Simon Ward reviews The Tragedy of Macbeth at Southwark Playhouse. Flabbergast Theatre have spent years working and re-working this noisy, exuberant, muscular and unnerving version of Shakespeare’s infamous Scottish play. Entering the auditorium is like stumbling onto the enactment of an ancient pagan ritual in a woodland clearing. Characters […]
Simon Ward reviews How To Break Out Of A Detention Centre at the Riverside Studios This is the world premiere of a piece whose themes and message arguably transcend the world of theatre and render any review meaningless. Performed in many languages by performers passionately and deeply engaged […]
Simon Ward reviews Breathless at the Soho Theatre From the moment that Sophie (Madeleine MacMahon) bursts onto the stage accompanied by an exhalation of breath we are gripped. She is indeed breathless as she tells us her story, and she is rendered breathless and speechless more than once […]
Simon Ward reviews Chekhov’s Dildo at The Hope Theatre If you had never heard Chekhov’s famous dictum regarding the duty owed to the audience by a playwright, ie that it you introduce a gun in the first act, it must be used before the play is over, writer […]
Simon Ward reviews How Not To Drown at Theatre Royal Stratford East This is a powerful and important piece of theatre. It provides a counterblast to the prevailing anti-immigrant rhetoric from the government and commentariat and it offers a personal account of a lived experience which could not […]
Simon Ward reviews Wickies: The Vanishing Men of Eilean Mor at The Park Theatre One chilling aspect of Paul Morrissey’s suspenseful new thriller is that it is based on a true story. On 26th December 1900, a relief ship designated to bring supplies and take one of the […]
Jasper Cunningham-Ward reviews KillyMuck at Edinburgh Fringe Set on a council estate in Northern Ireland, KillyMuck tells the story of a Catholic girl called Niamh. This one-woman show deals with all the heavy issues that are expected from a story focused on growing up in Northern Ireland. Whilst […]
Abigail Bryant reviews Adam & Eve at The Hope Theatre, Islington In today’s political and media climate, the very definition of ‘truth’ is as ambiguous as it is dangerous. Taking a step back from Trump and Hollywood, Adam & Eve confronts a post-truth era against the landscape of […]
Abigail Bryant reviews Shanter at Old Red Lion Theatre The transition from teenager to adult is a notoriously colourful and precarious time, and the age of social media brings with it a new layer of complexity and identity politics. Shanter explores ‘lad culture’ against the backdrop of a […]
Abigail Bryant reviews The Sea at Camden People’s Theatre It’s not difficult to feel alone in a room full of people, and Tom Froy’s The Sea explores isolation against the saturation of physical company in a city like London. With creative use of film, photography, music and props, […]