Reviews
A GUIDE FOR THE HOMESICK
jason denvir’s claustrophobic hotel room is thick with remorse, fear and the human needs to take comfort in a strangers arms.
– attitude.co.uk –
jonathan o’boyle’s perfectly subtle and increasingly powerful production, on designer jason denvir’s liminal set, with its bed and television, symbols of both connection and distraction.
– london theatre guide –
set designer jason denvir and lighting designer nic farman have both made for a snug setting, though discomfort and claustrophobia.
– the upcoming –
jason denvir’s hotel room provides the anonymous, yet also intimate, setting for what proves to be a deep examination of masculinity, homosexuality, and how people repress things.
– whatsonstage –
jason denvir has recreated one of those low-budget hotel rooms that seems decorated to emphasise alienation and depression – as teddy jokingly remarks, it’s the “same shade of ugly”.
– the artsdesk –
aspects of love
Jason Denvir’s design, a wall of cornflower blue shutters, backlit in various shades of sunset, is sumptuous and rather gorgeous.
– the stage – ****
Jason Denvir’s flexible, charming slatted-door set design looks like an homage to Maria Björnson’s gorgeous original and, in tandem with Aaron J Dootson’s evocative lighting design, succeeds in whisking us around the various European locales – from Paris to Venice then Pau in the South of France- between the 1940s and 1960s.
A glamorous, captivating European antidote to a miserable London winter and with a sensational central performance, this is one to see.
– whatsonstage –
a magnificent production; now the shoe finally fits and ‘aspects’ is off to the ball.. a dappled pastel-infused shutter-encircled design from jason denvir conjuring warm nights of yearning and desire… some kind of alchemy has occurred. go and soak up the magic before it’s too late.
– whatsonstage –
ravishingly good revival… this stripped back production elevates the show into an unalloyed masterwork… the intimate performing space creates an almost suffocating intensity, perfectly in keeping with the passions and thwarted love being enacted onstage. jason denvir’s shutter-festooned set ably conjures up the bohemian playgrounds of paris and venice, a perfect backdrop to create a series of strikingly backlit tableaus, reaching their peak with the intoxicating tango that accompanies ‘hand me the wine and the dice’.
– the stage – *****
jason denvir has transformed the intimate setting with an expanse of shutter doors which are used to great effect as we glide through multiple cities bathed in atmospheric shafts of light… the sheer quality of this production breathes new life into lloyd webber’s work. slick, stylish and oozing with passion.
– opening night –
sunday in the park with george
jason denvir’s costuming goes a long way to creating firstly the illusion of Seurat’s 19th century Paris and then after the break, the cliched pretensions of New York’s modern art community.
-musical theatre reivew – Jonathan Baz* * * *
imaginary
pixar-esque with the 7ft tall Big Brenda, giving a performance that’s even bigger than his colossal outfit and wig (costume credit: Jason Denvir)
-musical theatre reivew – Jonathan Baz* * * * *
brass
jason denvir’s simply effective designs perfectly setting the scenes.
– musical theatre review – jonathan baz. ****
simple but terrifying designs by jason denvir … the stage language is striking, unsettling and constantly surprising… human individual stories being told in a world that seems to offer little in the way of personal comfort or shelter.
– british theatre.com review – julian eaves *****
THE THREE LITTLE PIGS
Jason Denvir’s brilliant set is transformed from three separate slides in the blink of an eye into three houses of straw, sticks and brick, the first two crumbling under the wolf’s huffing and puffing but Q’s more thoughtful brick edifice defying all his dastardly efforts. The set was almost the star turn for my grand-daughter who has now given up on “awesome” as the mot juste to express pleasure. These days the acting, singing, dancing, set and story are “epic” instead
Musical Theatre Review – Jeremy Chapman
Jason Denvir’s set comes into its own in the final act, when the three pigs’ houses are revealed. They’re rather sumptuous creations; one heaves with hay, another is made up of spindly sticks and the pièce de résistance, the brick house, comes complete with a smoking fireplace. The audience bursts into spontaneous applause.
The Guardian – Mirrian Gillinson
Jason Denvir has given The Three Little Pigs a look that is quite incredible. From the rotund pig outfits that exaggerate Ewan Jones fabulous dance routines to the set, which resembles a Van Gogh countryside keeps the look of the show interesting with tricks aplenty as the Wolf huffs and puffs.
Britishtheatre.com – Doug Mayo
He finds his way to the building site where the pigs, with the ingenious help of designer Jason Denvir, have erected structures of straw and sticks – with a Stomp-like percusssion number to set the mood – and the more durable brick bolthole that opens out spaciously, and colourfully, to accommodate the happy family reunion at the end.
