BIOG & REVIEWS
Philip Goulding's recent work includes an adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's short story WHO AM I THIS TIME? for BBC Radio 4, a one-act play HORSE OR RIVER for Oldham Race Equality Partnership/Oldham Coliseum Outreach and the texts for Alan Edward William's award-winning choral song sequence DIVERS WINGED CREATURES, performed by MDR Rundfunkchor in Leipzig in April 2008. His musical DOC FAUST! (music by Kate Edgar) was produced at the Maine Performing Arts Festival in 2007.
His stage play STRANGE LANDS won 1st Prize in the International Theatre Institute Playwriting Competition 2002. The play was produced by Public View Theatre Company and Giorgos Gikapeppas at the Empros Theatre, Athens in 2003 and premiered in the UK by N1 Theatre Company at the Courtyard Theatre, London in 2005.
He was awarded an Arts Council of England Theatre Writing Bursary in 1995.
He has written over thirty stage plays, including BENEATH THE WAVES (Eastern Angles/Colchester Mercury Theatre), THEN HE KISSED ME (Royal Theatre Northampton 1993, Courtyard Theatre London in association with Soho Theatre 1996), WENT DOWN TO THE CROSSROADS (Courtyard Theatre, London), WAITING FOR ELVIS (New Perspectives), HEADING WEST (Forest Forge in association with Salisbury Playhouse), DIFFERENT ANIMAL (Bootleg Theatre Company / Hen & Chickens, London), THE BELLE OF BONAVISTA BAY (Forest Forge), WAKE UP LITTLE SUZIE! (Oldham Coliseum / Haymarket Theatre Basingstoke), FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME (Oldham Coliseum) and, with composer Kate Edgar, DOC FAUST! - A WILD WEST MUSICAL (Forest Forge 2002, Maine Performing Arts Festival 2007).
His adaptations include BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, BRIAR ROSE, PETER PAN and THE TRUE TALES OF ROBIN HOOD (all Forest Forge), THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT (New Perspectives 1997, Third Space 2004, Bill Kenwright / CV Productions / Hornchurch / Windsor 2005), TOAD OF TOAD HALL (Forest Forge 1998, New Perspectives 1999, Eye Theatre 2001), WIND IN THE WILLOWS (Basingstoke Haymarket) and HANSEL & GRETEL (Forest Forge 1999, Eye Theatre 2002).
He has written a new version of Gogol's classic comedy THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR (Forest Forge / Salisbury Playhouse 1997, Watermill Theatre, Newbury 1998, and as A LITTLE LOCAL DIFFICULTY Oldham Coliseum 2003).
He has also written an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE (Forest Forge / Salisbury Playhouse 1998, Wessex Actors Company 2005).
THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT is published by Samuel French Ltd (2008). WENT DOWN TO THE CROSSROADS and THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE were published in the monthly theatre magazine Plays International and excerpts from his plays have been featured in Monologue and Scene anthologies published by Smith & Kraus (New York) and Meriwether Publishing (Colorado).
For television he has written REMAINING GLIMPSES (joint first prize winner in the 1988 Radio Times TV Drama Awards) and KEEPER (Channel 4).
For radio he has written A FAT MAN EATS THE MOON and THE DILEMMA for RTE and an adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's WHO AM I THIS TIME? for BBC Radio 4.
He has written the texts for two projects by internationally-acclaimed composer Alan Edward Williams: TWELVE STOREYS HIGH (a song cycle for soprano and piano) and the award-winning choral song sequence DIVERS WINGED CREATURES (MDR Rundfunkchor, Leipzig 2008).
