Spitfire Comedy review.
Reviews as Actor/Writer/Director
Pub, Union Theatre, Director Jacqui Sommerville
“Stuart Draper is excellent as the uptight, pistol-wielding George.”
Emma Whitelaw, Indielondon
”Stuart Draper stands out as a middle-aged geek called George.” Sarah Monaghan, Theatreworld Internet Magazine
”Outstanding performance by Stuart Draper as George.” Sandi Toksvig, LBC 97.3 FM
“This (includes) a largely amusing pub quiz skit by Matthew Wilkie featuring Stuart Draper as sad-sack George, who has unwisely bet a grand that his team win on the very night it disintegrates all together. One to watch for.’ Time Out
Two Gentlemen of Verona, Greenwich Playhouse
Director/Adaptor/Actor
“Pretty irresistible.” Time Out
“This really was a director’s production and the twist he gave to the final scene was creativity of the highest order.” Kentish Times
“Stuart Draper’s production of Two Gentlemen of Verona is exactly the type of production that should turn everyone who dislikes the Bard into an instant convert” The Kentish Times
Time Out
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Greenwich Playhouse
Director/Adaptor/Actor
“Stuart Draper’s production has all the vim of a successful summer promenade show. Rather than ending with the standard comic mangling of Pyramus and Thisbe, Draper gives us a brutal edit of Romeo and Juliet, that other story of star-crossed lovers, written about the same time as Dream. Where we expect buffoonery, we get a short sharp shock of real tragedy that hits the onlooking artistocrats, and us, right where it hurts.” Time Out
“Extracts every drop of comedy from the text, and then pours in a little extra.” News Shopper
“As recommendations go, this one from thisislocallondon.com is pretty strong, if not a little unusual: ‘Melmoth Theatre Company is currently showing its unique version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Greenwich, after pulling off Two Gentlemen of Verona last year.’ Well Melmoth do stage provocatively gay theatre, though any one who saw the genius version of Two Gentlemen of Verona last year may debate that it was as explicit as that suggests. The current show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, at the Greenwich Playhouse, subverts the original and comes packed with a killer climax, but also has the flair and style you’d expect from top quality Shakespeare. In this version, it’s Hermia and Helena who are forbidden to marry, while Lysander is in lurve with Demetrius. A must see.” BOYZ, London.
“The original plot and dialogue migrate to this new adaptation with effortless creativity” Kentish Times
“It’s quite a risk rejigging such an established play yet in this case, Draper really pulls it off. Fresh, funny and fiercely recommended.” Theatreworld Magazine
To WH, Hobgoblin Pub Theatre
Writer/Actor
“A hilarious and bawdy take on the love story between William Shakespeare and WH.” Time Out
“That the actor has an uncanny sense of comedic timing is immediately apparent. Draper, a.k.a. Shakespeare, is able to generate laughs with, seemingly, a minimum amount of effort. At one point, the actor inspires generous guffaws with mentions of the Guardian, lamenting the absence of the big guns with “who would come to the Hobgoblin on a Thursday night?” The theme of sexual identity and the bawdy humour mirror the plot of one of Shakespeare’s own plays. Behind the schoolboy humour hides a love story.” Kentish Times
The show plays on the rumours about Shakespeare not writing his own plays. William Herbert, it claims, wrote classics including As You Like It, which started off as Whatever. The enduring popularity of the bard is also joked about when he says: “The day my work is studied in the classroom is the day my work dies.” The theme of sexual identity and the bawdy humour mirror the plot of one of Shakespeare’s own plays. Behind the schoolboy humour, hides a love story and you get an idea of the difficulties of having a homosexual relationship in the 16th Century. The play manages to be funny, challenging but also touching. Above all, though, it is an original and hilarious look at Shakespeare’s life and loves. Helen Backway, NewsShopper
“The play manages to be funny, challenging but also touching. Above all, though, it is an original and hilarious look at Shakespeare’s life and loves.” News Shopper
Draper plays Shakespeare with gusto, delighting in the fact that, like the bard, what’s the point if the playwright doesn’t give himself the best parts? Alongside his clowning and wit, he shows the loneliness and despair to give a rounded character – and that’s not just his belly. Luke Leeves is just handsome enough to pass as perfection in the poet’s eyes. He balances the throwaway humour with disarmingly honest confrontations, totally convincing in both contemporary scenes and those from the plays. The staging used the space well, coming out into the audience and into the foyer. The actors managed scene changes well with a minimum of fuss. Costume was economically used -several gorgeous outfits seen briefly over basic jeans and ‘actor shirts’. By the way, it’s funny! We see teasing affection excellently played through complex relationships, ambition, desire and disappointment. Draper says the plot is too contrived to be accepted on stage. True, it may not all be Shakespeare, but it’s life. Derek Benfield UKTW
Stay With Me, Union Theatre
Writer, co-Director
“Stuart Draper gave us two quite differently styled pieces with a linking theme, and both sections invoked a strong emotional response in the audience. Good writing can take us from one emotion to another in the blink of an eye, and this delivered in spades.” Backstage
“Stuart Draper’s Stay With Me left me close to tears in the nicest possible way. No offence to youth theatres – but when you go to see a play performed by young people you often lower your expectations. Draper’s writing perfectly captures the sad innocence of children living in a concentration camp. The interconnection of the two plays was a spine-chilling reminder of what war can do to the lives of young people caught up in it. This heart-warming play was a pleasure to watch and is a fantastic example of excellent writing nestled alongside show-stopping performances.” Time Out
“Stuart Draper gave us two quite differently styled pieces with a linking theme, and both sections invoked a strong emotional response in the audience. Good writing can take us from one emotion to another in the blink of an eye, and this delivered in spades.” Backstage
Paper Moons, Union Theatre
Writer, co-Director
Draper neither stands over nor sentimentalises any of his characters, allowing this heartfelt depiction of teenage angst to entertain, but also to touch. Time Out
Hot Mikado, SLT
Actor
In a good cast, Stuart Draper shone brightest as the Lord High Executioner Ko-Ko, a blustering, avaricious coward in a pink suit who would have given Rik Mayall Alexi Sayle a run for their money in the comedy stakes.” Bexley Times