In the press.
Selected notices, in reverse chronological order, on the work of Mama Quilla Productions and Kay Adshead from 2000 to the present.
“A magnificent fantastical roar against a world in which half the population is excluded, ignored, derided, mistreated.”
“Given the horrific discovery of the remains of a working girl in Bradford, this play could not have been more timely. It exposes the hypocrisy and brutal indifference of the authorities towards prostitute women's lives.”
“Brilliantly acted by Mama Quilla, this deadly serious issue was served up with humour, compassion, and integrity as well as political insight. It elicited a robust debate about a sex worker being arrested and questioned because she was working with friends for safety. It was played at the Crossroads Women's Centre to a packed crowd, which included some of the featured sex workers. They were the first to applaud the realistic way the were portrayed.”
“Presenting political theatre for many years long before it became fashionable, expect to be put on the spot.”
“Disturbing power, a compelling vividness and a wicked wit… effective and compelling”
“Imaginative, fluent, funny and hideous ... a world in which the relationships between the characters are vicious and cannibalistic, and people are all so much meat.”
“Animal stands comparison with the finest of 20th-century plays. Adshead makes you want to take to the streets while you still can.”
“Provocative stuff given a brooding production by Lisa Goldman. There are bold, dreamlike images, memorably illustrating Adshead's vision of a state that tranquillises its own citizens rather than let them express their rage.”
“Adshead's angry, stripped-down script bleeds humanity. Words in Adshead's hands are bullets.”
“Lisa Goldman's production is agit-prop theatre at its best — detailed, urgent, compassionate and blessed with a deeply-felt performance from Dumezweni.”
“Kay Adshead's devastating, well-researched play lifts the lid on aspects of our immigration procedures … heart-wrenching without descending into sentimentality. Political theatre is alive again.”
“Thanks to Kay Adshead's beautifully deft script and Noma Dumezweni's breathtaking performance this terrifying story is always told with variety and versatility and even, on occasion, with humour.”
“Kay Adshead's angry stripped-down script bleeds humanity... Words in Adshead's hands are bullets”