Ann (played by Nikol Kollars) wearing an open-necked green flowery blouse, with a red flower in her hair, a white necklace and purple sash, standing and about to sing.

★★★★A Beautiful Tribute

Simon Ward reviews Fickle Eulogy at the Circle & Star Theatre I first encountered Nikol Kollars’s solo show, directed by Javier Galitó-Cava, in August last year (The Long Goodbye). I found it deeply moving then, and, I am happy to report, a second viewing did not disappoint. The […]

★★★Flashback To Edinburgh

Simon Ward reviews Rowling In It at the King’s Head Theatre Written and performed by Laura Kay Bailey, and directed by Dominic Shaw, Rowling In It is a fictionalised account of what she experienced when she agreed to play the part of JK Rowling in a show at […]

★★★Stuck In The Middle

Simon Ward reviews Concrete at the Hope Theatre Written and directed by Ché Tligui, Concrete is framed as a classic drawing room drama, but with a working class twist, such that the ‘drawing room’ in question is the tiny living room in a two-up two down council house […]

★★★★An Urgent Wake-Up Call

Simon Ward reviews Lifeline at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant Fresh from a run off-Broadway, Lifeline comes to the Southwark Playhouse for the its UK premiere. In various guises it has been around for a few years – it arrives here as a slick, well-funded musical that grabs the […]

★★★★★Alive and Kicking

Simon Ward reviews Riki Lindhome: Dead Inside at the Soho Theatre Riki Lindhome brings her Edinburgh Fringe hit to Soho. She is known for her roles in the Netflix series Wednesday as well as The Big Bang Theory. She is the ‘Garfunkel’ half of the brilliantly named comedy music duo […]

★★★The Trouble With Men

Simon Ward reviews Monologues of Men at the Old Red Lion Theatre Long time collaborators Francis Saunders and Dean Stalham have teamed up again, this time with Saunders writing and performing, and Stalham directing. I have long been an admirer of Stalham’s work (see Waiting for God and […]

★★★★Poppy Power

Simon Ward reviews Poppies at the Camden People’s Theatre Running as part of this year’s SPRINT Festival for new work at the Camden People’s Theatre, Poppies is an intensely personal piece written by the cast, Jim Spencer Broadbent and Johnjoe Irwin. They play versions of themselves ‘Jim’ who […]

Sarah McGuinness in red and gold ringmaster style jacket and black vest, gesticulating.

★★★★A Star is Reborn

Simon Ward reviews Grit, Glitter and Gaslight -The Sarah McGuinness Story at the Circle and Star Theatre The Circle and Star Theatre is the latest incarnation of one of the godfathers of London’s pub theatre scene, the Pentameters, which has been producing groundbreaking work for nearly sixty years. […]

On the left, in open-necked check shirt Gary (played by Charlie Jennings), on the right, looking at sceptically, dressed in red crocheted top and blue dungarees, Sam (played by Gaby Coleman).

★★★Dystopia Revisited

Simon Ward reviews Two Strangers and a Clipboard at the Etcetera Theatre Written and directed by Maria Speight, this is a piece presented as workshop preview prior to a planned summer festival run. Set in a universe that has some overlaps with ours – Celine Dion, cassette tapes, […]