Reviews & Reaction

MACBETH: SLEEP NO MORE


~ King-Farlow’s skilfully edited and staged adaptation is perfectly pitched from witchy start to blood-letting finish...  
There’s so much about this piece to both admire and enjoy and it’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into its staging.  The witches feline movement, the swirling of their cloaks creating the impression of mist drifting across a desolate Scottish landscape.  The use of geometry to keep audience sightlines clear – triangles, diamonds, squares of performers skilfully maintained as they moved around the stage.  Costumes were simple, yet expressive.  Sound effects were vocalised or played on simple instruments by the cast. ...
This is a real sparkling gem of a show but one that’s feels like it’s hidden in plain sight...with a 10.15am start. Too early for you? Come on, people!  This show would be worth getting up at any hour to go see. They’re only running until 12 August but I’ll be making tracks for a repeat run.  Yes, it was that good. Set your alarm clock and get down there. 
- Tim Wilcock, Fringe Review (The full - fantastic! - review can be found HERE.)

~ Can't stop thinking about Macbeth: Sleep No More (testament to the outstanding performance). Just amazing production, acting, innovation and education. My children's review "Absolutely fabulous show!" High praise from both 13 and 15 year old (a tough crowd to please!) Seriously well done - bringing theatre to life in a hugely engaging and inspiring way. - Zoe Noonan, Edinburgh 2023

~ Everything’s interesting and shines a new light on the text. Among a strong set of performances Lady Macbeth (Emma King-Farlow) is particularly electrifying, and the couple’s immediate grief for what they’ve destroyed really shines through....With the all-female cast containing just four actors, they find smart solutions to the logistical challenges, while the staging is bold and sparse. The climactic fight scene is thrilling!  - Richard Stamp, The Wee Review


A CHRISTMAS CAROL


~ Thank you for a brilliant & professional performance this afternoon. The changes of emotions & clothing with such integrity of acting was quite moving. So pleased to be with you - a gem of an afternoon! - John P

~ A beautiful production! Very emotional. Well done - Michelle

~ Really talented bunch, a really impressive interpretation & dramatisation - so creative with the props and the overall format.  Brilliant & congratulations! - Anonymous, Southside House

~ This was amazing, would love to view again - J Zaman

~ I loved it!  Utterly magical.  Thank you. - Anonymous, Southside House

~ This was an excellent production. I found myself entirely engrossed in the tale. Well done! - Jim

~ Stunning and talented. Thank you - Anonymous 
~ Such an innovative and engaging performance! My 4 year-old son and I enjoyed it - and we especially loved the future spirit and the magical tunes! - A.V.Elliot

~ Wow! Thanks you were wonderful - Lili L
~ A beautiful programme - very moving and the puppets /spirit of christmas yet to come were amazing. My friends' teenage daughter joined us and she loved the performance as well. - Yvonne, Southside House

~ Simply wonderful afternoon and I hope to see more of what you do come Easter? - Françoise G



~ Fabulous retelling of Hades & Persephone! - Jane B

~ Thank you very much for a great interpretation of Persephone & the Pomegranate Seeds.  Loved by our Persephone xx - The Michaels 

~ Engaging actors, great songs! Thanks for a fun afternoon - Anonymous 

~ Great performance. We really enjoyed the singing, the story and the outside setting. - Anonymous

~ I really enjoyed the performance and the boys liked it too. This was a great story - Stephanie, Marius & James
 
~ Excellent show for older boys - Anonymous

~ Brilliant show! Loved the tent. Well done to you all. Very inspirational, thank you! - Philip  

~ Lovely storytelling - thank you! - Anonymous

~ Memorable! Lovely. - Sophia
 
~ The performance was fantastic! Well done - Anonymous.



