulate that emotional battleground with clarity and passion.

Runs until August 26.

The voice mumbling on the soundtrack of One Step Before The Fall is initially that of Muhammad Ali, whose most obdurate opponent turned out to be his own body, when Parkinson's Disease eroded his control over it.

The lone woman in the centre of what will become a boxing ring is Marketa Vacovska, and in the course of a truly pulverising 40 minutes her body will roll with the punches that not only brought Ali low in his private and professional life but which rain down on anyone who is fighting against debilitating illness, or sexism, or... well just put your own name to the battleground, for Vacovska's sweat-drenched onslaught on invisible demons is a gut-wrenching tour-de-force of physical and mental stamina.

Singer Lenka Dusilova's voice weaves in additional textures, sometimes upbeat and sometimes haunting, even spiritual - a cogent reminder that women's voices have had to fight to be heard, even in recent times.

Runs, as part of the Czech Dance Showcase, until August 22.