“The full cast of performers is superb, peeling in and out of character’s skins, between voice, movement and singing. Dance is used to complete meanings, to explode emotions, to carry the narrative forward with heartbreaking empathy.”

*****

“It is clear from Ruination that Duke is nothing if not an iconoclast. His re-telling of Eurypides’ classic tale not only switches the events around but also adds a fresh and compelling viewpoint.”

*****

“It’s the Christmas present you never knew you needed.”

*****

“In this afterlife, memory is steeped in regret and oblivion may be a blessing. And Ruination is truly a festive show like no other.”

****

Paradise Lost is a work that leaves you stunned. It rattles along at a reckless pace, seeming to have no direction then hits the target with blinding accuracy. Afifi manages to slip betwixt and between the characters, juggling the humour and the deadly serious with great dexterity in a performance that, despite its low-key wrapping, is a tour de force.

There’s much to think about in this intense and intriguing performance.

****

“Duke has a theatre director’s instinct for clear communication, but a dancer’s deftness in the way he moves between moods, scenes and characters, music, text and movement; the deeply poignant deflected by a joke (such as an anachronistic quip about Medea teaching pilates). Dance is used to get inside a moment and expand it, making visible the forces of lust, power, attraction, obstruction, struggle and fate, like the gods working with or against mortals at their whim.”

*****

“It’s a rare treat to see a show that tickles your funnybone, messes with your head, breaks your heart then comes back to haunt your dreams. But Lost Dog’s fresh take on the myth of Medea is the real deal: a potent brew of dance, drama, music and glorious stage-scapes, with a GSOH to boot.”

*****