Simon Ward reviews Lessons On Revolution at the Hope Theatre In this thrilling and thought-provoking piece of documentary theatre, writer-performers Samuel Rees (Sam) and Gabriele Uboldi (Gab) skilfully, wittily and movingly weave together a narrative which encompasses, among many other things, Cecil Rhodes and his conquest and exploitation […]
Simon Ward reviews Getaway/Runaway at The Lion & Unicorn Theatre There is always a frisson of excitement when the actors are already on stage as the audience enters the auditorium. Sometimes there is some business going on, perhaps even a bit of audience participation. But, when, as here, […]
Simon Ward reviews Looking for Giants at the Camden People’s Theatre. Onto a stage bare except for a stool and a microphone, Abby McCann enters almost sheepishly from a side door but then launches into a remarkable and intriguing preamble to the action. It is about the people whom […]
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 […]