Press and Audience Feedback
Here are press reviews for APPLES from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival:
Apples and its “superb young cast” win a Herald Angel Award
Scott Turnbull who plays Adam is described as the “stand out star” and is highlighted as an act to look out for by The Independent
“terrific performances and the raw, high octane poetry of the language give this show a real buzz” **** The Times
“Scott Turnbull and Therase Neve are charming as the pair of lost souls looking for each other” **** The Telegraph
“a combination of compelling performances and a lyrical evocation of adolescence make this one of the highlights of this year’s Fringe.” **** Fest Magazine
“an arresting and absorbing piece of theatre that no one should miss” ***** The Public Reviews
“an energetic production that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout” **** British Theatre Guide
“Retallack’s deftly orchestrated production…played with fresh-faced vim by his youthful cast” **** The Herald
“John Retallack’s neat, pacey production is performed with vigour and humour by an excellent young cast” The Independent
“Richard Milward’s Apples is an unflinching tale” *** Financial Times
“a modern Adam and Eve – touchingly played by Scott Turnbull and Therase Neve – surviving the nightclubs and parties to fight another day” *** Whats on Stage
Related articles:
“But there is one place where we are increasingly keen to see teenagers, or representations of them: on stage.” Lyn Gardner discusses the rise of the teenager at the Edinburgh Festival this year on the Guardian website.
“I think the actors have captured the spirit and depth of each character really well. They must have gone to school with people like this, and they channel them beautifully.” Fest Magazine talks to Richard Milward about Middlesbrough, his writing, and Apples.
Find out what the press thought of the show here:
“It’s a funny-sad, ugly-beautiful night out, nicely performed by its young cast and swirling with the sweaty, dirty poetry of everyday life.” **** The Guardian (Click here to read the full review)
“Raw, uncompromising dialogue is superbly delivered from the cast of six.” Middlesbrough Evening Gazette
“Director John Retallack has done a fine job of bringing this book to life on the stage, putting together a gritty portrait of Boro teenage lives with a daring but successful outcome.” Middlesbrough Evening Gazette
“Anyone wanting to understand – or, at any rate, to begin to understand – the pressures young people face in growing up at the bottom of society’s heap should see Apples.” British Theatre Guide
“moving, illuminating, superbly well done” British Theatre Guide
“a superb cast who totally inhabit their roles… They are a young cast too, all twenty somethings, which augurs well for the future of theatre in the North East.” British Theatre Guide
“Scenes from the book transfer well to stage – helped by atmospheric lighting, simple yet colourful design and pared-down acting.” thenorthernline.com
“Apples cocks an unflinching hard-stare at the sharp end of teenage life, and the play is edgy, exciting and quite brilliant.” thenorthernline.com
“The show is blessed by a cast who keep the energy high over the 90-minute production” Northern Echo
“graphic and shocking, and yet also genuinely funny” whatsonstage.com
And if you enjoyed the show, why not leave your own review below? Tell us what you thought of APPLES.
Is there any plans for more tour dates ?
Thanks,
Gerry.
Went to see Apples twice, and each time I thought it was fantastic. The Characters Adam and Eve were unreal! actually.. all of you were! can I just say the butterfly bit was genius!!!! Well done and I hope to see a lot more of you all on stage in the near future. xxxxx
I just saw ‘Apples’ at Newcastle Northern Stage with my performing arts class. I absolutely loved it and enjoyed everysingle minute of it the cast were brilliant and loved the references to Boro its made me want to try even harder in my class and be the best as I can be. It was good to see a lot of young people my age there laughing and enjoying themselves.
Well Done Guys you did us proud
xx
Saw the show at Northern Stage, Newcastle, on the 14/09/2010.
I could totally relate to the scene they set, (I was born in ‘boro) and the characters they portrayed.
I know the places well that the cast described, such as the Club Bongo International, having frequented that venue, and others like it, many times. It would be hard to come up with a more accurate snapshot of teenage life in the ‘boro in this ninety minutes of gritty reality fused with pathos and laugh out loud humour.
All the cast were great, but the portrayal of the typical ‘boro thug was frighteningly accurate.
Well done.
I saw the show at MFEST and thought it was Brilliant!!! One of the best shows I seen all weekend! Well Done to everyone involved!
Thanks for a really great night last Friday at Rosehill in Whitehaven. The theatre foyer had been transformed into the Adam & Eve Club by local teenagers and it really rocked. The play was excellent with stunning performances from the cast.
Bristol Old Vic – 30/06/10
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of plays/productions/performances and have never really had any interest in seeing them. I decided to attend as I was invitied to come and, having now been, can honestly say that was one of the best things I have seen for a very long time!
