Crouching figure of Eleanor Hill on the left, wearing a grey sweathsirt and barelegged, with her hand over her chin looking at a phone; projected on the back of the stage the phone screenshot of Eleanor Hill's face.

★★★★Laughter On The Edge

Simon Ward reviews Overshare at the Greenwich Theatre At one point during this hectic cavalcade of a show, creator-writer-performer-producer Eleanor Hill pauses for a beat to wonder whether her last remark was a bit of an overshare. The joke is, of course, that the whole thing is one […]

Nick Cassenbaum, seated, wearing a green and blue striped dressing gown, one hand pointing upwards

★★★★Bubbling Over

Simon Ward reviews Bubble Schmeisis at the Soho Theatre Nick Cassenbaum describes his work as ‘simultaneously unforgivingly Jewish and undeniably British’. As if to underline the point, the programme for this show includes a glossary of both Yiddish and East London slang. Admittedly the Yiddish list is significantly […]

Vyte Garriga in a white ballerina costume leaning menacingly over reclining uniformed Daniel Chrisostomou on a park bench

★★★Absurdist Origami

Simon Ward reviews Paper Swans at the Soho Theatre This is the first full-length play by Vyte Garriga, a Lithuanian actress, writer and physical theatre performer. As we enter the theatre, we see a chilly parkland world populated by innumerable paper swans. Garriga is seated on a park […]

Marianne (played by Halli Patterson) in the foreground pensively seated on the left wearing a pale blue filly nightdress; Peter (played by Boyan Petrov) in the background on the right dressed in vest and shorts, holding their bay and smoking

★★★Chekhovian Summer Blues

Simon Ward reviews The Summer After Dad Died at the Hen and Chickens Theatre Written and directed by Danish playwright and actor Sarah Majland, The Summer After Dad Died is set in Denmark in the hot summer of 1985. Three sisters, Marianne (Halli Patterson), Tina (Milja Martilla) and […]

Griffin Bellah as Charlie, in blurred foreground with finger gun to his temple; Hannah Harquart as Mom, in focus in the background

★★★★ Gallows Humour

Simon Ward reviews Dead Mom Play at the Union Theatre I have yet to decide how I feel about on the use of trigger warnings. There are the well-worn arguments about the lengthy list pretty much any Shakespeare would require. Furthermore, in my experience, the warnings tend to […]

Sitting on the left Robbie Curran (playing He) in uniform burgundy polo shirt and wearing headphones is staring straight ahead; sitting on the right, in the same uniform, Alice Victoria Winslow (playing She), is also staring straight ahead. Projected onto the screen behind them is a black and white image of an army firing squad.

★★★★Who Watches The Watchers?

Simon Ward reviews Moderation at the Hope Theatre Making its UK premiere at the Hope, Kevin Kautzman’s searingly topical new play, Moderation is the darkest of dark comedies. It is unmistakably an American work, but its themes resonate across the world, just as the actions of the techbro […]

Left hand side, seated - Calvin Dean as Sam's Friend, Ricky; right hand side, seated - Lanre Damola as Sam's Friend Archie; centre, standing, Samuel Normington as Sam.

★★Care Bear Blues

Simon Ward reviews Mixed Sex at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre Writer Samuel Normington (who also co-directs and stars as Sam) recounts how this, his first full-length play, began in lockdown as he jotted down some anecdotes from his childhood. It then became a monologue before being fleshed […]

Black and white photo. David (Boyan Petrov) and Phoebe (Lyndsey Ruiz) back to back on a bed. He in white sleeveless vest, she in dark top. He is looking to the left, she is looking straight ahead towrads the camera.

★★★Love Will Tear Us Apart

Simon Ward reviews Tell Me You’ll Think About It at the Hen and Chickens Theatre In Lyndsey Ruiz’s debut play Tell Me You’ll Think About It , in which she also stars, a young couple have returned to their flat after an evening at the theatre. Ruiz plays […]