REVIEWS:
THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT
(3m 2f)
Based on the Ealing Comedy screenplay by T.E.B. Clarke
Published by Samuel French Ltd (2008)
REVIEWS:
I found its dottiness an almost constant pleasure. Kate O'Mara takes to the stage to play a character undreamt of in the movie, the posh Lady Edna Chesterford, whose grandfather started the railway. Her diatribe against the interfering little Hitlers who run England with their clipboards memorably captures the subversive spirit of Ealing comedy. For collectors of cherishable English comedy, this enjoyably chaotic show is a real find. First class. (Daily Telegraph)
What's clever about Bob Carlton's direction is that with only five actors it manages to twirl the audience into its own zany world. It's a fun evening and a romp in a very old, very British tradition with some marvellous theatre effects. What more could you want? (What's On Stage)
A big, gallant dollop of imagination. Engaging comedy. A happy evening, perfect for grandparents and children. And steam-train enthusiasts. (Daily Mail)
Bob Carlton's entertaining production. Ingenious and fun. (The Guardian)
This inventive production. (The Stage)
Philip Goulding's wonderful stage version. It's all dished up with hilarious consequences. Very funny. If it's laughs you're looking for look no further than Titfield. A good-natured and delightful play. (Epping Forest Guardian)
It is not often the theatre provides an evening of unadulterated fun - but that is the case with The Titfield Thunderbolt. The talented cast, headed by the ageless Kate O'Mara, gently send up the old Ealing Comedy and it works beautifully. This is a production to please all the family. (Brighton Argus)
Hilarious. An evening of fun. This cheerful and delightful play. (Theatreworld Internet Magazine)
A definite crowd-pleaser. (What's On)
A feelgood night of theatrical fun. (Romford Recorder)
A little piece of old England was restored to the mantelpiece this week as The Titfield Thunderbolt started its run - with hilarious results. Sound writing and quality acting paid dividends. The result was a packed auditorium laughing and clapping with pleasure. (Ham & High, London 24)
Absolutely fabulous - that's the only way to describe The Titfield Thunderbolt. The play tells the story of a band of enthusiastic amateurs battling to retain their village's railway line despite Government red tape and the rivalry of the dastardly omnibus owner. The show is a must for everybody...excellently scripted...full of comic lines...the audience laughed continually...a comedy for all the family. (Chronicle and Advertiser)
Philip Goulding's adaptation captures the fighting community spirit of the original. A host of amusing, acutely observed characters. The play touches a contemporary nerve, enlisting the audience's imagination and involvement, and it responds with delighted support. This rollicking production is pure fun. (The Stage)
Charming and mischievious. Rattling good fun. The play is full of gentle humour and permeated with affection not only for the railway, but also for the era, with authentic and thoughtful touches of the 50s throughout. Chockful of running gags. Heart-warming. A joy to behold. (Farnham Herald)
A LITTLE LOCAL DIFFICULTY
Adapted from Gogol's The Government Inspector
(Minimum cast 8 - Maximum Cast 18)
(Available in 2 versions - NW English & SW English)
A new version of Gogol's classic comedy about mistaken identity and small town corruption. A Mayor and his officials are alarmed to hear rumours of the arrival of a government inspector, travelling "incognito". It is brought to their attention that an apparently penniless rake and his servant are lodging at a local inn. Despite being unable to even pay their bill, this unlikely couple suddenly find themselves being treated like royalty by the sycophantic mayor and his cronies. The "Government Inspector" eventually rides away a good deal richer, having sampled for free the best hospitality the town could muster, including not just the finest food and wine, but also the feverishly competitive adoration of the mayor's wife and daughter. When the truth is revealed the Mayor and his officials are publicly humiliated. Finally, as if all of this wasn't devastating enough, a messenger appears to announce the arrival of a real Government Inspector.
REVIEWS:
An enormously funny, comic, bold, colourful production. Fantastic. A really great night out. (Charlotte Keatley on BBC Radio 4's "Front Row")
Goulding presents a picture of a booming society riddled with petty fiefdoms and incipient corruption. A fine tribute to Gogol. (The Guardian)
Philip Goulding's adaptation is vigorous and pointed...the laughs keep coming. (Reviewsgate)
Intelligent adaptation....excellent (City Life magazine)
Gogol's splendid satire on greed, corruption and sleaze in not very high places. (The Guardian)
This hilarious and inventive adaptation. A great night out. (Plays & Players)
The action spins along at a cracking pace. Witty and racy. (Western Daily Press)
Make no mistake, this is great. A sheer delight. (Oxford Times)
This new adaptation by Philip Goulding is fresh and funny. The result is delicious. (The Stage)
This adaptation by Philip Goulding gives a freshness to a gleeful peep at corruption in town life. Romping, witty and incisive. (Salisbury Journal)
A fine new adaptation. (Bournemouth Echo)
Cleverly adapted. A real comic treat. (Southern Daily Echo)
An excellent play. It oozes comedy from beginning to end. (Burnley Express)
STRANGE LANDS
(Minimum cast 5m 5f - Maximum cast 40)
Winner of the International Playwrights' Forum/International Theatre Institute Playwriting Competition 2002, Strange Lands is an insight into the experience of the disposessed, identifying a common culture in three marginal lives, spanning across three different countries: England, America and an unspecified war-torn region which might be anywhere in the modern world. In the latter story, Mila, a young refugee, is forced to make the difficult and dangerous journey towards an aid camp far from her family home. In America, Tom, an ex-serviceman, takes a road trip all the way from the East coast to the Nevada desert in search of his estranged wife and child. In England, Helen, a middle-class alcoholic, finds herself struggling to survive, living rough on the streets of a rundown coastal town.
