Audience reviews

If you’d like to comment or feedback on one of our productions please do email us at comments@mettatheatre.co.uk

Monkey & Crocodile | work-in-progress showing at Riverside Studios 2012

‘Charming, inventive and brave.’ Sue Buckmaster, Artistic Director of Theatre-Rites.

‘Lovely story, very interestingly told.’

‘It had a lovely feel to it – friendly, fun, charming.’

‘It was really awesome. I loved the use of the circus in making the monkey and creating the crocodile in different ways, and I thought the tone was accessible and fun and warm… really fun for kids. How awesome!’

‘Bold, charming, formally innovative, totally unique. Love to see it finished.’

Sexing The Cherry | Jacksons Lane 2011

‘Really loved it. I’ve read the book, but your show was much better.’

‘Amazing. Incredible. I loved it.’

‘I was enthralled.’

‘The music was beautiful and I found moments very moving and visually stunning.’

‘Beautiful…lingers in the mind.’

So magical…breathtaking…lovely, lovely, lovely.’

The Man With the Flower in His Mouth | Greenwich Theatre/Site-specific | 2010

‘the best piece of theatre that I’ve seen this year. Totally absorbing and staged in a surprising and appealing setting, it really had me from start to finish, an intensely watchable and rewarding experience. I applaud the actors, director & producer responsible for this exceptional piece.’

‘It was very effective and realistic. I felt I was involved in the piece.’

‘It was brill. Really good, felt part of the drama.’

‘It was good, it was like watching a film but being on the set watching.’

12 Dancing Princesses | V&A | 2010

‘Lovely, beautiful beautiful beautiful. I enjoyed it very much. Really cool.’

‘Reminded me of the 60s! More please!’

‘It was fun to experience live art in such confined spaces. I love the live art illustrations!’

‘Lovely music – very atmospheric.’

‘A visual sensuous delight. The fragility of the pieces within the secretive yet industrial setting was beautiful. Totally marvellous, thought-provoking & sensitive.’

‘An engaging and imaginative telling of an abstract story. The three elements of live performance worked beautifully – beautiful artwork, atmospheric violin playing and compelling physical performance – an utter delight!’

‘I enjoyed the spatial complexity and the different scenarios that were taking place in close proximity…they were different streets in an upward spiralling city.’

‘I liked the jewellery boxes and the small alcoves, and the sound of the violin throughout. I felt like a character in the story.’

‘A wonderfully fresh and intelligent approach to enhancing and expanding the nature of installations. The spaces are given new dimensions by sound and movement that draw the eye and the heart. Excellent.’

‘Very impressed by the quality of the piece and the skill of the performers. The physical theatre was very impressive & I thoroughly enjoyed the interactive elements.’

Journey of the Magi | Little Angel Theatre | 2010

‘Great singing…a surprising and inspiring evening’,

‘…very genuine, good singers… it is great!’

‘Nicely done puppetry on the OHP’

Blood Wedding | Southwark Playhouse | 2009

‘Stonking script – was completely entranced.’

‘This was a terrifically powerful performance. Thank you for a very special experience.’

‘The play was fantastic, utterly moving’

‘An incredible and unique experience. Amazing!’

‘My hairs haven’t stopped standing on end.’

‘What you’ve done here is genius! Clever & powerful!’

‘Thrilling to the end – well done all!’

‘That was fantastic! Thank you…Standing ovation. What voices!’

‘Mind-blowing. Grief from the heart. Thank you.’

‘Fantastic performances by everyone – especially the 3rd act was breathtaking!’

‘Brought tears to my eyes. Amazing and so relevant.’

‘It was authentic, mind-blowing and very real.’

‘If only Lorca himself was here to see this, “Perfecto” would be his words. Well done.’

Just So | Trafalgar Studios | 2008

‘You should really take your show elsewhere. It’s really good and I’m sure it would be really good for kids (school) to see it as it’s a mix of most of the arts.’

‘Music was great. Dancing was great. Singing was great. Improvisation was great.’

