“Offstage Theatre is important. It engages with key social, architectural and political issues and gives a voice
to a community and engages with their heartfelt problems.” - Richard Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside

 


I ICARUS I

"The joy for Cressida Brown's production is its stagecraft....This is a fine example of what the Unicorn does best: intelligent, creative and un-patronising theatre for children and young adults." - ★★★★ The Stage

"Icarus is the show to see" - ★★★★ LondonTheatre1



I THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF SMACK AND CRACK I


We are delighted to announce that Smack and Crack has won the Lustrum Award for Greatest Festival Moments, as awarded by Summerhall for the venue’s Greatest Moments.

We have been top picks in the Guardian, Edinburgh Metro and The Stage. We have also had pieces in Culture matters, Big Issue North and mentions in The Scotsman. We were featured on Mervy Stutters show too.

Here we are in the Guardian’s “Edinburgh in Pictures”: I https://www.theguardian.com/stage I

I ★★★★★ The Stage
I
Yes, yes, yes. The Paines Plough Roundabout’s programme this year is exceptional, but there’s nothing better there – maybe nothing better at the whole festival – than Ed Edwards’ The Political History of Smack and Crack, a riotously entertaining and deeply moving drama-cum-documentary exploring the history of heroin use in Manchester.

I ★★★★ The Independent, Lyn Gardner I
Cressida Brown’s production is a peach, Edwards treats his characters with both affection and dignity, and Steele and Bell bring Many and Neil so vividly to life as they struggle to survive that there is no chance the audience will judge – we only empathise.



I ★★★★ The Guardian I
I ★★★★ Edinburgh Festivals Magazine I
I ★★★★ Fest Magazine I
I ★★★★ Everything Theatre I
I ★★★★ The List I
I ★★★★ British Theatre I
I ★★★★★ EdFringe I
I ★★★★★ Back Stage on the Fringe I

I The Morning Star recommendation I
“Under Cressida Brown’s direction, this is an outstanding example of superbly written and wonderfully performed theatre with a social conscience.“


★★★★★ The 730 Review'

Mervyn Stutter's Pick of the Fringe
I ★★★★ The List I
I ★★★★ Whatsonstage I

I And even the Spectator thought it was “wonderful” I


★★★★ The Scotsman
★★★★ Financial Times
★★★★ Whats On Stage



I THE WORDS ARE COMING NOW, THEATRE 503 I

Whatsonstage Feature:
I http://www.whatsonstage.com I
Stage Feature: I https://www.thestage.co.uk I
I ★★★★ Guardian I
I ★★★★ The Stage I


I KONCHIA: A FAIRYTALE by Adam peck I

Click here for:
Cress’ interview on Adjara TV: I https://m.youtube.com I
Cress’ interview on Publc Adjara Radio, starts 29 minutes in: I https://youtube.com I
This Morning Radio programme: I https://1tv.ge/audio I
Georgia Today: I http://georgiatoday.ge/news I


I SCREENS I

★★★★ The Stage "Strong performances, slick staging and a unpredictable script elevate this timely drama about identity"

I ★★★★ Carole Woddis "Writer Laughton and director Brown who produced the politically charged Walking the Tightrope...deserve to be seen much more. An important milestone. I

I ★★★★ Whatsonstage There is nothing but solid performances from this cast of five… they are at the heart of this thought-provoking, eye-opening play that tells a story often not heard, that needs to be told. I

I ★★★★ Whatsonstage There is nothing but solid performances from this cast of five… they are at the heart of this thought-provoking, eye-opening play that tells a story often not heard, that needs to be told. I

I ★★★★ Everything Theatre “It isn’t just the script and acting that made Screens such great viewing. The staging, lighting and directing all stand out” I

I ★★★★ Reviews Hub “Screens fights shy of wrapping up complex emotions with a neat and tidy bow” I

I ★★★★ London Theatre 1 "It’s certainly a provocative production, and one that rightly dispenses with offering universal solutions to the issues raised. There’s much food for thought in this uncompromisingly forthright and vigorous play.” I

★★★★★ LGBTQ Arts "This play is important"


