The History Boys: reviews

The History Boys was a resounding success - both artistic and financial. The show was an almost total sell-out, and the feedback from our audiences on social media was wonderful.

Here are some reactions from Facebook:

"Outstanding performance last night by all the cast. A wonderful evening of entertainment, thank you." Kathryn W

"Top marks all round! Wonderful play about the quality of humanity and its transforming role in education. So many good things it's unfair to pick one name, but I have to say that David White as Hector, the teacher who all teenagers deserve, brings perfectly-judged sympathy, humour and understated wisdom to this key role. And the boys? They are a class of all the talents. Thank you Michelle Montague (director) for an evening to remember." David N

"Well done Michelle and all, a great production." Kirsten R

"I had very high hopes for the production of The History Boys at Sewell Barn this evening with Charlie Skinner and David Nicholas Green and I was not disappointed. All those who know me, know how critical I am when it comes to the theatre and how high my standards are, so when I say that it was like watching a professional company I mean it. Congratulations to the director as the brilliant yet demanding script and the space available must have made the task challenging but I can say ,with ease, that the direction appeared faultless and creative. The whole cast played their characters with excellent timing, depth and subtlety. I especially admired the seamless and creative scene changes. A thoughtful, funny and heartfelt performance of a brilliant play and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Congratulations to all involved xxx" Laura W

"Absolutely brilliant production of The History Boys last night. Really believed the boys were in class together for many years! Excellent." Barnaby M

"What an amazing show... everything about it... lost for words... so much to take in that I may have to go back again next week. Massive congratulations to everyone involved." Ruth H

"Congratulations to all of you in the cast. A fantastic performance which captured the poignancy, power and humour of Alan Bennett's great play. You brought 80s Yorkshire (and beyond) to life superbly. Loved it." John B

"Incredible professional performances all round, well done to everyone." Matthew D

"Great opening night! Congratulations to the whole company, you have a brilliant show xxx" Rachel L

"Went to see a wonderful, thought provoking production of The History Boys at Sewell Barn tonight. Huge congratulations to Miche Montague and her team. This was a marvellous, creative and absorbing interpretation. I loved the songs too! Pass it on, pass it on and go see it while you can!" Clare W

"The History Boys at the Sewell Barn was bloody brilliant! Well done to David Nicholas Green, Charlie Skinner, and everyone else involved!" Victoria P

"Congratulations to the cast and crew of History Boys. Went to see the show last night and it is both a credit and testament to the work of Miche Montague. Not just on this production, not just her work at Sewell Barn, but her work in the wider Norwich drama community. The sheer strength and ability of the boys in this production (all of whom have come through the ranks at the Theatre Royal under Miche's teaching and mentorship) is a delight. I'm sure they would have given the boys in the original professional production a run for their money. This isn't intended as a review but I feel I have to call out two exceptional performances: Luke McCulloch (Posner) and Joe Darbyshire (Dakin) pulled out performances way beyond their years. I'm sure both have a very bright future in the profession. Luke's natural ability and timing is a rare, innate, talent (possibly a future stand up comedian?) and Joe's brooding stage presence clearly demonstrates that he has "it". This is not to denigrate any of the other performances. this was a show that relied on the ability of a strong ensemble performance. And they all delivered in spades... An absolute credit to Sewell Barn. Well done." Nick M

Elsewhere online, we've had a lovely review from Deborah at Outline; you can read the whole article here. "A well produced and very enjoyable version of this play."

and Twitter:

" 'History is just one thing after another' but History Boys is one great scene after another. Catch it @sewellbarn a must-see" @jbultitude

"Saw @LukeMcCulloch as Posner in #TheHistoryBoys @sewellbarn lst night. What a fantastic performance! So very proud." @theactorsclass

Brimstone & Treacle: reviews

Photography: Sean Owen of Reflective Arts

From the very first performance, we have been delighted with the positive feedback on our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

"Sometimes the Sewell Barn offers up a production or a performance that is outstanding, even stellar. Personally, for me it has happened on two occasions: the chilling production of Festen, a couple of years ago, and Joe Wills Derbyshire as Caligula, last season, will always stand out in my memory, and last night I saw a production and performances that rank with those two.

Brimstone and Treacle, superbly directed by Jen Dewsbury, and featuring riveting performances by the cast, will long remain in my memory. Jonathan Massey was diabolically intense as Martin, and was admirably matched by the gentle, trusting, hopeful persona portrayed by Abbe Swain as Mrs Bates. These two commanded one's attention throughout the play. Sabrina Diane Poole performed the difficult role of the catatonic daughter with sympathy and intensity, and Stewart Thompson .showed us the dark politically loathsome side of Tom Bates well. A fantastic, uncomfortable , and perversely enjoyable event. Congratulations to you all."

"Go and see Brimstone & Treacle - strange and unsettling, brilliantly acted!"

"Amazing first night. Well done to all involved."

