'A smart, complex and genuinely thought-provoking exercise in game theatre: this ingenious thought experiment from Zoë Svendsen and Simon Daw [is] an ambitious, provocative and intricate piece of game-making, evading easy answers and polemic while succeeding inmaking us think – and think hard – about the cost of our clothing'
The Stage
'This is a show that tests ... Read morethe relationship between our competitive impulses and other factors. How far will ethical and environmental considerations impinge on commercial ones? Wrestling with this question, against the clock, makes for a richly absorbing experience'
Evening Standard
'We know that the ultra-competitive fashion industry is engaged in a constant cost-cutting battle.We know that the price war starts on our high streets. We know that results in poor working conditions, even sweat-shops and child labour. However, World Factory lets you live those ideas as an embodied experience. It’s one thing to be told about low rates of pay, another to be the person implementing those rates. Responsible capitalism isn't easy. You've little control. Consequences are unforeseeable, not least the invisible environmental impact, and decisions must be made, sometimes arbitrarily and often without any real alternative. The sense of competition carries you away, and the game is great fun as a result, but there are no prizes for principles. Only your numbers count. It’s your conscience that has to cope'
WhatsOnStage
'This lively and ambitious show from the directors and designers Zoë Svendsen and Simon Daw amuses, involves and unnerves us throughout its 100 minutes… How neatly World Factory makes us complicit in the process of exploitation before pulling us back to see a bigger picture that ain't so pretty'
The Times
'Many of us like to think of ourselves as ethical shoppers, but World Factory brings the murky economic realities of the globalised textile industry uncomfortably close to home. This clever and entertaining show… is part documentary drama, part game – and the result is smart, mischievous and genuinely thought-provoking'
Financial Times
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