‘Loved the interaction with the audience and very relaxed atmosphere.’

‘Loved the bird and the elephant – beautifully executed.’

reviews

2012

Arab Nights | Soho Theatre & UK Tour

‘exquisite…impressive… the physical wit and economical elegance carry you on into empathy, beyond the daily horror of the headlines.’
**** Libby Purves in The Times

‘Visually inventive… immensely striking… Poppy Burton-Morgan’s production skilfully uses everything from puppetry to hi tech’
Michael Billington in The Guardian

‘an exceptional melding of myth and modern protest…Arab Nights is an unequivocal achievement. With its exciting treatment of current events, its ingenious use of The Arabian Nights’ original qualities and its beautiful acting, it offers an experience at once magical and profound.’
Spoonfed

2011/10

The Man With the Flower in His Mouth | Greenwich Theatre/The London Particular

‘this delightful production is another reminder that this is a company to watch….captivating, dangerously spontaneous, and infectious with energy…Weafer and Collings breathe life into every snatch of text, thanks in part to the rich yet subtle symbolic vocabulary of gesture created under Burton-Morgan’s direction.’
Kate Maltby in The Spectator

‘Samuel Collings possesses the intensity and charisma to grasp the audience from his first moments, and with the aid of Burton-Morgan’s appropriately detailed direction, he gives a performance in which his slightest movement is filled with interest and import…with stunning performances and a setting which blends convincing immersion with a disjunctive theatricality, it’s an enthralling hour in New Cross.’
**** Stewart Pringle in Whats On Stage

‘quietly exhilarating…The intimate proximity to the action, worked to create a wonderfully immersive experience… talented performances and experienced directing – a wonderful achievement.’
Carmen Nasr for Extra Extra

Otieno | Southwark Playhouse

‘thrilling immediacy… exciting. Directed with verve…Burton-Morgan’s staging immediately establishes hair-trigger tension and a disturbing sense that horrific violence has become routine… this is a highly effective, imaginative response to the classical play that both grips and stirs.’
**** Sam Marlowe in The Times

‘Designer William Reynolds has put together a deceptively simple set… but it’s the use of torches – the visual equivalent of the flashes of humour in Georges’s script – that really heightens the tension…this is an astute demonstration of the ugly truth that nothing is fair in love or war.’
**** Nina Caplan in Time Out (Critics’ Choice)

‘For anyone who doubts that a modern rewriting of a Shakespearean tragedy can pack the emotional and intellectual punch of its antecedent, this is the one to change your mind… Racism, betrayal, violence and destruction of body and mind are writ large but played with subtlety and authenticity. Director Poppy Burton-Morgan uses this cracking cast to great effect. The direction is smart and slick, playing with light and shadow to increase the dramatic tension.’
Katty Pearce in Fringe Review

‘The whole piece, tightly directed by Poppy Burton-Morgan for Metta Theatre is fast-paced in its minimalist staging, clever use of torches and darkness and efficient controlled explosions…exciting, moving and a compelling theatrical experience.’
Church Times

‘sublime…Using a minimalist setting Poppy Burton-Morgan as director has created a powerful, believable tale of love, power and revenge. The use of minimalist lighting was ingenious… Shakespeare, I think, would have been delighted.’
Susan Rogers in Southwark News

Waiting | Southbank Centre

‘…a haunting Verbatim exploration…the beautiful singing of Anna Dennis and Carole Wilson each telling further tales of womanly woe, both models of clarity as well as musical beauty. Waiting should be compulsory viewing for the politicians who have the power to invoke change.’
Philip Fisher in British Theatre Guide

‘perfect staging…absolutely superb…this must be seen!’
Vanessa Redgrave

‘…hauntingly effective. The portrayal by Simone James of Alexia, a Senegalese refugee, was as majestic and poignant as Juliet Stevenson’s portrayal of Sabah, Jamil el-Banna’s wife, was slowly intense.’
Harmit Athwal in Institute of Race Relations

