CUCHULAINN
NOV 1995

"The performance staged against John Leslie's striking set, all blood red and black, is a combination of music, song, dance and drama a marked departure for the Portstewart company. A rousing soundtrack rallies the performers to some splendid moments most memorably a ferocious hurley match, and the awesome sight of Cuchulainn defeating the warriors of Connaught, through Jools Beech's accomplished choreography A highly entertaining and visually thrilling show which sets Big Telly off on a different course for the future."
Grania McFadden, Belfast Telegraph, November 1995

"There were breathtaking moments when the dancers ceased to move, except for their hands, as they knelt in a semi-circle and beat out with sticks the calls to battle, to revenge, to mourn. These same sticks transformed into cudgels of war as the action climaxed in a battle and then subsided to the slow dance of mourning and death. The great moments of the ancient tragedy were realised in perfectly judged harmony of movement."
Ray Rosenfield, The Stage, December 1995

"Of the three large productions in the Festival's first week of theatre, Big Telly's production of Cuchulainn proved to be the most inventive and energetic. Zoë Seaton's direction and John Leslie's soundtrack phrase the physical performances of the cast with deft directorial and musical flourishes, propelling the narrative forward and enabling the actors to infuse it with a startling emotional urgency."
Jocelyn Clarke, The Sunday Tribune, November 1995

"...the tale is told in a fusion of styles that combines dance and comedy with solid dramatic underpinnings to a soundtrack that ranges from the traditional ballad to heavy metal. It is precisely the kind of gritty, modern adaptation of Celtic themes that is well worth fighting through the traffic to see."
Robin Greer, News Letter, November 1995