The acting was simply superb, full of life and belief. Emotions running so high you can literally picture yourself in the scene and same scenario. Highly professional and brilliantly co-ordinated, the imporvisation used with the set and characters added real depth to a down-to-earth story.
One thing I am glad of is the small, intimate setting for the audience. Although this would have easily sold out a much larger theatre, the intimacy of only a hundred or so of us made it all that much better, being so close you can literally reach out and touch the set.
Everyone involved should be very, very proud of their work. Thank you for a wonderful evening!
Bristol Old Vic 29/06/2010
Although I’m 50 something this is one of the best plays I’ve seen. I absolutely loved it. The whole cast were just brilliant and the ‘mix’ of teenage characters worked perfectly.
Having had four children (all a bit older now of course) I could relate perfectly to how all of the characters functioned.
The play encompassed just about all the emotions possible and whilst it was undeniably sad in many ways I was laughing at how daft they were at times which made the play so entertaining. The script was spell binding as was the way it was portrayed.
I would recommend this to anyone. I really don’t think this could have been done any better.
Just wanted to add my congratulations to the above – saw ‘Apples’ on Sat 26/6 at The Burton Taylor studio in Oxford and loved it. Thought all of the cast were excellent- they’ve obviously all got big futures ahead of them. Cheers.
Just as everyone else has said, it was a fantastic production! The cast were completely believable and it was a very touching story which was told with honesty.
Great adaptation, great script, performances and most of all the audience really gets something from it- what it is to be human and how difficult it is to discover yourself and your role in the world.
Thank you!!
A must see. truthful, honest, brave performances from all cast members, amazing energy, totally believable.Quality Theatre. Thank you.
Just got back from taking my Drama class to see Apples…it was brilliant, gritty, sad, shocking and wonderfully poetic all at once. The cast were amazing and kept the energy throughout the performance. Each member was so totally believable. I could watch this again and agin….BRILLIANT!
we all enjoyed and you were all brilliant peformance
it was sad when adam was geting bullyed my gary
i wish we could come to see it again
can u ask scott who play adam to write back to me and
he was good actor and i like when adam pick up eve.
Hiya Stacey,
Thankyou for your nice comments on the web-site. We are in Bristol at the moment and tomorrow we are going to Harrogate. Everyone in the cast is having a lovely time.
Hope you are well and thank you for coming to see the show.
All the best,
Scott, and the rest of the cast from apples x
Well done all at Northern Stage / Company of Angels. Saw the show last night at Warwick Arts Centre and loved it – it was a refreshing breath of fresh air and seemed to me (though I’m probably a bit old to really know) a really accurate portrayal of teens and their lives. Fairly horrific in places in places, but also very funny to. Overall completely engaging and the casting and script was spot on. Thanks everyone for a great night.
Outstanding show and cast, loved the comedy and drama and the odd quirky humour like the talking butterfly, he was great. Definately a must see show!
this really was an absololutley brilliant production. the best piece of theatre ive seen in a long time. the butterfly was a nice touch.
Went to see this production at the Empire last Thursday night and was totally impressed by the performances of the ‘Apples’ cast, they made us laugh and cry at the same time. The characters were so strong, believable and professional. The Empire was the perfect venue (seeing as some of the story was linked with the club). Spot on adaptation of the book ‘Apples’. Should become a screen play, would give ‘Shameless’ a run for its money! Keep up the great bittersweet writing Richard!
I am 60 years old, brought up on the outskirts of Middlesbrough and worked in professional theatre for many years.
I went to see “Apples” on Friday 4 June in The Empire and it was great! Brilliant to see a piece of theatre set in the local area – and good to be able to see it in the beautiful Empire.
Thanks to all concerned – and especially to Richard Milward for writing such a gritty but poetic novel.
I saw this at The Empire last night. I loved the book and wondered whether a stage production could do it justice but it was fantastic. If you can get to see it- go!!
It was a great night out, I cringed and pissed my self laughing hopefully in all the right places, A great adaptation an brought the book to life , but it was much funnier and for that better in my mind. The lad who played ‘Adam’ Scott Turnbull was out standing. The Only thing was the ‘Boro’ accents were close but just wide of the mark. As a fully paid up member of the ‘Beachwood and Easterside WMC’ I can tell you it was spot on in every other way. (How about 10 story love song next?)
Just seen ‘Apples’ at the Empire in Middlesbrough, it was absolutely FANTASTIC, gritty and sad in places, sometimes heartwarming, but mostly hilarious. The cast were all great and every character was a strong one. Thoroughly recommend it to everyone, great story and the Boro references were mad. Trying to get my husband to watch it tomorrow aswell, as it was that good! Miss at your PERIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!