Reviews
A Waste of Time
‘What a great night at the @arcolatheatre watching #bravenewword @SLAMKingsX’s evening of short plays around Utopia/Dystopia. Highlight for me was A Waste of Time by @MJ_Turner’ – @misskerryfitz
‘It was beautifully acted, wonderful writing. [I]t’s rare that theatre makes me feel anything other than on a superficial level, but that piece was different’ – @itsgrandlike
‘[H]ad to say how much I love love loved your play #AWasteOfTime with @Bravenew_word… Gave me goosebumps!’ – @Rosie_Akerman
Audience tweets
Dead Yard
‘[A] vivid, coherent portrayal of a world not often seen on stage, which the language brings to life… We feel [the loss of Pop-Pop] keenly, and this is a major accomplishment in a play. The play has a lot to say about men and women, assimilation and tradition, and relationships between generations.’
Bruntwood Prize 2017 judges
‘Brilliant! Well acted. Good tension throughout. Looking forward to see it fully staged… What a manipulative mother! Very clever! Very funny!… Great!… Poignant and funny… Very insightful script with great comic touches… Very funny and authentic language.’
PlayWROUGHT 2017 audience comments
‘I can’t big this play up enough. What an ending. Can’t wait till it finds its rightful home… Not to be missed if you fancy a thrillingly new and brilliant play.’
Christopher Hogg, playwright
‘I really enjoyed the performance and thought it was great all round. I particularly liked the pacing [and the] defined characters.’
Hannah Ali, Arcola Men’s Mental Health Theatre Group
‘A beautiful play. I liked how Oral History has helped to tell the story… I liked the references to religion, which wasn’t overplayed. I liked the setting and the dynamism of the actors… Dead Yard is a beautiful piece of writing.’
Dele Oladeji, Arcola 50+ Theatre Group
‘I really enjoyed it and thought it was a really fascinating story and for me threw up ideas about black African/Caribbean families dealing with mental health issues and I thought it was quite educational as well.’
Mimi Findlay, Talawa Theatre Company
Closed
‘A timely piece examining closed courts, secret evidence and the nature of morality/justice. Through the interweaving of three distinct worlds – judicial, media and political – it is able to ask broad questions about the nature of our society.
‘The personal and political are neatly interwoven so that the machinations of all characters have an air of truth and morality always feels complicated beyond right and wrong… [A] strong narrative drive and complex character motivations keep us guessing at everyone’s end game. Has the pace of a political thriller and all the satisfying plot twists to go with it.’
Bruntwood Prize 2015 judges
The Inside Man / The Interview – Brighton Festival Fringe 2011
‘Inspirationally conceived and skilfully executed, [The Interview is] a seeming flight of fancy which, almost unnoticed, turns and plummets back to the cold, hard earth…
‘[The play] left me wondering and kept me thinking till the very final word. [Peter] Henderson excels again as the formidable Sir Gerald, who quizzes his hapless candidate with melodic tones and bulbous, staring eyes. But the zen-like interview isn’t quite what it seems – and the script glides almost unnoticed from gentle humour to brutal truth.
‘Alicia Ambrose-Bayly… came into her own towards the end of the piece as she moves to centre stage. And Stephen Cheriton is maybe best of all, convincingly unwinding a tangled knot of emotions as the horror he must face is quietly revealed. The Interview is a compelling realisation of a disturbingly believable script… and if it stood alone, it would still be worth your time and money.’
FringeGuru **** – read the full review here
Exit Strategies
‘This book is quite the page turner, at first because we don’t know what strategy Vic will choose and then, as we wonder if he’ll be able to pull it off, all of which is wrapped up with a delightfully surprising ending. A very entertaining read, I would recommend to anybody.’
Gayle Beveridge, author
Author Profile
Article in the Shoreham Herald by Michèle Bacchus, February 2013. Covers Exit Strategies, The Inside Man, The Interview and Inside My Head.
