A holiday at the start of the month meant I only had two weeks of theatre from which to choose and it has been tricky but theatre-land hasn't let me down. I did consider doing a big cheat and choosing Richard Madden from this promotional shot for Romeo and Juliet next year but decided to be good. I've also come close to throwing a curve ball and choosing Lydia Leonard in Little Eyolf (review here) but I've dismissed that too. Sam Hazeldine from the same play was nearly my choice but I finally settled on Tom Bateman in Harlequinade, sort of. He doesn't look that hot in Harlequinade but he does in the promotional photo below and he was certainly hot when he was in Shakespeare in Love last year. It's a teeny bit of a cheat, I know.                                            

Tom Bateman with Kathryn Wilder, promotional shot for Harlequinade at the Garrick. Photo by Johan Persson

Jackson's Way photo by Barney Britton

Chris Jackson (Will Adamsdale) is here to help you. He's here to show you how to achieve and reach your power with his own brand of life coaching together with some contractual obligations to mention Christmas.

The bedrock of his philosophy is that there is more pointless stuff in the world - activities and objects - than there are 'pointful', therefore you should throw your energy behind the pointless stuff. You should PTI (push through it) to achieve your pointless goal.

Using slides, video and various props, well tea towels mainly, he takes you step by step through his power tips and there is practical application too. You might find yourself doing something pointless or a "Jacktion" as he dubs them and I'd describe some of these 'activities' but I don't want to spoil the show.

Jackson then goes on to give you examples of how Jacktions are all around us, as are many pointless objects. It is tongue in cheek but equally, there is an element of truth. Learning the Jackson Way we also learn a little about the man himself, his past and his fight to reconcile his philosophy with its critics (a process that took ten years he tells us). 

It leads up to the Christmas bit - his own version of the Nativity using random pointless objects and members of the audience. CJ naturally steps into the role of JC.

Every now and again a show comes along that is blissfully silly and Jackson's Way is one such show. Brilliantly written as well as performed by Adamsdale there is a hint of satire in the silliness. On paper is sounds ridiculous and you probably have to be there to really appreciate it but I giggled, guffawed and even snorted at one point during the show's hour and a bit running time.

So if you fancy something that is part stand up and part theatre, something that is silly and funny because of it, then head to the Battersea Arts Centre where you can catch Jackson's Way: The Christmas Top-Up Power Seminar until December 12.