Reviews of Bakkhai in the UK press

Photo: Marc Brenner

“Whishaw, Carvel and Kevin Harvey all impress as they switch accents, genders and body language between their various roles. But the secret weapon at the heart of Bakkhai is its 10-strong all-female chorus, fully integrated into the action as they outline major plot points in extended set-piece numbers. Among the stand-out voices in this army of grinning Valkyries are Bulgarian-born folk singer Eugenia Georgieva, classical soprano Catherine May and RADA vocal coach Hazel Holder”. The Hollywood Reporter (read the full review here)

Photo: Marc Brenner

“The chorus of Bakkhai, who start off looking like Glastonbury trippers, are gradually transformed into wild women, wreathed in ivy and daubed in war paint, pounding the stage with their thyrsuses. They do glorious justice to Orlando Gough’s a capella music – ravishing beauty splintering into eerie dissonances and percussive animal yelps”. The Independent (read the full review here)

“The chorus sing more of their lines than they speak, and they sing moreover in those dissonant harmonies characteristic of northern Greek and Bulgarian folk music.” Financial Times (read the full review here)