~ Gorgeous and brilliant! Loved the dancing and the fighting! - Bella

~ Thank you for such an amazing event! Very interactive and enjoyable! - Anonymous

~ Wonderful performance, a good balance with humor. Really enjoyable fights, especially considering the space - Nicky P

~ Very charming storytelling and beautiful singing, with a well presented model to boot - Anonymous
~ Lovely afternoon’s entertainment, thank you. I look forward to seeing you all again one day - Colin R

~ My daughter was really inspired by watching a cast of girls playing all the parts and even fighting! - Anonymous



~ A brilliant show - the stories were ideal for the children to understand. And a perfect length too. Very good. Thank you! - Anonymous

~ Our daughter really enjoyed the performance. She is 5! - Emma & Chris

~ It made me smile :-) - Anonymous

~ Thank you so much - it was amazing! - Fiona

~ What a great show. Thank you! - Lise (aged 42) and It was the best show ever! - Benjamin, (aged 7​)

~ We really enjoyed Aesop's Fables - we liked the race! - David, Marion, Lucas & Charlie

~ It was brilliant. Thank you all! - Anonymous

~ Awesome! Loved the singing :-) and the biscuits - James


                                                              UNBROKEN

~ Great festival to attend! I really hope it gets bigger each year, as it's important for mental health issues to receive more publicity and for the organisers to receive more recognition - they really deserve it. Privilege to have been screened here! - Robert Oliver, Director (Shortlisted 2018)
 
~ Wonderful to have the opportunity to have Service Users demonstrate the impact of the Arts in their expression of themselves.  Well done on an amazing event. - Val Farmer, CEO Richmond Borough MIND
 
~ Fantastic opportunity to understand how creative writing can help people.  Wonderfully organised by Emma. [A] warm and friendly space to encourage discussion. - Anonymous Attendee at The Healing Power of Writing.

~ Thank you for all your incredible hard work making UNBROKEN such a successful, inclusive and important festival.  I know everyone involved really grew from it and we were thrilled to be part of it, both on stage and on the panels. - Ali Taylor, Playwright & Panellist

~ A truly inspiring evening and so well acted, written and presented.  As someone whose life has been affected by mental health issues, I was moved by all the pieces.  Well done and thank you. - Anonymous

~ This was a truly great performance.  Please continue.  Drama and theatre help people understand their 'real life'.  I am looking forward to next year! - Grace N

~ An important topic, ripe for discussion... Important work - please carry it on. - Anonymous

~ A massive thank you for putting together UNBROKEN last night!  It really was a wonderful festival and got everyone talking about mental health, something I am incredibly grateful for. - M L Berger, Festival Artist


ROBIN HOOD


~ Emma King-Farlow's promenade production of Robin Hood was an outstanding summer event at the London Wetland Centre.  ...Using the Centre's outdoor locations to the hilt, Robin and his merry men (and women) impressed with expert sword fighting, breathtaking derring-do and an unexpectedly moving climax.
      ...Congratulations to Emma on an adventurous and spectacular production. - Robin Eastwood in Prospect
 
~ The programme notes describe this production as “immersive”, and it's certainly that. The audience literally follow the action as it moves from one part of the nature reserve to another. We get a wedding, spectacularly-staged sword fights, romance, death and music and songs, all skilfully staged to make the most of the spectacular outdoor setting. ...Robin Hood is family entertainment at its best. There’s something for everyone. The four people I went with (two adults and two young children) all thoroughly enjoyed it. I did too. On this evidence, Shadow Road Productions is a company with a very bright future. - Roger Pettit

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

~ An exciting and ambitious production... The Director, Emma King-Farlow, did an incredible job of using the unique location to enhance the production which was powerful and very moving. - Barnes in Common



DREAMS FROM THE PIT

~ It was an awe-inspiring evening... A brilliant script with the perfect blend of humour, pathos and meaning. It was very thought-provoking and you hit all the notes exactly. ...Will you be able to take it forward? Many more need to see it. - Lieutenant General Sir A.D.S.

~ What a huge and enjoyable success last night was, brilliantly written and performed and directed. ...everyone was buzzing afterwards with praise. A difficult subject to address, but done with sensitivity and humour. - F.S.

