Simon Ward reviews Kill For The Part at the Canal Cafe Theatre Written and directed by Lucy Blunt, who also plays Olivia/Eleanor Deluse, this is a witty and beguiling romp which interleaves a classic cosy murder mystery with the back-stage shenanigans that arise when the cast believe themselves […]
Simon Ward reviews Old Fat F**k Up at the Riverside Studios Olly Hawes has set up camp at the Riverside Studios – as well as this show, in a week or so, he will be alternating performances with his previous play F**king Legend so he must be doing […]
Simon Ward reviews Gwenda’s Garage:The Musical at the Southwark Playhouse Borough Following a successful run at the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse in Sheffield, this is the London premiere of a new British musical. Based on the true story of three female mechanics who, frustrated by their inability to find […]
Simon Ward reviews God Don’t Live On A Council Estate at the Hen and Chickens Theatre Dean Stalham’s 2010 play, God Don’t Live On A Council Estate, directed here by Jonathan Linsley, gives us another insight into the world that I was first introduced to in June of […]
Simon Ward reviews Monster at the Seven Dials Playhouse Abigail Hood’s play, Monster, is set over a twenty year period in Glasgow. It centres on the lives of two girls, teenagers when we first meet them, Kayleigh Grey (played by Hood herself) and Zoe Douglas (Lauren Downie). They […]
Simon Ward reviews The Pitch at Theatre503 Philip Catherwood’s new play, directed by Thea Mayeux, is not the first to investigate the thorny issue of land and its use on the island of Ireland, but his approach is refreshingly free of the weight of history which normally surrounds […]
Simon Ward reviews BuzzFest at the Wanstead Curtain Theatre As chestnuts are falling from the trees and an autumnal chill is in the air, writer-director Marissa Landy’s ode to the summer musical festival season lands in a sweetly nostalgic moment. Much like the reluctant revellers at the end […]
Simon Ward reviews A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Southwark Playhouse Borough Since the turn of the millennium, Southwark Playhouse has been re-imagining the great works of the Shakespearean canon to create versions which can engage younger audiences, with the aim of bewitching them with the power of […]
Simon Ward reviews Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People at the Soho Theatre As the autumnal gloom envelops tube strike-ridden London, it is an absolute delight to escape into the garish world of Lorna Rose Treen’s Blue Tit Diner. The upbeat soundtrack as the audience gathers sets […]
Simon Ward reviews Tango in Silk at the Etcetera Theatre The first thing to note about Xi Liu’s Tango in Silk dance piece is that it is very short, perhaps ten minutes long. It is perhaps best understood as a showcase for what Liu (along with partner Mingcong […]