STATE OF EMERGENCY - PRESS REVIEWS

METRO **** 4 STARS - Robert Shore

“In this British premiere, Maria Aberg directs a production of beautifully controlled intensity…”

“Naomi Dawson’s stage design could hardly be more claustrophobic.”

THE NEWS LINE

“Director Maria Aberg’s staging is brilliant.”

“Geraldine Alexander’s expressive face and body show her every emotion.”

“Jonathan Cullen’s performance is chillingly convincing.”

TIME OUT **** 4 STARS - Caroline McGinn

“The Gate Theatre is one of the smallest in London, but its sets often make a big impression.”

“Geraldine Alexander and Jonathan Cullen give terrifically uptight, mannered performances…”

“this is a commendably stylish and mentally unsettling production.”

http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/event/117763/State-of-Emergency.html

DAILY TELEGRAPH **** 4 STARS - Dominic Cavnedish

“an ingenious, bleakly comic satire on a chilling modern phenomenon.”

“In Maria Aberg’s perfectly judged production, an exquisite design by Naomi Dawson divides the auditorium length-wise.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/arts/2008/11/17/btcountry117.xml

SUNDAY TIMES *** 3 STARS - John Peter

“The cool, fierce but minimalist acting is exactly what he (Falk Richter) needs.”

REVIEWSGATE - 17 November 2008 - Timothy Ramsden

“a pattern of relationships whose psychological rhythms are perfectly caught in Maria Aberg’s suitably cool production.”

http://www.reviewsgate.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4260

ROGUES & VAGABONDS - Harriet Davis

“Naomi Dawson’s end-on set design works well. The actors are boxed into a stark rectangular room of reflected glass, while the audience look on from equally confied stalls. It’s a confrontational set-up, and one which reflects on the play’s voyeuristic themes. It almost works too well, because it makes the characters’ incessant bickering all the more inescapable.”

http://www.roguesandvagabonds.co.uk/cgi-bin/newslist.pl?bid=10994&num=1&farch=3&coinc=2&fkey=Theatre%20Review%20|

THE GUARDIAN *** 3 STARS - Lyn Gardner

“beautifully acted”

“…it is most powerful as a study of the way increasing affluence imprisons people as they seek to protect what they have from those who have nothing.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/nov/14/state-of-emergency-theatre-review

musicOMH **** 4 STARS - Sam Smith

“Both Geraldine Alexander and Jonathan Cullen delivered exactly what their parts demanded”

“it provided a unique insight into the reactions and ambivalent feelings towards the police state of three individuals who were intrinsically caught up in it. And, with its highly innovative staging, it did this in a powerful and memorable manner.”

http://www.musicomh.com/theatre/lon_state-of-emergency_1108.htm

FINANCIAL TIMES - Ian Shuttleworth

“The gate’s usual reinvention of its space for this UK premiere of Falk Richter’s play goes to new lengths.”

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8bb82d34-b0de-e11dd-8915-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1

THE STAGE - Emma Barnett

“the production, direction and enactment of this script which is of really high spec.”

“The set is inspired and the acting high quality.”

“It’s more of a window to a warped social scenario – but the quality of acting and production make this performance memorable.”

http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/22405/state-of-emergency

WHATSONSTAGE.COM - Theo Bosanquet

http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821226486349&title=State+of+Emergency

EVENING STANDARD **** 4 STARS- Fiona Mountford