REVIEWS:
With this multilayered, violent and accusative narrative, Philip Goulding has a great deal to say. Goulding never forces neat parallels on to his dark tales; nor does he rank the tragedies he enfolds, and his dialogue is uniformly crisp and sharp. When this thoughtful, provocative play culminates in an American newsroom, with overpaid executives shuffling through photographs of his characters for the most marketable human interest stories, his point about the callousness of our apathy is powerfully made. (Time Out)
Strange Lands is an ambitious parallel-lives look at a series of very different social outcasts. Goulding's portraits are sharply drawn and satisfyingly contrasted. (Theatre Record)
This highly charged, emotional play. (The Stage)
Moving and convincing. (Theatreworld)
Ambitious and powerful. (What's On)
Profound poetry and harsh, extreme realism. Strange Lands is a fast, strong, intelligently-structured play. An excellent, rich play. (Epochi ERA, Athens)
Inventive and extremely interesting. (Athenorama)
A unique play. Sensitive...deeply human. (Sportime, Athens)
DOC FAUST! A WILD WEST MUSICAL
(4m 2f minimum cast)
After many years travelling around the West selling his Famous Miracle Cure, Doc Faust fetches up at the out-of-the-way Arizona town of Heart's Desire, where he takes a shine to the Sheriff's daughter, Helena. She, alas, seems more interested in Cornelius Valentine - a young man recently arrived from the East to edit the Heart's Desire Epitaph. Accepting that his powers have waned, Doc Faust retires to the desert to lick his wounds. There he encounters a mysterious black-clad stranger who believes he can help the Doc revive his fortunes. There will, however, be a price to pay... Soon the Doc and his new-found pardner Memphis are headed back into Heart's Desire - and you can bet your bottom dollar that life in that sleepy no-horse town ain't ever gonna be the same again...
REVIEWS:
A witty and entertaining musical with catchy tunes and snappy dialogue, this is a rip-roarin' good yarn. A slick and enjoyable treat that will have audiences yelling "yee ha" all the way home. (The Stage)
A feast of colorful characters and catchy tunes. This must surely be one of the most original adaptations of the Faust legend so far. (Southern Daily Echo)
I can't remember a more enjoyable night in the theatre. The tale unfolds with Western panache. Complete with gunfights, saloon girls, and, of course, lurve. Great numbers...the fun and action never flag. (Ringwood Magazine)
An evening of rootin' tootin' entertainment full of Western wit. A darned fine tale. A really good night out. (Salisbury Journal)
An exuberant and witty interpretation. (English & Media Centre's emagazine)
FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME - A Jukebox Musical
(6m 3f actor/musicians)
REVIEWS:
THE audience was up and dancing at the Coliseum’s new rock and roll musical “Feels Like The First Time”. The music is great - the score features more than 20 hit songs from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s. The show charts the adventures of two bands — The Trevors and The Launderettes. There are some flashes of genius in the script. There’s the old boy meets girl plot, as the audience is left to wonder if the spirited Julie (Amy Rhiannon Worth) will opt for Saddleworth’s answer to Bryan Ferry, the dashing Cameron (Martin Glyn Murray) or sarcastic scouser Terry (Andrew Schofield). Francis Tucker shines as dopey drummer Nobby, and his rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” really does have to be seen to be believed. Likewise, Zita Frith delights as sex-mad Sally, demonstrating breathtaking vocal and musical ability, and her observations on age are counterpoised wonderfully by the artfully-tousled adolescent Jez (Sam Bloom). You will be up with the best of them, dancing in the aisles. I certainly was. (Oldham Evening Chronicle)
Feels like the First Time is filled with energy. The action takes place in the context of a 20-year reunion between The Trevors and The Launderettes, who, at the height of their 1980 success, jumped in and out of bed with each other as frequently as they performed together. There are some sparkling dramatic moments. Jez, played by Sam Bloom, narrates the action and provides a youthful contrast to the jaded regrets of his middle-aged friends, while Terry, played by Andrew Schofield, oozes northern cynicism. His wry outlook sets him up as a father figure for the youngest character, and the chats between the two provide both with the realisation that age is merely a state of mind. The hiccups and messy decisions of adulthood do nothing to make us wise while the exuberance of youth is no substitute for experience. But all analysis and emotion is cast aside in the final reconciliation between the band members, who, spending time with each other, learn a lot about themselves. The final tune, one of only two original songs performed throughout the show, is one of the best. Only a soulless puritan would fail to be moved. (Oldham Advertiser)
