January 27, 2019
Currently directing Mike Bartlett's King Charles III
Amazing response to King Charles III:
Five Stars from LondonTheatre1.com and Four stars from Remote Goat plus a lovely blog from A Dog Faced Boy's Tail.
Reviews
The strongest performance comes from Ruth Sullivan whose brusque Evelyn emits a coldness which derives from a deeply-buried trauma of abandonment and rejection. Sullivan’s rigid body language is nuanced but strongly betrays Evelyn’s emotional constriction.
Claire Seymour - British Theatre Guide
Such a difficult piece depends on strong, convincing characterisation and this production delivers memorable, striking performances from the three leads. Ruth Sullivan, as Nancy, delivers a stunning, utterly convincing performance as an ordinary woman forced to confront the unimaginable. Sullivan is impressively adept at portraying the shifts in Nancy's character, as she struggles with the terror of her daughter's disappearance, the horror of the discovery of her brutal murder, and the long years of grief, rage and, ultimately, an acceptance that approaches forgiveness. In some of the play's most distressing and tender moments, as when Nancy recalls cradling the "beautiful" skull of her disinterred daughter, Sullivan powerfully commands the attention and sympathy of the audience.
Ben Winyard - Noises Off
Important elements in the staging include the busy employment of an onstage foley artist, particularly for the trials by cataclysmic fire and a deluge of water.
Fiona Maddocks - The Guardian
Ruth was truly amazing as Nancy coming to terms with the disappearance and as the years wore on, the acceptance that she would probably never see her daughter again. There are many ways that Nancy could have been played and Ruth has found the perfect formula – mixing good old fashioned humour with pathos – and making Nancy a figure that I think all of us could admire and respect. Her opening monologues were heartfelt and totally believable and my positive feelings about her grew and grew throughout the show.
Terry Eastham - London Theatre1
Sullivan brought the show into technicolour with the sounds of birds, thunder, fire, rushing water, and hilarious gags with Papageno.
Jenna Douglas - Scmopera
The untamed wildness of the score finds its complement in the staging, with audience and performers in unusually close proximity, with the sound-effects artist presiding wittily in her kitchenette.
Michael Church - The Independent