Joe Leather is in Wasteman at the Pleasance

A PROLIFIC artist, Dora Maar developed a career in fashion photography before becoming one of the first women in the Surrealist movement. She used her creations as a social commentary on beauty, gender and war. But in today’s conversations, her name only appears after the infamous Pablo Picasso. Nadia Jackson’s play Maar, Dora explores her life, love and career. Until March 16. oldredliontheatre.co.uk/

• A dark comedy about country life, isolation, obsession and the dangers of trying to fit in, Jack Brownridge Kelly’s Cold, Dark Matters delves into the murky underwaters of a Cornish community and its newest resident, whose desire for a rural retreat may not be all that it seems. Until March 23. www.thehopetheatre.com/

• The Queen is Mad is a musical psychodrama inspired by the true story of “Joanna la Loca”. The elder sister of Catherine of Aragon, Joanna inherited the throne of Castile in 1504, but her father and husband conspired to usurp her, claiming she was mad and locking her away. Against the brutality and fanaticism of 16th-century Spain, this chamber musical charts Joanna’s quest for freedom and control of her life. March 19-23 thelionandunicorntheatre.com/

• In Wasteman, a bin man swaps steel-toed boots for stilettos to chase his dream of becoming a drag queen. Joe Leather’s award-winning one-person play combines monologue, song and drag in a love letter to hard-working Northerners and gender euphoria. March 14-16. Sam McArdle’s The Manny is a dark comedy about an Irish male nanny who works for rich single mums in West London. Manny is enjoying a Peter Pan-esque lifestyle of well-paid cash in hand work when he meets Molly, an actress disillusioned with life. March 20 & 23. pleasance.co.uk/

• Barry McStay’s play Breeding is about adopting as queer parents. Zeb and Eoin are happily married. Beth’s job is to decide if they are “appropriate” Daddies. Together they navigate the precarious road to adoption and queer parenthood, forced to lay bare their fears and secrets. March 21-April 14. kingsheadtheatre.com/

• Written and performed by Justin Butcher, The Devil’s Passion is at Union Chapel on Palm Sunday. The Passion of Christ told from Satan’s perspective is set against a contemporary “War on Terror” backdrop and shines a new light on the Easter story. March 24. unionchapel.org.uk/whats-on/the-devils-passion

• Joan of Arc, one of the most famous women in history, misrepresented through years of repression by history, religion and society, finally regains control in this first-person narrative by multi award-winning, American-feminist writer, Carolyn Gage. The Second Coming of Joan of Arc is at the Etcetera Theatre. March 25-31. etceteratheatrecamden.com/