Exian Theatre Guide. Most of these theatres are located inside Ex's theatre district. The District covers an triangular area at the Northern end of the city. The triangle is bounded by Riddworthy Lane and Wrynecter Street; and by the city's northern wall. The Anthill Theatre is a modest little place with a good reputation. The resident troupe has a varied repertoire with no bias toward comedy or tragedy or any other genre. They are willing to tackle anything, and they usually do it well. You can find the Anthill Theatre at 78 Threadheel Lane. The Broadside Holeproof is Ex's largest theatre. This is the place where the definitive performances of Umbagollah's popular classical plays are given, by Holeproof, the Broadside's resident troupe. Some critics say that the troupe is ossifying under the weight of its own grandeur. The Holeproofs remind the critics that they have a four-hundred-seat theatre to fill: what else can they do but stage popular plays? You can find the Broadside at the corner of Talos Lane and Land Street. Contempt by Gaslight is the home of Ex's sharpest, smartest, most vicious comediennes, satirists and social commentators. To be merely meaningful or witty is not enough for a Contempt audience. You need to have the two qualities together, and a tough skin besides. The man who takes your tickets at the door is the editor of of a popular satirical gazette known as The Hatter. Most of its articles are written by the Contempt's regular performers. You can find Contempt by Gaslight at 76 Ouroboros Street. "Fuck off is a theatre, but only if you believe me," says its founder, Akhim Brawshoe. The Eff (its common name) is a concept rather than a building. "If I throw bricks at people in the street then I've made the Eff, the Eff is there. If we do Bertram Polecorn in an alleyway next to the Library of Ex then the Eff is there. If we climb trees in the Forest and tell the wind that it is the Governor then the Eff is there. The Eff has turned us all into architects." Public opinion is divided over Akhim's project, but upon meeting him, "every cynic becomes a convert; every enemy becomes a fan. The man has too much charm for his own good," wrote reviewer Paulus Twotwoone. Paulus spent months publishing venemous articles about the Eff before Akhim ran into the journalist's office one day with five friends, tied Paulus to his desk and painted the walls azure blue. While they were doing this, the pair struck up a conversation and were good mates thereafter. The Gibli Theatre Troupe uses the city's parks and gardens as its theatre. Ex's weather is consistantly unpredictable, so if you want to see a Gibli show, bring an unmbrella. The Perpetual Theatre is a small place with no sets and no curtain, but it houses one of Ex's most unusual theatrical experiments. You can read more about the Perpetual Theatre, or visit it at 50 Riddworthy Lane. The Piecemeal Theatre is devoted entirely to puppets. Their most famous recent production was the nine-hour saga Why did you go up the mountain, Daddy? based on the epic Mountain Poem by Mushtaq Fashionbone. You can find the Piecemeal Theatre at 44 Riddworthy Lane. (See also the Gum Gooloo Puppetry College) Purity Strength's Inimitable Theatrette is a small, rectangular courtyard half-filled with a miscellaneous scatter of chairs. It is the mecca of all new playwrights, directors and actors : the propriator has a smart eye for theatre and she vets each fresh show before she will allow it to be staged. "Something intelligent and affordable," she says, "is what I'm after. If you can't pay, we can work something out. This place has more bohemian credibility than anywhere else in the country." Envy and congatulations attach themselves to any fledgling actor who can answer, "What are you doing at the moment?" with a casual, "Oh, I'm rehearsing a part at the Purity Strength." You can find the Inimitable Theatrette at 13 Ouroboros Street. The Sprod Theatre's circular stage is surrounded by a wide moat. Audience members bob about the moat in coracles or lie in hammocks slung from the ceiling on iron hooks. A performance from Company Sprod (punctuated by gentle splashing and the clonk-clonk of boats knocking together) will be either a dramatic tragedy, or a light operetta which ends with the villain disgraced and everybody else married. You can find the Sprod at 21 Talos Lane. There are hundreds of other theatres inside the District. I have only listed the main ones.