"Congratulations to @sewellbarn for a great opening night of Brimstone and Treacle. Powerful performances and excellent direction. Well done!"

"Really powerful production of Brimstone and Treacle at @sewellbarn tonight. Strong, committed cast - @JPPMassey and @Sabz_101 outstanding!"

"Brimstone and Treacle...amazing, horrifying, funny, sad. Don't miss it, well done to all the cast and crew you were brilliant."

"WOW - all of the above and more, well done to all!"

"Superb production of "Brimstone and Treacle" tonight. Sabrina Poole was outstanding as Pattie. A great theatre experience."

"Excellent production as always, superb ambiance, superlative acting, great set..."

"Brimstone and Treacle. Sewell Barn. Awesome. You watch a play and you wish you were worthy of the words to describe the depth, the acting, the direction. It was, everything you could watch from such a hideous story."

"F*** me backwards! That was intense. If you haven't seen Brimstone &Treacle yet, get your ass off the sofa and go do it at Sewell Barn Theatre before the last show. Laughed! Cried! Wanted to get out of my seat with the sheer amount of angry. And....it turns out I work with one of the lovely, talented actors doing their amazing thing tonight. Seriously! Go see it before it's gone. Thank you muchly for the invite Wendy. It was awesome but I feel I need a bit of emotional recovery after that xD lol"

The Burial at Thebes: reviews

The first night is over, and we're thrilled to have received several overwhelmingly positive responses already this morning. The show plays tonight (14 May) and tomorrow, and then resumes Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21. Why not come along and see what all the fuss is about?

"I saw The Burial at Thebes tonight. It was a great production of a great play with a visceral translation by Seamus Heaney. Really good work by David Nicholas Green, his cast and creative team!"

"I want to pass on my praise for the burial at Thebes last night. The audience was scandalously small for such fine performances. Beautiful set and language. Very moving in places. Thanks to you all. I truly hope you get better audiences."

"Many congratulations on a stirring piece of theatre."

"This was one of the most amazing productions I have seen for a long time. It's so rare to get the opportunity to see a script such as this (Greek Tragedy) and then for it to be brought to life in such a capable way by David Green I couldn't have asked for more. The set design and "technique" with the sand (I won't give away spoilers, because you just HAVE to see it) was something I had never seen before. David had gathered together a very capable and strong cast who tackled long passages of script with ease and competently took us on a journey. A big well done to everyone involved, get and see this whilst you can."


"Just back from seeing this tonight ... We thought it was superb from the set, acting and directing. Well done all involved. 'It's a must see'."

And a very lovely review here:

"Ok folks, here's a tip for you : 

If you find yourself in need of a dark, thought-provoking, intense, tragic, dramatic, well-acted, imaginatively staged piece of theatre either tonight or tomorrow, I'd suggest you treat yourself and get yourself off to the Sewell Barn. Their current production of 'Burial at Thebes' has only two more days to run and is a quite captivating and entertaining , one-act play. (So it's quite short...)

Huge congratulations all round to the cast, crew and especially whoever designed the stage-set (apologies for the lack of names to drop here - I forgot to grab a programme!) which makes quite the most innovative use of the Barn's space I've seen since their production of 'Bedlam' a couple of years ago. 

Bravo! Outstanding!"

The Beauty Queen of Leenane: some lovely reviews

The show opened on Thursday 31 March and has been greeted by several generous and highly appreciative reviews already.

From Facebook:

"Saw a wonderful play at the Sewell Barn last night. Great performances. I mean great! Well done Gilly, Mandy, Christopher and Matt. Make an effort to see it. Great achievement by Team Montague! (The) Beauty Queen of Leenane. See it!"

"Please go and see this. Easily one of my favourite things I have seen at the Sewell Barn."

"Fantastic show, wonderful set, brilliant acting... don't miss it, congratulations to all involved."

From messages:

[to the Director]: "You clever, clever girl. It is a wonderful production, great set, wonderful cast, and seamless direction. 

Gilly was exceptionally good. She has such a presence on stage. Conniving, fearful, malicious and totally believable. I loved her! 

Mandy gave such a heartfelt performance. I so wanted it to end happily for her, but knew in my heart that it wouldn't. Please congratulate her for me.

Christopher Whitley, who is new to me, was lovely. I don't know if he is Irish, but he looked Irish. Soft, gentle and lovable. They would have been so happy!

Matt was funny and real, playing out of his comfort zone. A fine performance, Matt.

So, another winner Ms Montague, well done."

[to the Sewell Barn]: "Spot on performances last night, Sewell Barn company. Lovely use of the space too. We all enjoyed it very much. 3 peeps had never been to SB before but they will defo be back. They couldn't believe the fab standard of production. I was blasé "Oh it's always great here" and I wasn't telling porkies. Thanks SB for keeping really good theatre alive in Norwich."

From Twitter:

"Just seen The Beauty Queen of Leenane, again another amazing performance from @sewellbarn . Defiantly (sic!) recommend going to see."

