Three recent fringe shows that Made in Shoreditch covered first as interviews later found wider London audiences: Joel Marlin’s absurdist comedy The Statesman, Sarah Cameron-West’s one-woman show KAREN, and the dance-party musical Oscar at the Crown. None of those runs was in Shoreditch. The venues were in Camden, the West End and Tottenham Court Road. What they share is that Made in Shoreditch spoke to the makers before, or as, the London runs landed.
This feature uses those archive interviews. Quotes are as given at the time. Venue dates were checked against theatre listings and the companies’ own pages.
The Statesman at Theatro Technis
The Statesman, written by Joel Marlin and directed by Quentin Beroud, had its world premiere at Theatro Technis on Crowndale Road in Camden from 10 to 27 September 2025. The play is an absurdist comedy about a village where laughter is banned and then has to be relearned.
Beroud told Made in Shoreditch he was drawn to the premise first. “There’s something so immediately funny to me about a village where laughter is banned suddenly having to learn how to have a sense of humour. It’s such a good premise, and that did a lot of the heavy lifting.”
On balancing satire and heart, he said the work started with the characters. “We’re creating a whole village with six people – it’s a whirlwind but the actors are incredible and I think one of the joys of the play for an audience will be watching these amazing performers conjure all these characters with minimal costume changes.”
Asked whether the ban on humour made him think differently about laughter now, he said: “It’s very easy to be depressed about the world at the moment. Pessimism sometimes seems like the only logical response, but the play is a reminder that laughter still unites us.” Read the Quentin Beroud interview.
KAREN from Edinburgh to Soho
KAREN is written, produced and performed by Sarah Cameron-West. After Edinburgh Fringe and other UK dates, it returned to London at The Other Palace in March 2025 and later played Underbelly Boulevard in Soho. Seven Dials Playhouse also listed a November 2025 date. Reviews compared the character to a Bridget Jones figure with rage issues. Cameron-West has described the show as starting as a short monologue in 2021.
“I never set out to write a full comedy show,” she told Made in Shoreditch. “KAREN started as a short monologue for a competition in 2021, and I was really just exploring that feeling of heartbreak meeting professional chaos. But when I performed it, people laughed (way more than I expected) not at her pain, but in recognition.”
On how the piece changed between rooms, she said: “One of the joys of performing my own work is the freedom to experiment. In the early stages, I was constantly testing things – trying out different deliveries, playing with timing, adding new mannerisms to find what landed best.” Read the Sarah Cameron-West interview.
Oscar at the Crown on Tottenham Court Road
Oscar at the Crown is a dystopian dance-party musical inspired by Oscar Wilde. ROYO, with Gold Sky and Path Entertainment Group, opened a purpose-built venue for it at 213-215 Tottenham Court Road, branded The Crown. Official London Theatre lists the address. The London production followed earlier runs in Brooklyn and Edinburgh. As of October 2026 the show’s site said the final performance was 30 November.
ROYO co-founder Hamish Greer told Made in Shoreditch the aim had been a permanent London home. “It started life at 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn and has now arrived on Tottenham Court Road via a brief trip to Edinburgh, and this is a big new version in a purpose-built space.”
On finding the basement: “London has the most amazing theatres, but there aren’t many spaces that can do non-conventional performances. So when we found an empty basement on Tottenham Court Road, we knew we had to take it.” Read the Oscar at the Crown interview.
What ties the three together
None of these shows needed a Shoreditch postcode to matter to Made in Shoreditch readers. They needed makers willing to talk before the marketing cycle closed, and rooms odd enough for the work. Camden studio theatre, Soho comedy rooms and a Tottenham Court Road bunker are different economics. The archive link is the same: the interviews remain the primary record of what the makers said they were trying to do.
For more London theatre interviews, see Amanda Davey at Seven Dials Playhouse and Steve McCourt on Punchdrunk Enrichment.