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Simon Parsons
woman
Theatre review / 19 February 2025
19 February 2025
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
home
Theatre review / 18 February 2025
18 February 2025
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
antigone
Theatre Review / 4 February 2025
4 February 2025
SIMON PARSONS applauds a tense and thoughtful production that regularly challenges our political engagement and prejudices
12th night
Theatre Review / 13 December 2024
13 December 2024
SIMON PARSONS questions whether a dark take on Shakespeare’s Seasonal comedy is in harmony with the original text
unseen
Theatre review / 22 November 2024
22 November 2024
SIMON PARSONS applauds the psychological study of prisoners dealing with a frighteningly oppressive world endured by far too many
troll
Theatre review / 9 October 2024
9 October 2024
Using magic realism to highlight the problems of migrants does not sit easily with the harsh reality, says SIMON PARSONS 
rape
Theatre review / 7 August 2024
7 August 2024
SIMON PARSONS salutes drama that registers how the impact of the sexual assault ripples out through every element of a family’s existence
goodbye
Theatre Review / 6 March 2024
6 March 2024
SIMON PARSONS is dazed by the unremitting discordance of an immersive rendition of the work of Japanese author Osamu Dazai
family business
Theatre review / 13 February 2024
13 February 2024
SIMON PARSONS applauds an informative show that reminds us of the need to keep the threat of nuclear destruction, accidental or intentional, in the headlines
theatre review
Theatre Review / 9 June 2023
9 June 2023
SIMON PARSONS applauds an ambitious and relevant dramatisation of the the great Russian classic
circus
Circus / 24 March 2023
24 March 2023
Simon Parsons admires the ambition of a spectacular show that pits disabled performers against Nazis
boy
Culture / 13 December 2022
13 December 2022
press
Theatre Review / 2 December 2022
2 December 2022
SIMON PARSONS reviews two plays in which the manipulation of facts for the sake of the drama produces uneven results
sarah
Theatre Review / 24 November 2022
24 November 2022
SIMON PARSONS applauds the energy and humour of a riveting show
two
Theatre Review / 11 November 2022
11 November 2022
SIMON PARSONS recommends an engrossing, Belfast-based, inter-generational two-hander
single man
Theatre Review / 25 October 2022
25 October 2022
The once controversial book A Single Man receives an excellent stage adaptation, writes SIMON PARSONS
nedusa
Theatre Review / 24 October 2022
24 October 2022
kabuki
Theatre Review / 23 September 2022
23 September 2022
Romeo and Juliet rehashed 30 years on is full of disparate ideas and feels like a production on steroids, writes SIMON PARSONS
rose
Theatre Review / 19 September 2022
19 September 2022
SIMON PARSONS recommends a production in which experiences of war and life as an immigrant become horrifyingly contemporary
CC
Theatre Review / 22 August 2022
22 August 2022
SIMON PARSONS recommends an award-winning production of rare simplicity, graceful beauty and profound significance about Sri Lankan immigrants to Australia
duo
Theatre Review / 4 August 2022
4 August 2022
SIMON PARSONS recommends a thought-provoking play about the long-term impact of traumatic childhoods and the morality of accepting the rehabilitation of social outcasts
TI
Theatre Review / 22 July 2022
22 July 2022
four
Theatre Review / 15 July 2022
15 July 2022
SIMON PARSONS recommends an ingenious and wonderfully memorable upgrade of a classic
SP
Theatre Review / 2 July 2022
2 July 2022
SIMON PARSONS
stetson
Musical Review / 16 May 2022
16 May 2022
SIMON PARSONS is captivated by a charming zest of an intelligently reworked Rodgers and Hammerstein classic
HH
Theatre Review / 13 May 2022
13 May 2022
SIMON PARSONS reviews an exploration of an infamous psychopath forced to judge his own actions
Theatre Review: / 3 May 2022
3 May 2022
SIMON PARSONS welcomes an atmospheric drama about relationships set in the remote Hebrides
Theatre Review / 15 April 2022
15 April 2022
Giles Terera's debut play on the intentional drowning of 132 slaves in 1781 has a grim resonance today, argues SIMON PARSONS
reunion
Theatre Review / 9 March 2022
9 March 2022
3
Theatre Review / 14 February 2022
14 February 2022
dressing room
Theatre Review / 9 February 2022
9 February 2022
by Simon Parsons
glow
Theatre Review / 1 February 2022
1 February 2022
Dr
Theatre Review / 28 January 2022
28 January 2022
SIMON PARSONS recommends a production about a pioneering 19th-century Hungarian doctor that reverberates with contemporary relevance
cast
Theatre Reviews / 16 January 2022
16 January 2022
SIMON PARSONS recommends an innovatory production that addresses the tragedies of Northern Ireland’s recent history
awakening
Theatre Review / 21 December 2021
21 December 2021
A glorious, collaborative piece that must be the standout new show in London at the moment, writes SIMON PARSONS
manor
Theatre Review / 24 November 2021
24 November 2021
Political tirades, prophetic end-of-world visions, broad, sit-com style humour and trite caricatures do not blend, writes SIMON PARSONS
company
Theatre Review / 26 October 2021
26 October 2021
Wise Children are once again proving themselves an outstanding force in British theatre, writes SIMON PARSONS
four
Theatre Review / 4 October 2021
4 October 2021
Instead of Deliverance we are presented with an overlong, flat episode of Friends, writes SIMON PARSONS
god
Theatre Review / 20 September 2021
20 September 2021
ILLUMINATING:: Cleo Sylvestre and Alan David
THEATRE / 25 June 2021
25 June 2021
Reworking of Dylan Thomas's radio classic sometimes an unwieldy fit for the stage
LIGHT RELIEF: Susan Aderin and Gabriel Vick in Can I Help Yo
THEATRE / 8 March 2020
8 March 2020
Sensitive exploration of triggers for mental breakdown
GRIEVING: Paula Cassina in For the Sake of Argument Pic: Cha
Theatre Review / 2 February 2020
2 February 2020
Flawed but worthy attempt to unpick arguments over Iraq war
DYSFUNCTIONAL: Eve Steele and William Fox as Mandy and Neil
Theatre / 30 January 2020
30 January 2020
Telling reportage on the 1980s drugs havoc in inner-city Britain
Romantics
MUSICAL / 26 January 2020
26 January 2020
Tasty musical about chocolate and love from Wise Children
Maxine Peake in Welkin
Theatre / 23 January 2020
23 January 2020
Riveting and original exploration of women's lives in mid-18th century England
PIC CAP HARD-WORKING: Reece Pantry and Clare-Louise English
Theatre / 15 December 2019
15 December 2019
Characterisation submerged by concept in suicide drama lacking emotional engagement
STANDOUT: BAC Beatbox Academy's Frankenstein Pic: Joyce Nich
Year round-up / 5 December 2019
5 December 2019