And finally, a detailed and appreciative view from member Rob Fradley-Wilde:

"On a set so superb that, hours later, one seems to remember the smells of damp and peat smoke [and of course a certain other aroma], which weren't [I trust!] really present, four good actors gave us a grand interpretation of this not exactly profound but definitely rewarding and deservedly famous modern play.

Gill Tichborne's huge competence made a lovely meal of the selfish and cunning Mag, in strife against her disappointed daughter. Mag struck up in us a very happy though slightly horrified fondness, from the word 'go' – if I may put it that way. Maureen was played by Mandy Kiley with the consummate skill and, I want to say, a kind of fluidity, that enables this actress to so often completely become her character, and in this specific case, to play so believably with the movements of its fragile struggling mind. Another immaculate performance came from Christopher Whitley, very natural and true; what I shall always think of now as the ladder soliloquy moved everyone in the theatre. Indeed, I don't know if it has happened on other nights, but each of the play's scenes ended with spontaneous applause. Whitley's character might just have been a tiny bit too decent, bearing in mind the short time between the letter [definitely not imagined, as the railway station was] and his transatlantic engagement – though he was of course on a sort of rebound. The fourth cast member, Matt Rolls, convinced us admirably as the restless younger brother full of childish and provincial enmities, whose weakness precipitated the tragedies.

Irish accents varying from adequate to excellent; a really full house would have softened the accoustic and perhaps given some of the more dynamic passages a better precision to the ear. Nothing else at all to demur at. Ably and I think cleverly directed by Michelle Montague, this was one of those events where the definitions of amateur and professional overlap and blur into meaninglessness.
A few more performances still. Go if you can, for a very worthwhile and most enjoyable experience. [If for nothing else, it will gladden your heart to witness the strike to the vitals of the Health and Safety movement, delivered by that unsecured ladder and that unfenced platform!] Seriously, though - Thank you, everyone involved at the Sewell Barn, for such continuing excellence."

The Irish Guru

Martin McDonagh, the playwright of ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’ wished the cast a warm good luck for the upcoming production at Sewell Barn. 

Hi Chris, (Chris is the actor playing the role of Paddy, and somewhat of an Irish guru himself)

The monologue/letter definitely shouldn't be read - it should exist in some strange place between composing it and saying it to Maureen...

The spotlight thing - the director should ignore that completely, i didn't even remember it being there.

Good luck!

Martin xx

To see the production of one of McDonagh’s first plays bought to life, book your tickets for ‘The Beauty Queen of Lennane’ at Sewell Barn Theatre 31 March-2 April & 6-9 April at 7:30 pm Matinee 9 April at 2:30 pm.

Kimberly Biscuits - A Nation Divided

McDonagh’s play ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’ transports the audience to Emerald Isle, creating the sounds and tastes of Ireland. And what is an Irish home without some Kimberly biscuits in the tin? First made by Jacobs in 1893, and the name reputedly inspired after Rudyard Kipling’s novel “Kim”, the Kimberly is a confection which divides many. The sweet consist of two small brown round biscuits that are soft with a mild ginger flavouring, with a soft marshmallow filling between them, complete with a crust of sugar granules.  While some say they compare to cardboard in taste and texture, others would say they are the very finest biscuits to be produced in the whole of Ireland. 

To continue the debate (and to see an excellent dark comedy, which really is about more than just biscuits) book your tickets for ‘The Beauty Queen of Lennane’ at Sewell Barn Theatre  31 March-2 April & 6-9 April at 7:30 pm Matinee 9 April at 2:30 pm.

Check out the Facebook page for more information https://www.facebook.com/The-Beauty-Queen-Of-Leenane-555583941268220/?fref=ts

The Beauty Queen of Leenane Says Hello

On the tail of "The Go-Between", rehearsals are already underway for Sewell Barn’s newest play ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’. The first play ever written from acclaimed playwright Martin McDonagh, who went on to pen ‘The Lieutenant of Inishmore’ and the ‘Pillowman’, is a dark comedy depicting the dysfunctional relation between a spinster and her domineering mother. The wicked humour and twisted violence foreshadows McDonagh’s later works, which include screenplays ‘In Bruges’ and ‘Seven Psychopaths’. Of this razor-sharp mix of comedy and cruelty, so wittingly portrayed in The Beauty Queen, McDonagh says “I suppose I walk that line between comedy and cruelty because I think one illuminates the other. We're all cruel, aren't we? We are all extreme in one way or another at times and that's what drama, since the Greeks, has dealt with. I hope the overall view isn't just that though, or I've failed in my writing. There have to be moments when you glimpse something decent, something life-affirming even in the most twisted character. That's where the real art lies.”

The four local actors of the cast expertly bring this gem of a script to life, turning from the comic, the longing and the doolally at the drop of a hat, emoting laughter, tears or gasps of horror from a watching audience, as can only be expected from a McDonagh.