Simon Ward reviews Glamrou: Drag Mother at the Soho Theatre Drag queen Glamrou is the alter ego of Amrou Al-Kadhi, a British-Iraqi writer, filmmaker and performer. This could be called a loosely autobiographical show – you can’t necessarily believe everything they say, but some of the most outrageously […]
Simon Ward reviews Cutting The Tightrope: The Divorce of Politics From Art at the Arcola Theatre The staging of this collection of short works is an explicitly political act, which aims to galvanise audiences into further political action. Under those circumstances, therefore, it seems crass and irrelevant to […]
Simon Ward reviews Sanctuary at the Hope Theatre Christine Rose’s topical and disturbing new play is premiering in a short run at the Hope in Islington. Directed by Broadway stalwart Donna King and starring Laura Shipler Chico as Cassie and Andrea Milton-Furlotti as Amelia, it presents a vision […]
Simon Ward reviews Synchronicity at the White Bear Theatre If you emerge from Arthur I. Miller’s play feeling like you’ve had an intellectual workout, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that Miller is Emeritus Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at University College London, and this […]
Simon Ward reviews Fragments at the Etcetera Theatre In this astonishing piece Nigerian writer and performer Pearl Ada pulls no punches as she tackles the intersecting issues of colonialism and its legacy, racism, and patriarchy. Put like that, it sounds like a grim hour, whereas it is anything […]
Simon Ward reviews Distant Memories Of The Near Future at the Arcola Theatre Written and performed by David Head, Distant Memories of the Near Future comes to the Arcola to makes its London premiere following success at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023. Any idea that this may be a […]
Simon Ward reviews Foreverland at the Southwark Playhouse Emma Hemingford’s stunning new play, Foreverland, is a fascinating deep dive into the possibilities that may open up in the near future as biotechnology evolves and genetic re-engineering offers the chance for some people to ‘live forever’. We follow the […]
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 Frankie Goes To Bollywood at the Queen Elizabeth Hall My first exposure to Bollywood was in the late 1980s as I tried to block out the garish colours and blaring noise from the TV sets supposedly designed to while away the boredom of a long […]
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