We are powerhouse duo TomYumSim
- Tom Halls and Sim French.
As mavericks of experimental theatre, we shatter norms,
crafting interactive and site specific experiences that beckon you to question both the world and your place within it.
We embrace our wacky queer sensibility, neurodivergent brains and a DIY methodology, to make work that is interdisciplinary; combining digital technologies, music and video with live interactive performance.
Hailing from Down Under we are based across Greater Manchester and London. We have presented work across the UK and Australia; including Manchester International Festival, Cambridge Junction, Manchester Pride, Theatre Deli, Royal Exchange Theatre, Camden People’s Theatre, Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe, People's History Museum, The Yard, Word of Warning, Contact, People's History Museum, Melbourne Fringe, Perth Fringe, Butterfly Club, La Mama Theatre and Fed Square.
We are Green Room Award recipients for 'A Suffocating Choking Feeling' for best experimental and contemporary performance.
Our work has expanded to explore the various ways to integrate digital with live performance via live-streaming, phones, Zoom & Youtube.
We work with an amazing range of collaborators who put the YUM in TomYumSim.
​
​
Tighten your buttocks, pour juice on your chin, I promise my piggy, we’re TomYumSim.
THE TEAM, BOARD & SECRETARIAL STAFF
Simone French
Co-Artistic Director
Emphasizing strong female voices, Simone French is co-artistic director of TomYumSim. An unconventional theatre-maker, performer, singer and arts facilitator hailing from Naarm (Melbourne) and creating work across the UK and Australia. She creates provocative participatory theatre that satirizes pop-culture and interweaves song and technology into these live and digital experiences.
Tom Halls
Co-Artistic Director
Tom is a Manchester based Scottish/Australian performance artist, writer and co-artistic director of TomYumSim. He brings a queer genderf*ck aesthetic to his performative work, seeking to disrupt mainstream narrative. Focussing on queer experience, Tom’s practice centres on creating pieces that challenge and test audience engagement in unorthodox live or digital spaces. Tom is an absolute wizz at videography and creates all the video content for TomYumSim.
