As Beauty and the Beast nears the end of its six-month run on Avenida Corrientes, Melanie Henderson heads along to see what all the fuss was about.

Inspired by the darker side of the life of Marilyn Monroe, a play currently showing at Teatro Gargantua attempts to capture the hidden torment of the icon’s life.

Argentina played host to the International Festival Polo Circo earlier this year, but as Hannah Vinter learns, the circus didn’t just come to town, but seems to be here to stay.

Amie Tsang investigates whether the new big show at La Rural, Opera Pampa, lives up to its promises: “Prepare to discover the history of Argentina in an unprecedented and unparalleled show, where the beginnings of a nation and its traditions are shown as never before.” At $300, she hopes it does.

It’s been a long wait. After nearly four years of eerie silence, music will tonight ring through the great hall of the Teatro Colón, Argentina’s most emblematic cultural monument. And, after nearly four years of painstaking repairs, we are assured that the great theatre will sparkle as it did when inaugurated on 25th May, 1908.

“Ladies and gentlemen, everything that happens here is real…There are no sets. There are no theatrical conventions. Everything has a role in the action. That means you too. So get ready.” This is the director’s introduction to Fuerza Bruta, a multi-sensory dance/rave show, which was originally created in Buenos Aires by Diqui James, and is returning to Argentina following a hugely successful word tour.

“Theatre in the dark? Why not just listen to the radio?” Before having been to any of Buenos Aires’ surprisingly broad range of ‘blind’ performances I didn’t know how to answer this question. But after sampling three blind events I found that in many ways the experience was more intense than watching a conventional performance.

Interested in tango, and want to see a show that is a little more intense? Interested in circus, and want to see it done Buenos Aires style? Then ‘Nocturna’, a fusion of tango and circus performed at Centro Cultural Recoleta until the end of April, is the show for you.

A group of people lines up uncertainly on the street, staring at what looks like the gate for an abandoned car park. Eventually, the gate swings open. Apprehensively, we approach, give our names to the man at the gate and wander through the murky darkness into the shell of an old house.

When I think about the art of mime, the first memory that springs to mind is of a Marcel Marceau show I saw when I was a child. This image, combined with the miming performances I have seen on the street, made me think that mimes were provided with special skills I will never have. Going to Alberto Ivern’s class proved I was wrong.