I TOP TRUMPSI

★★★★ Guardian
★★★★ The Times
★★★★Arts Desk


I RE:HOME I

Nominated for two Offies: Best Production and Best Acting Ensemble

I ★★★★★ London Theatre 1 "The show is a haunting portrait of a time, a place and a community that’s gone forever; many of the interviewees mention ghosts, and you can really feel their presence. Re:Home is at time moving, at others gripping, and often very funny, perfectly capturing the personality and spirit of the people without whom it could never have been made. Offstage Theatre’s website states that the show is ‘giving a voice to a community that no longer exists’. It’s a voice that deserves to be heard."I

British Theatre Guide: The show does not make any judgements on the wisdom of demolition but it does give voice to a number of those whose subsequent history is in some ways the poorer for the changes. That is something the government should bear in mind as they tear up old communities in the name of market regeneration or some other grand design.

I Excellent review from British Theatre Guide I
I ★★★★★ LondonTheatre1 I
I Dr Catherine Brown's brilliant review! I
I Exeunt Magazine I

'Winner of the Kevin Spacey Foundation Award'
I www.kevinspaceyfoundation.org I

I http://catherinebrown.org/revisiting-the-beaumont-road-estate-one-decade-on-home-at-the-yard-theatre/ I


I WALKING THE TIGHTROPE: The tension between art and politics I

CLICK Here for Radio 4 interview:



I ★★★★ The Scotsman I

I ★★★★★ British Theatre Guide I

I ★★★★★ edfringe review I

I ★★★★ Time Out I

I ★★★★ http://www.theatrebubble.com I

I ReviewsGate - Carole Woddis I
"Brown’s Walking the Tightrope is clearly a labour not just of love but passion, created on a shoestring, by a stirling, hard-working and very versatile cast of seven. Amazingly, Brown herself directed the majority of the plays supplemented by colleague Kirsty Housley. Housed in a make-shift space on a plain wooden stage, in the old Guardian building in London’s Clerkenwell/Farringdon area,the context only added to the strange frisson of an event of artistic worth and intense moral questioning."

I ★★★★ http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk I
"Bravo to producer Cressida Brown, her group Offstage Theatre and collaborates Theatre Uncut for bringing Walking The Tightrope to the stage. It truly entertains while challenging, and that is no mean feat!"

I ★★★★★ http://www.themetropolist.com I
"Superb"
"An explosive surgery of freedom of expression"
"Walking The Tightrope is an incredibly important production.
As crocodiles gather below and landmines wait ahead, the tightrope between arts and politics is becoming increasingly dangerous
– it bellies the need for artists to become philosophers. Thankfully Offstage Theatre has risen to the challenge."


I ★★★★ http://femalearts.com I
"Brave storytelling", "Remarkable", "Intrepid."
"A great project and the director-curator, Cressida Brown, should be delighted with what she’s achieved."
“You become part of a much larger and greater discourse by simply being in the audience."


I ★★★★ EverythingTheatre I
"The twelve works are incredibly varied in their subject matter, interpretation and comment on the issue. Often light hearted and illuminating, sometimes cryptic and incisive, the writers infuse their own take on the commission, bouncing the audience through the unrelated scenes, charging the production with provocative energy."

I http://www.independent.co.uk I
"It felt tricky, dangerous, stimulating,  discomfiting – what serious theatre is for, in other words"

I Independent feature I

I The Guardian I


I http://www.britishtheatreguide I


I MACBETH, Bard En Seine Festival in Rene Vivani Square, Paris I

Please follow the links below:

Watch interview on France 24's Culture show Encore with
Cressida Brown here: I France24 interview I
Melville House: I www.mhpbooks.com I
Port Magazine: I www.port-magazine.com I
Port Magazine: I www.port-magazine.com/photo-story I
Messyness Chic: I www.messynessychic.com I


I AMPHIBIANS, staged in the Bridewell Pool I

Awards: Time Out Critic's Choice, Nominated for 6 OffWestEnd Theatre awards.
Additional coverage: The Independent, The Spectator, The Guardian, BBC London Radio, British Airways inflight magazine, The Daily Telegraph, The Observer, The Times, Matt Truman, British Theatre Gude, The Evening Standard,  The Financial Times, The Stage
 
