June Bug Music

The Eastenders Repertory Company presents the world première of Charles E Polly's 'June Bug Music'. The third play in the Bay Area playwright's 'The Twyla Trilogy', 'June Bug Music' is the story of a gay man trying to come to terms with his provincial Kentucky upbringing. Polly's play shifts between dreams and reality, interweaving real family ties with the spectre of ancestral ghosts. As he did in the prior two instalments, Polly uses humour and lyrical drama to describe the confrontations of Twyla Thackett and her family.

Pelaez

Pleasantly scruffy beside its snootier Salamanca neighbours, Vinos & Licores Pelaez celebrated 50 years in the business in 1998 and is still going strong. The front part has a few little tables and chairs, high ceilings and two doors opening onto the street, giving a feeling of space. It is decorated with tiles and above that with a jumble of ceramic plates, swords, duelling pistols and old photos. Out back they serve up excellent 'raciones' and 'tapas' of all types.

Caribe

The Caribbean-Cuban theme is carried out with tropical-style décor, particularly the treehouse DJ booth suspended above the bar and the colourful murals on the walls. Music, the bar's other big feature, comes courtesy La Sonorr Caliente, a 10-piece Cuban band that specialises in salsa and Latino sounds. When the band isn't around, there are still more than 100 different cocktails to keep you in that chilled-out vibe. The location, in the heart of Shanghai's seediest bar street, is an unusual one for such clean fun. But then the recent sweep of the bars' 'regulars' has changed the tone of the area.