Whatsonstage.com – Micheal Coveney
Jason Denvir’s ingenious designs have real charm. The big bad wolf is more interested in preening his vertiginous quiff than dismembering tender piglets clad as they are in capacious pink onesies
The Telegraph – Jane Shilling
There is no sign that Drewe (who also directs), designer Jason Denvir and choreographer Ewan Jones have been limited by staging the piece around the set of The Commitments, in situ at the Palace Theatre. Instead, the colourful, imaginative approach creates a narrative that flows effortlessly as Bar, Bee and Q learn that life is best when ‘families stick together’.
The Stage – Lisa Martland
Mother Pig and her three offspring are up-sized by wearing Jason Denvir’s clever half-body fat suits. Denvir is also responsible for the set which is simple but no less effective, and presumably had to be designed around that belonging to The Commitments.
Plays to See – Richard Voyce
Jason Denvir’s costume design is modern and fits the tone of the production perfectly.
Broadway World – Jenny Antill
Jason Denvir’s simple yet colourful design animates the piece, with effective costuming and a clever set design.
Public reviews – Scott Stait
MACK AND MABEL
“Jason Denvir’s evocative prop store set with moody shafts of light through smoke is a setting which makes full use of a dank vault beneath
London Bridge station that dares you to lift your spirits for too long.”
Attitude.co.uk
“The glorious staging with some of the highest production values a fringe show has surely ever seen”
The Evening Standard
“The Vault at Southwark Playhouse is the perfect space for a show which largely takes place in film studios and set & costume designer Jason Denvir and lighting designer Howard Hudson have done a great job creating the backstage world and the early 20th century period with a pile of props and machinery at the back which is brought forward and moved around to create many different scenes. The period costumes are excellent and the lighting is hugely atmospheric.”
garethjames.wordpress.com
“The intimate surroundings of the Vault studio of the Playhouse are the perfect setting for the production; Jason Denvir adorns the murky, cavernous stage area in the classic movie studio paraphernalia of the day; with the audience seated just inches away from the action, it is nigh- on impossible not to feel part of the process. A leak in the ceiling drips steadily onto the crude concrete floor; a Super 8mm film projector clinks and whirrs into action and the Vault is thrown into implausibly dramatic lighting (Howard Hudson) from the authentic-looking floor lamps; within moments I was rapt.”
CTStheatreblog
THIRD FLOOR
“Jason Denvir’s set design provides not only a brilliant platform for the drama but a space (aided by the intimate Trafalgar Studios 2) that genuinely feels as though it could be the cramped hallway of a new apartment block.”
British Theatre Guide
WOLFBOY
“Jason Denvir’s succinct design concept works perfectly in this intimate venue”
The Stage
HONK!
“A superly designed show by Jason Denvir….puts the icing on the cake for this really promising seasonal offering.”
The Stage
“Jason Denvir’s ingenious design allows for flying geese, dancing frogs and hatching eggs to grace the stage with equal believability and a genuine sense of fun throughout”
What’s On Stage
“It’s deftly done, with a design by Jason Denvir that makes a virtue of the fact that the whole thing feels a mite cramped on the Royal stage.”
The Guardian
“The joyous energy of Panton’s production is played on Jason Denvir’s colourful set … (providing) major contributions to ensuring the story and its human world in animal form are treated to a vigorous, colourful outing.”
Reviews gate
WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF
“Both find the lacerating edge of albee’s razored dialogue: they hurl perfectly honed hate across designers Jason Denvir’s
smoky, shabby living room set with terrifying precision”
Time Out
“The emotional baggage of George and Martha’s relationship is reflected by the cluttered set, a convincing 1960’s academic’s living room /study complete with jazz records, modern art, Life magazines, and of course drinks cabinet.”
Londonist
“Jason Denvir’s design sets a suitably tawdry tone, with a worn-out animal hide splayed across the floor as a sardonic reminder of the blood sport being played out.”
Mail On Sunday
“Jason Denvir’s cluttered living room set is also a labour of love with the kind of gorgeous attention to detail you can savour at such close quarter’s’”
Daily Express
“The compact nature of the smaller Trafalgar Studio contributes to the play’s pungent atmosphere as the events unfold so very close to your eyes. Jason Denvir’s set, depicting a 1960’s bourgeois living room complete with tasteless wallpaper and chintzy drinks cabinet, also helps the evening along.”
Music OMH
STIG OF THE DUMP
“Clive King’s engaging tale, about a boy who discovers a caveman living in the local chalk pit turned dump, is brought vividly to like in the tabard’s imaginative production. Considering the venue’s size, Jason Denvir’s picturebook perfect set represents a design feat. Using raised platforms, the safe domestic world sits cosily above an impressively realised chalk pit, decorated in detail with debris and framed by suspended jam jars with fairylights.“
The Stage