A witty script and an interesting storyline. The audience were captivated by this rock n' roll story. The musical content is outstanding. This fine production was a great treat. I left the theatre with a smile on my face. A night of unremitting pleasure. Great fun. A total joy. (Manchester Confidential)
WAKE UP LITTLE SUZIE! - A Jukebox Musical
(6m 3f actor/musicians)
REVIEWS:
Wake Up Little Suzie! is an enjoyable and light-hearted romp set during the long hot summer of 1976 in an English holiday camp owned by light-entertainment dinosaur Harry Tilton. Hero Suzie transforms from downtrodden cleaner to all-singing, all-dancing Orangecoat, complete with summer romance with the boss's son. There are excellent performances from a talented and hard-working cast, funny lines and quirky characters and a great sense of fun throughout. The thing that comes across clearly is just how much fun the cast are having up on stage. This enthusiasm is infectious and makes Wake Up Little Suzie a true feelgood show and great fun for all the family. It got the audience laughing, clapping and singing in their seats and even up and dancing in the aisles. (Oldham Advertiser)
The talented cast play an assortment of larger-than-life characters. This versatility extends to the music too as they multi-task on instruments, belting out an array of popular hits. Musical director Howard Gay is hilarious as gormless singleton Kenny though it's Phil Corbitt - playing five roles, including an aggressive drag queen and a cheesy lounge singer - who steals the show. The litmus test for a production like this is the audience response, and by the end they were dancing in the aisles. Resistance is futile. (City Life magazine)
Hapless Ben Tilton, son of Tilton's Holiday Camp owner and comic Harry Tilton, is unlucky in love and just about everything else, until he meets Suzie. She soon knocks him into shape and makes a man of him. The entire Wake Up Little Suzie cast is multi-talented, with each performer singing, playing a wide variety of instruments live, fleshing out several different parts and making a fantastic job of it. There is plenty of energy and the pace never falters. With excellent characterisations and faultless musicanship, fuelled by the pounding beat of rock n roll and peppered with nostalgic glimpses of holiday camp glories, this is a show with laughter and heartache, moments of comic genius and sing-along tunes that have the audience bopping in the aisles. (theatre-reviews website)
Great fun, escapist entertainment.(BBC GMR)
Another winner. A great production that has the audience clapping, stamping their feet and rising to dance for the finale. (Clitheroe Advertiser)
Suzie is wowing them at Basingstoke's Haymarket Theatre. The first night audience got right into the madcap spirit of the show - this Glam Rock Musical sizzles. (Basingstoke Observer)
This delightful production fully deserved the prolonged ovation, with the audience on their feet for the final number. (Reading Chronicle)
HEADING WEST
(Minimum cast 3m 2f - Maximum cast 22)
In the middle years of the 19th century more than two million men, women and children abandoned the British Isles and emigrated to America. HEADING WEST follows the journey of three of these emigrants: Lizzie Wilson, her husband Edward (a carpenter and occasional bareknuckle fighter), and her farming partner George Ash. Together they travel from rural England to the bustling port of Liverpool. Having booked their passage they then endure a harrowing trip across the Atlantic, until the green shores of New England are sighted at last. After a short stay in New York they head up the Hudson River to Albany and then on to the Merrimack Valley. Will they eventually have the opportunity to build the kind of life Lizzie's long been dreaming of: at home on a farm in the Land of the Free - or will fate and circumstance ultimately intervene to split the trio up - spreading them far and wide across the seemingly endless expanse of America?
REVIEWS:
This is powerful drama, illuminating the world of the emigrants. A fascinating play. (Blackmore Vale Magazine)
Peopled with richly Dickensian characters, adventure, hardship, tragedy and a sprinkling of comedy. Theatre doesn't come any better than this. (Dorset Echo)
There are no dull moments and many comical ones. A cleverly constructed and vivid play. (The Stage)
Full of color and warmth, brimming with lively characters and capturing a haunting era. (Salisbury Journal)
THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE
(Minimum cast 3f 3m - Maximum cast 20)
Thomas Hardy's powerful tale of fate, power and the great Victorian myth of "getting on" tells the gripping story of the dynamic Michael Henchard, a journeyman hay-trusser who, through sheer force of will, works his way up, breaking free of a bad marriage and alcoholic despondency, to become a prosperous businessman and the Mayor of Casterbridge. Ultimately though, Henchard finds he is unable to escape his past, and, driven by his nature, he commits a number of impulsive deeds that must surely bring disastrous results.