2009

Blood Wedding | Southwark Playhouse

‘The whole set-up is terrifically relaxing… It’s all spirited and hugely likeable, particularly a number of blood-chillingly beautiful laments that contrast elegantly with the joyful wedding songs.’
Time Out

‘the hard-working cast (doubling up on roles and providing the music) imbue Lorca’s lines with an impressively casual chattiness; and the perplexing, surreal third act is helped by resonances of Caribbean folk tales… strong performances make this a relevant and powerful production.’
**** Siobhan Murphy in Metro

‘Strong Performances and a lively use of the audience add a visceral power to Poppy Burton-Morgan’s Caribbean-British production of Lorca’s sybolist family tragedy.’
**** Metro, Critic’s Choice

‘a text pared down to its passionate, primeval core, connects the violence of the play and its context with contemporary Britain…Director Poppy Burton-Morgan transports the action from rural Spain to a Caribbean black community and in doing so makes the tragedy compelling and immediate.’
Barbara Lewis in The Stage

‘being part of the celebrations makes it impossible not to feel engaged when it all falls apart… strong performances throughout.’
David Trennery in Arts Hub

‘Their energetic, imaginative show captures the symbolism of the original without pretension or at the expense of emotional truth…haunting and unforgettable… Metta Theatre certainly know how to capture and keep an audience’.
Katty Pearce in Fringe Review

2008

The Elephant’s Child & Just So | Trafalgar Studios

‘Jessica Dannheisser’s score is whimsical and playful… This is an intelligent, charming and endearingly rough-and-tumble bit of storytelling.’
Stephe Harrop in londontheatreblog.co.uk

The Elephant’s Child | Arcola Theatre

‘…a production bubbling with creative energy. Metta’s strength lies in director Poppy Burton-Morgan’s eye for the most striking of visual games. But children will be entranced most of all by the lilting soprano of Rebecca Lea, as the eponymous small elephant.’
Kate Maltby in newcultureforum.org.uk

‘The Elephants Child proved to be a delightful adaptation of Kipling’s classic fable, combining dance, song, puppetry and story telling into an effective drama to entrance both young and old.’
Serena Fenwick in musicalpointers.co.uk

La Voix Humaine/La Livre Blanc | Riverside Studios

‘It is quite beautifully sung by Rebecca Lea… A solo piece which is extremely demanding on the performer with three-quarters of an hour of high emotion she had no recourse to obvious histrionics but maintained an intensity of feeling that held the audience…I found the puppets most effective.’
Howard Loxton in British Theatre Guide

2007

Hamlet – A Retelling | White Bear Theatre

‘It is strong, steady and keeps you inside the story throughout…her all female cast give the play softness and fluidity…’
Lalayn Baluch in The Stage

‘It was the sweet and imaginative details that brought it alive.’
Zia Trench in British Theatre Guide

‘This is a beautiful and bold production, full of wonderful detail…one of the best Hamlets I’ve seen in thirty years of theatre-going.’
John Weybridge in thisislondon.co.uk

Hidden Light | Barons Court Theatre & Oxford Playhouse

‘A simple, intelligent production…It is a subtle, elegant performance… genuinely moving.’
Natasha Tripney in The Stage

‘The most impressive performance I have seen here in seventeen years.’
Ron Philips, Artistic Director of the Barons Court Theatre

‘The play manages to present scientific thought and principle in an engaging way by having such an absorbing and convincing character. Emilie seems both of her time and modern…The staging was sparse and simple and the actress‘s movements were limited, which made the skill with which she captivated the audience all the more impressive.’
Hannah Watson in Daily Info

‘One of the best things I’ve ever seen on the London Fringe.’
Kathy Manners in thisislondon.co.uk

2006

The Birds | Merton Chapel
Metta Theatre are to be congratulated for their innovation and courage in mounting this witty and challenging piece of music theatre…interesting and accessible…the production was outstanding. In terms of the vocal performances, they were all excellent.’
Simon Tavener in Daily Info