What the papers say

Our local paper, The News, sent a critic along to the first performances of each part, and I have reproduced his review here. If you have been able to see our production, I would be very interested to hear your views on this review, whether you agree with the general thrust of it, feel something or someone else was worth mentioning or whether, in your opinion, Mr George got it all wrong.

Perhaps you would like to write your own review of the production. That would be fantastic! If you want to do so, just click on the comments link at the end of this post and type in your review there. Please be honest. What worked, what didn't work for you?

Here is what James George thought.

A quantum physicist's dream in the fight of good over evil.

BENCH Theatre's offering for the festive season, is a mighty but cumbersome beast.
It's a rip-roaring good-versus-evil tale set in a series of worlds, parallel to our own, and is, in many ways, a quantum physicist's dream. Director Damon Wakelin doesn't balk at the challenge with a cast of 37 and an enormous set-multi-levelled, multi-faceted and multi-doored – not to mention the splendid puppets.
Acting abilities vary. Add to that a not-too-per­fect adaptation (much stuff considered vital by purists is gone altogether) and what are we left with? Actually, a worthy piece of work.
The beginning of Part One suffers from infor­mation overkill - facts and names thrown out like javelins - but get past this and things quickly improve.
The usual Bench act­ing stalwarts acquit themselves more than admirably, but the big surprises come in the form of two youngsters.
As Lyra, Charley Callaway is a feisty, gutsy heroine with a heart of gold. She gives an excellent, tell-it-as-it-is performance.
Then there's Martin McBride as hero Will. Frankly. One rarely sees so finely-crafted a per­formance from an expe­rienced adult, let alone a youngster. In his work were truth and reality and effortlessness.
It's not festive, but put in the effort and you will be mightily rewarded.

So what do you think? Please send us your own take on our attempts to stage the unstageable!