“Potent…lyrical…impressive…it casts a shiver-inducing spell”
Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph

“Terrific…imaginative…it’s well worth taking the plunge”
Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

“Rather magically Amphibians invokes the memory of water on many levels…Amphibians is a lovely and elusive piece of fringe theatre.”
Caroline McQuinn, Time Out, Critic’s Choice

“For once a production has earned the description ‘site-specific’…Cressida Brown’s direction makes it extraordinary: both detailed and fluid…it’s total immersion.”
Susannah Clapp, The Observer

“Beautifully judged…touching…I was more engaged with their world than ever before, more full of wonder and empathy for extreme athletes in their absurdity and glory.”
Libby Purves, The Times

“Amphibians is an artistic pleasure with its mix of popular storytelling, good acting and fine directorial vision.”
British Theatre Guide

“Director Cressida Brown explodes Amphibians into a sparkling set of fragmented conundrums.”
Matt Trueman, Culture Wars

“It looks amazing,..Cressida Brown directs moments of ungainly vulnerability, dissecting the limitations of her actors with choreographed physical exertion.”
GroupOn

“Cressida Brown’s superb new show…a fascinating and compettling insight into the raw win-or-pose realities of life as an elite swimmer.”
The Arbuturian


I PHAEDRE , staged in Craigmillar Castle I
 
Additional coverage in Edinburgh Evening News
"A classic tale of forbidden love set in the ruins of a 15th century castle, Phaedreis more than just theatre – it's an experience, and an inspired one at that."
Three Weeks ★★★★★, shortlisted for an Editor Award

"Welcome to tragedy...sublime"
The Scotsman ★★★★, Recommended Show

"All the archetypal appeal of the Greeks, epic humanness of Shakespeare and enough Gallic melodrama to fill a dozen castles."
The Stage

"Phaedre is a multi-sensory experience that leaves no part of our body unconscious in the unravelling story of forbidden and fatal love."
Fest ★★★★

"Brown makes great use of a number of imposing, and slightly spooky, locations within the ruin. As they line the staircases between scenes the female chorus add to the play's tension with their haunting songs and chants.”
Edinburgh Evening News


I HOME , staged in St Catherine’s Tower, Beaumont Estate, East London I

Features in Evening Standard, The Times, The Guardian, International Herald Tribune, Building Design, Walthamstow Guardian.

"Unique"
Channel 4 News

"Extraordinary theatre"
BBC London

"An infectiously defiant spirit...linguistically versatile and politically charged...heartening"
Time Out ★★★★

“An enterprising young theatre company”
Evening Standard ★★★★

“Offstage pulled off a coup de theatre, creating a piece at once human, gripping, touching…the writing, direction and acting were impeccably sensitive and nuanced.”
WhatOnStage ★★★★★


I HAMLET I (RSC, Assistant Director for Greg Doran and directed the understudy for Hamlet, Edward Bennett, who performed during Press Night, 2008)
Awards: Edward Bennett and Tom Davey were nominated and won prizes for the Ian Charleston Award for their work in their Understudy roles

“Edward Bennett assumed the role with great style and achieved a well-deserved ovation at the curtain call.”
Michael Billington, The Guardian

“Edward Bennett provided a true theatrical thrill by taking over the role…after this, no one will think that an understudy should be a mimic, obliged to imitate a star performance. After this budging up, everyone will see more clearly the hierarchy of the play”
Susannah Clapp, The Observer

“Playing the prince with a mixture of biting wit and burning anger…the anguished, indecisive and intellectual Hamlet becomes a more sardonic, scornful and definitely sane character, a first-class
mimic, in charge rather than a victim of events.”
Ivan Fallon, The Independent ★★★★


I ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, staged in Novello Theare, Westend I

Featured in publication “Something written in the state of Denmark: an actor’s year with the Royal Shakespeare Company”, Keith Osbourn, published RSC.


I SENTENCED I

“Sensitively directed by Cressida Brown.”
TimeOut ★★★★, Critic’s Choice

 


email: info@offstage.org.uk
Offstage Theatre Company