Simon Ward reviews Rules Schmules – How To Be Jew-ISH at the Etcetera Theatre Suzie Depreli is in the middle of a tour of the Fringes – so far she has covered Brighton and Greater Manchester. This show is part of the Camden Fringe before taking on the […]
Simon Ward reviews Frankie Goes To Bollywood at the Queen Elizabeth Hall My first exposure to Bollywood was in the late 1980s as I tried to block out the garish colours and blaring noise from the TV sets supposedly designed to while away the boredom of a long […]
Simon Ward reviews Bangers at the Arcola Theatre Written by Danusia Samal, who also co-stars, this is a mash-up of a club night where composer and sound designer Duramaney Kamara’s tunes mixed with some classics keep the dancefloor humming and a touching exploration of two young people – […]
Simon Ward reviews My Name Is Rachel Corrie at the Old Red Lion Theatre This is a verbatim play created by Katherine Viner and Alan Rickman, based on the emails and diary entries of Rachel Corrie. The facts of Rachel’s life and death are stark. She was born […]
Simon Ward reviews So Help Me Dog at the Hen and Chickens Theatre It can be excruciating being in the audience at a fringe theatre show, typically in a small room above a pub. If a show is not going well, or simply needs a bigger audience to […]
Simon Ward reviews English Kings Killing Foreigners at Camden People’s Theatre What is it with theatre makers and audience participation these days? Here it’s of the gentlest, even ironic, kind. I have a vivid memory of the late Anthony Sher bringing the house down as he descended into […]
Simon Ward reviews 1884 at Shoreditch Town Hall Set in the imposing surroundings of the Shoreditch Town Hall council chamber, this is no ordinary evening in the theatre. It is immersive and game-based. Unlike many other immersive theatre shows, however, the play does not take place around the […]
Simon Ward reviews Mary’s Daughters at The Space Theatre The Space is a theatre and arts venue in the heart of the Isle of Dogs. It is housed in a former Victorian Presbyterian church, which is an intriguing historical artefact in its own right. It was acquired by […]
Simon Ward reviews BLUE at the Seven Dials Playhouse This is the London premiere of June Carryl’s important, powerful and devastating play, BLUE. It is set in an interrogation room familiar from a thousand police procedurals with its dirty grey walls, two-way mirrors and an ancient cassette recorder […]
Simon Ward reviews Flashbang at The Lion and Unicorn Theatre The digital programme for writer James Lewis’s new show helpfully defines ‘flashbang’ as follows: ‘a grenade that produces a bright flash and a loud noise so as to stun or disorient people without causing serious injury; a stun […]