Simon Ward reviews The Catalogue of Sexual Anxieties at the White Bear Theatre Written and performed by Aniqa Charania, Marion Poli and Charlotte Szabo, who together make up The Hysterical Ladies, with original music in a 1940s Andrews Sisters style by Patrice Peyrieras, this is a fun romp […]
Simon Ward reviews My English Persian Kitchen at the Soho Theatre Upstairs Based on a story by Iranian food-writer Atoosa Sepehr, and adapted as a play by Hannah Khalil, this extraordinary show manages to be at once a feast for all the senses, a nail-biting thriller, a heartbreaking […]
Simon Ward reviews Prototype at the Old Red Lion Theatre Directed by Olivia Gibbs-Fairley, written and performed by Steph Darcey, and presented as part of the Camden Fringe, Prototype is a show that deserves a wide audience. It is a savage satire – it is packed full of […]
Simon Ward reviews Coffee Break at the Hen and Chickens Theatre Running as part of the Camden Fringe, this is an intigruing show on paper. Written, directed and produced by Bruce Kitchener, it seems to be a labour of love. According to the press release, it is inspired […]
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 Dorian :The Musical at the Southwark Playhouse Borough With book by Linnie Reedman and music and lyrics by Joe Evans, this loose adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s 1890s novel A Portrait of Dorian Gray feels like an attempt to re-imagine the story as Wilde might have […]
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 Sunday On The Rocks at The Bread and Roses Theatre Originally emerging in the mid-nineties, Theresa Rebeck’s witty and insightful play is as resonant today as it ever was. Elly (Candace Leung) is pregnant and not happy about it. Boston housemates Gayle (Rachael Bellis, who […]
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 […]