Tag: fringe

Ann (played by Nikol Kollars) wearing an open-necked green flowery blouse, with a red flower in her hair, a white necklace and purple sash, standing and about to sing.

★★★★The Long Goodbye

Simon Ward reviews Fickle Eulogy at the Hope Theatre, 207 Upper Street, London N1 1RL Debuting at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, Nikol Kollars’s devastating solo show, directed by Javier Galitó-Cava, is now running at The Hope under the aegis of the Camden Fringe. It is clearly a […]

Bathed in a blue light, on the left Gavin (played by Sam Plumbe), in the centre Clint (played by Ewan Bruce) and on the right Brian (played by Henry Calcutt). They are all wearing corporate uniforms and gazing nervously towards an unseen screen.

★★★Return To Sender

Simon Ward reviews Don’t Shoot The Messenger at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre Co-writers Daniel Camou and Sam Plumbe have billed their new Camden Fringe show as ‘an office comedy of Shakespearean proportions’. For me, this works as the former, but the Shakespeare factor is rather limited. As […]

Seated on the left, Jack (played by Christopher Wollaton) wearing an England football top and shorts; seated on the right Suzie (played by Lucy Farrar). Between them on the wall is a large England flag.

★★★Too Many Years of Hurt

Simon Ward reviews Coming Home at The Hope Theatre As we enter the soundtrack swells with the now-familiar England football anthems – Three Lions, of course, along with Vindaloo and Sweet Caroline – all bound to get the heart pumping and the crowd singing along. There is nervous […]

Blake Stratso seated on a bar stool in open-necked white shirt, tan chinos and white trainers. There is an Indian rug on the floor.

★★★★Soft Underbelly

Simon Ward reviews TURTLE: A Story About Christ, Cancer, Kinks, and Christmas at the Aces & Eights Theatre Although the bread-and-butter review circuit consists of rooms above pubs, there are a few venues where things are not quite that simple. Aces & Eights is one such example. It […]

Olivia (played by Beth Birss) in the background, looking towards Viola in the foreground (played by Tanieth Kerr) in sweatshirt and denim, wearing a blue beanie hat. She is crying as she looks at something in her hand.

★★★Love in Shakespeare

Simon Ward reviews LIV:Sapphic Shakespeare at the Old Red Lion Theatre Showing as part of the Camden Fringe, which is running at various venues around London until 24th August, this is clearly a labour of love for writer/producer/actor Tanieth Kerr. Directed by Katy Livsey, it is a re-imagining […]

Tracey Yarad, standing, singing passionately, wearing her dyed-black wedding dress.

★★★Healing Powers

Simon Ward reviews All These Pretty Things at the Etcetera Theatre As we enter the small room above the Oxford Arms, Tracey Yarad is already in meditational pose, wrapped in a blanket and with Om Shanti on the screen behind her. We sense that she is gathering her […]

On the left, standing, Roni (played by Eileen Duffy) in black shorts and T-shirt; on the right, sitting on a messy bed, Katie (played by Catherine Ashdown), wearing a horizontal stripy blue and white top and jeans.

★★★★Friendship, Interrupted

Simon Ward reviews 1.17am, or Until The Words Run Out at Theatre503 Running as part of the Summer Shorts season currently playing at Theatre503, Zoe Hunter Gordon’s new play is an utterly compelling portrait of a friendship placed under seemingly unbearable strain. Katie (Catherine Ashdown) and Roni (Eileen […]

Helen (played by Vis Eliot Safavi) looking off camera, with dark curly hair and wearing a smart off-pink jacket and a white shirt.

★★★Edge of Reason

Simon Ward reviews Outside Voice at the Soho Poly Theatre Tucked away in the West End side streets, and just around the corner from the BBC, this location has been a hub for arts activities since at least the late 1960s. In recent years it has been restored […]

Left to right: Louis Cruzat standingn turned to look at Arnold Patrick Lumu who is staring at the floor.

★★★★White Knuckle Shakespeare

Simon Ward reviews Julius Caesar at the Hen and Chickens Theatre In this urgent and compelling interpretation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Anna Blackburn has created a nerve-shredding production of great power. A well-drilled cast of four brilliantly rises to the challenge of inhabiting all the roles this play […]

On the left Malcolm (played by Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson); in the middle Harriet (played by Laurel Marks); on the right Regina (played by Gabrielle Nellis-Pain). They are all wearing dark undertaker-style clothes and looking quizzically at something off camera to their right.

★★★Dead Funny

Simon Ward reviews Grave Mistake at the Hope Theatre Matthew Ballantyne and Toby Hampton’s new play is a Joe Orton-esque farce set in a funeral home. Burke and Sons has been a family business for generations and is now in the hands of sisters Regina (Gabrielle Nellis-Pain) and […]