REVIEW: KIDNAP by Samia Rida at Drayton Arms Theatre, Kensington 23 – 27 June 2026
‘if you’re tired of men getting to tell all those hilarious jokes that you aren’t meant to laugh at then Rida is your antidote’ ★★★
Suddenly taken by her father from her UK home, Samia Rida learnt to turn dangerous situations into a joke long before she was flown out to Saudi Arabia as an 8-year old with her two siblings. As a child of a dysfunctional family, filled with domestic abuse, alcoholism and a disabled brother, Rida hasn’t been afraid since a child to laugh at what other comedians wouldn’t touch with a barge pole.
Freshly out of last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, her new solo-show reveals all the earmarks of a seasoned writer trained by the BBC Writersroom. But where Rida comes into her own is in her fearless, cackling jokes that poke fun at the grimmest and most sombre of realities. With some stricter direction or, in fact, the entire removal of most movement across the stage, this could be one hell of a production.
When local press discovered that Rida went on a kind of enforced holiday with her Saudi Arabian father it was labelled as a kidnap. In the paper the next day, Rida’s Welsh mother who was left unawares at home could be seen appearing on the phone to her husband “looking like she was ordering a Dominoes pizza”. Herein lies the inspiration for the whole show and Rida is at her best when telling the darkest moments of her life in the lightest of tones. Much of Kidnap’s beginning, filled with wise and hilarious cracks at British sentimentality, feels like a warm-up to the jokes she really wants to tell about her own life.
If you’re a fan of Ricky Gervais, and Jimmy Carr for that matter, then Rida is another to add to your list. In fact, if you’re tired of men getting to tell all those hilarious jokes that you aren’t meant to laugh at then Rida is your antidote. If you’re British and don’t like getting your feelings hurt then do just stay at home.
There is still some work to do with this production’s execution. Rida’s previous performances in Breeders, Rebel and Tell Me About Yourself — where she won Best International Actors Award — serve as sufficient proof of her ability. Kidnap itself suffers from repeated cycles of movement and appears too restless to make theatre out of what is best left as a very entertaining form of narrative stand-up.
It’s great to see the performance supporting a charity dedicated to helping carers of the disabled and speaking out on uncomfortable truths that often get underplayed. With some quick edits, the performance could certainly be one of the best of its kind.
Written by Samia Rida
Directed by Gareth Edwards
Produced by Meg Shepherd, in association with Drayton Arms Theatre
Photography: Lo Augusta