~ I firmly believe that 'Dreams From The Pit' should go places now. The play is simply too powerful for only one show a year. - Jake Wood (TA Veteran, PTSD sufferer & author)

~ ...What a thought-provoking piece of work. I was very much more enlightened after than before, although I was aware of the awfulness of combat stress. - S.G.A.

~ Thank you for a good night ... Was hard for me to sit and watch some of it as it was a mirror of my life but was glad to see so many people there supporting this worth while charity! Thanks again. - P.P. (ex-military, PTSD sufferer)

~ What a wonderful play! I found it both moving and thought provoking. The second part was even stronger than the first. - O.D.W.
~ It was a memorable theatrical experience though it was very 'difficult' to sit through. The result is very true to barrack life as I knew it.  Congratulations on the evening and writing a true record of the damage to our troops in combat. - W.M. (ex-Army)

~ A very impressive evening, moving and not at all sentimental, and hopefully it will help those affected now and in the future. - D.J.

~ Emma King-Farlow's direction is to be commended for its lightness of touch. She's unafraid to allow the actors to tell the story without lots of unnecessary movement - and the stillness she creates benefits the writing and performances. - Entertainment Focus

~ Direction by Emma King-Farlow is sensitive and progressive; each piece is gradually built up with varying levels of tension leaving the audience eager to know what happens next. - What's Peen Seen

~ Director Emma King-Farlow has worked with the writer's adaptations of his own three short stories to get plenty of theatre into the texts. - broadwayworld.com

~ This powerful and original production written by Martin Foreman and directed by Emma King-Farlow has brought something entirely new to the table. - thegayuk

~ King-Farlow directs with a light touch and places the focus on the performances. - British Theatre Guide


MURDER IN MILAN 
(Feedback from a number of diners at our first murder mystery dinner!)
~ It was a fabulous evening, such fun and so very well carried off by all the cast... Very professional. It also brought all the diners together, chatting and trying to work out who dunnit which was nice. The food was excellent too. Congratulations to everyone! 

~ What a great evening! It was very well executed I thought and the perfect balance of food and drama. ...Great restaurant too!
~ A great success and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely... The actors were very good indeed and managed to ad-lib all sorts of believable answers... The food was absolutely divine...the service was superb and fitted in well with the actors and their execution of the plot. I do hope you will run another such evening. Please thank all the cast.

~ Good fun and kept us all guessing right to the end! It was so well acted...a very good dinner too and a convivial atmosphere.
~ A fantastic evening. Well done! We were seriously impressed with [the] organisational skills...and acting!

~ Congratulations and thank you for a wonderful evening!

~ Murder in Milan was a stellar evening!

 DIAMOND DAYS
(Commissioned by & performed for the Barnes Literary Society)
~ A wonderfully patriotic and jubilant evening! - Five stars *****Remotegoat

~ Wonderful entertainment - thanks to all concerned - BLS Member

~ Diamond Days was very enjoyable and very well directed and acted! - BLS Member

~ Brilliant production, fantastic actors! - BLS Member

~ Brilliantly executed in terms of presentation and acting talent. - BLS Member

~ We were treated to a most  professional and entertaining show last night and it was due to the attractive and inclusive nature of the actors that their audience did indeed join in with gusto! - BLS Member

 WARRIORS
~ Yesterday evening was profoundly moving for all of us who watched.  We thought people who missed it, really missed something very well worth seeing.  A big thank you to all of you, and we look forward to the next time. - Fiona S, Audience Member

~ I just wanted to say how much Chris and I enjoyed yet another wonderful and moving performance by Shadow Road Productions.  We are so very fortunate in Barnes to have such exceptional local talent. - Lucy H, Shadow Road Supporter
~ Kipling's Tommy is my favourite piece of war poetry and the boys' interpretation was the best version I have ever heard. Finally someone actually got the point.  Well done. - M.H., Audience Member

~ A massive well done for putting on such a great evening.  I couldn't fault it!  As we left all I could hear was people saying 'Wasn't that marvellous' and 'That was excellent'.  So, a triumph!  Well done again to you and all involved with Sunday. - Annie C, Audience Member
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