Simon Reeve, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre - review

What people might not know, and perhaps the most revealing part of this evening listening to his life and career at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre, was his starting point.

In 2019, the conversations around mental health – particularly in young men – are louder than they have ever been. So for anyone sat in the audience this evening fighting their own inner demons, hearing Reeve open up about his own teenage years must have been wholly inspirational.

Leaving school with no qualifications he battled depression and anxiety until one drastic, off-the-cuff trip to Scotland started his – in this case literal – climb to a better life. He revealed just how close he came to ending it all, and his honesty in delivering this part of his life to us was both touching and eye-opening.

It was a surprising start to the evening for those of us – myself included – who didn’t know too much about him outside the documentaries, which started with Meet The Stans in 2003.

Even his entry into the sector was different to what you’d expect. The second inspiring aspect of this talk was how hard work and determination can get you anywhere with a large dollop of luck – even filming secret KGB bases in the unrecognised country of Transnistria.

A keen interest in the 1993 World Trade Centre bombings and the writing of his book The New Jackals about the rise of al-Qaeda meant that when 9/11 happened, Reeve was suddenly a man in demand.

From there, he has grown into the presenter we know today. And the love of people’s stories he clearly demonstrated throughout this talk has formed the basis of nearly all his work.

He doesn’t want to “just travel” and film it. He wants to show inspiring and touching stories from people, and many risk being ostracised, tortured and even murdered just for guiding him through troubled warzones. The stories he can publicise because of others’ risks can be extraordinary.

I’ve seen a few of these events before which end up descending into “Look at me, look at who I’ve met, look at my amazing life” scenarios. But Simon didn’t. The whole point of the evening was to inspire others to “take risks” with their travels; to try the local “crazy” foods; not to stick to the all-inclusive resorts; to talk to the locals and find out the less-trodden paths; and to always wear your seatbelt.

It was hard not to be inspired by what we heard. Either by his often-dangerous adventures or his messages of hope for those in dark places to keep on fighting and those who don’t take to school that there are other paths open to them. For both, we can only say thanks to him.