REVIEWS FOR CHAROLAIS
“A fast-paced, witty, and intensely emotional tale filled with laughter, loss and despair.” ★★★★ The Irish Times
“Noni Stapleton’s hilarious take on rural life and love is a paradox: superficially crude, it’s full of wisdom and tenderness, and manages to throw in a fair sprinkling of compassion and forgiveness along the way.” Emer O’Kelly – Sunday Independent
“An unusual tale, as beautifully written as it is acted.” ★★★★★ Bouquets & Brickbats
“Stapleton is a joy to watch and she knows her audience. Love, family and loss all combine at the finish to create a charming piece of theatre. Well worth the venture. A truly enjoyable show.” ★★★★ The Public Reviews
“Charolais grazes on great drama……After the action reaches a striking and violent conclusion, there is a sense of new life in a depraved place. Artfully, Stapleton’s play is just as pastoral in bringing land and people together” Broadway world.com
“Charolais….. It’s all heart.” ★★★★★ Edinburgh49
“A genuinely brilliant performance….you’ll be hard pressed to hold back the belly laughs” ★★★★ NOUSE
“…brilliantly dark and original show” No More Workhorse
“The play is full of unexpected twists and turns” Fringe Review HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SHOW
“The last thing you would expect in an Irish rural drama is a parody of Edith Piaf. But Stapleton, singing ‘La Vie en Rose’ and speaking in Franglais, is all Gallic sexiness, luxuriating in a French accent, and conveying what an unsophisticated Irish girl might not otherwise be able to.” ★★★★ The Irish Examiner
“a testament to Stapleton’s skills as an imaginative and animated storyteller.” ★★★ Evening Herald
“Often hilarious, spectacularly humane and still keeping the bizarre elements in the mix…Noni Stapleton is a rising star.” Cork Evening Echo
Performance Reviews
Two for a Girl – Bewley’s Cafe Theatre
“Stapleton, in particular is required to call on a range of emotions in the piece, which she does with impressive strength.” Rachel Andrews – Sunday Tribune.
“All comes down to performances which are nuanced, emotional, funny and compelling. Frances…the more difficult role is excellently performed by Stapleton, all awkwardness and innocence.” Chris Pillow – Sunday Business Post *****
One For Sorrow – Bewley’s Cafe Theatre
“Stapleton plays all the other roles – father, sister, strangers met in passing, landlady and so on with a versatility triggered by the slightest of gestures or facial expressions.” Gerry Colgan – The Irish Times
“With Stapleton bringing to life all of the characters but the central role…(her) skillful transformations are effected with minimal props and minor costume changes, relying almost solely on her performance skills. Stock character elements are great enlivened by charming delivery and no shortage of humour.” Siobhan Manion – RTE.ie
What the Dead Want – Project Arts Centre
“I’d venture you’ll be seeing a lot more of Noni Stapleton.” Sophie Gorman – Irish Independent
Writing Reviews
One For Sorrow
“Boiling experience down to recognisable moments of human interaction, the play breezes through its lunchtime slot in a highly entertaining manner. Nothing tricksy, but instead a display of talent playing to its strengths without putting a foot wrong along the way”. ***** RTE.ie
“A simple but poignant comin-of-age story” The Irish Times
“A beguiling rites-of-passage play” Gerry Colgan
“One for sorrow manages to tug at the hears strings while tickling the funny bone, leaving you with a taste for more”. UTV Web
Two for a Girl
“It is hard not to be struck by the raw emotion generated by Mary Kelly and Noni Stapleton’s outstanding new work Two for a Girl…. this is theatre stripped down to its basics and it works” Chris Pillow Sunday Business Post Five Stars *****
“A very moving piece of theatre that leaves you walking out of the theatre in a daze with the smell of a campfire in your nostrils.” Doireann ni Choitir utv.ie
Noni Stapleton - Actress 