REVIEWS:
Philip Goulding's script has quite extraordinary clarity. (The Guardian)
A gripping saga. (The Independent)
Philip Goulding's adaptation nicely follows the curve of the fortunes of Michael Henchard. (Financial Times)
This excellent adaptation. (Bournemouth Echo)
A work of quality. (Salisbury Journal)
Excellent production...fine adaptation. (Southern Echo)
Moving and masterly. (Dorchester Guardian)
THE BELLE OF BONAVISTA BAY
(2m 2f)
This hugely enjoyable show bridges the centuries so convincingly. Goulding cleverly combines two stories, centuries apart, and makes an appealling adventure. There are some great one-liners, great moments of intense drama, delightful comedy asides and a nice touch of romance. There is so much to enjoy. Philip Goulding is an imaginative writer and this is a gem. (The Stage)
The Belle of Bonavista Bay weaves two intriguing stories: of a past migration from Poole to Newfoundland; and the return of Daniela, a Canadian, to England to find her roots. Not only are the two stories interwoven, but they are interspersed with folk songs and sea shanties. The central theme of the play is how history, our connections to it and our perception of it, shapes our lives. An enjoyable piece of theatre. (reviewsgate)
A warm and lively play with plenty of twists and turns in the script. A bitter-sweet comedy. This is a challenging story full of dry humour and wit and one which will delight audiences everywhere. (Salisbury Journal)
A story of love, loss and longing that will move and amuse you in equal measure. (Western Gazette)
TOAD OF TOAD HALL / WIND IN THE WILLOWS
(2m 2f) or (5m 1f)
Based on the book by Kenneth Grahame.
REVIEWS:
Captivated its audience. Instantly enjoyable. (The Stage)
Glorious. Jam-packed with thrills and spills. (Romsey Advertiser)
Hilarious. A classic adventure story. (Bordon Herald)
Vibrant and energetic. Vigourous and zippy. Definitely a success. (Diss Express)
The audience was quite clearly entranced. (The Stage)
First class entertainment. Admirable. (The Mercury)
An evening of enjoyment and amusement for all ages. Not to be missed. A triumph. (Alton Post Gazette)
Delightful. Successfully combines the traditional ingredients of slapstick, songs and silly jokes with something of the enchanted atmosphere of Kenneth Grahame's Wild Wood and river-bank. (Newbury Weekly News)
This classic tale has enduring charm. Jokes aplenty. Terrific fun. (Basingstoke Gazette)
HANSEL & GRETEL
(2m 2f)
Based on the famous folk tale.
REVIEWS:
A gem. (The Stage)
A delight to young and old alike. Philip Goulding's script is full of fresh ideas. (Dorset Echo)
Great family entertainment. (East Anglian Daily Times)
Philip Goulding has made a most entertaining and amusing adaptation of the classic fairy tale, with a great script, and some very funny one-liners. (Diss Express)
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
(2f 2m)
A new adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic story.
REVIEWS:
Charming. Full of humour and with just a touch of slapstick. (Basingstoke Gazette)
A small treasure. (Dorset Evening Echo)
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN
(3f 2m)
Inspired by Robert Browning's famous poem.
REVIEWS:
Hugely enjoyable. Philip Goulding's witty and deceptively subtle adaptation. (Southern Daily Echo)
A robust and comical show. (Salisbury Journal)
BRIAR ROSE - A SLEEPING BEAUTY STORY
(2f 2m)
A new version of the famous fairytale.
REVIEWS:
A sparkling new adaptation. Pure magic. (The Stage)
PETER PAN
(3f 2m)
A new version of J.M. Barrie's classic play.
REVIEWS:
Inspired. A night to remember. Quite brilliant. (The Stage)
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
(2f 2m)
A new version of the popular fairytale.
REVIEWS:
Quite superb. Marvellous entertainment. (The Stage)
TRUE TALES OF ROBIN HOOD
(2f 2m)
Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and Allan-a-Dale and his wife Ellen are on their way to rescue King Richard, who is in custody in Europe. To avoid capture by Cruel Prince John and his men they have disguised themselves as travelling players. To earn their bread and board they agree to tell the true stories behind some of the legends from their famous greenwood days. Four actors bring to life a host of exciting characters, including Little John, Friar Tuck, the gouty Sir Timothy of Trent and of course, the cowardly and despicable Sheriff of Nottingham.
REVIEWS:
Quite superb entertainment. (The Stage)
Original and entertaining. I didn't want the evening to end. (Ringwood Magazine)
OTHER WORK
ON A FOREIGN SHORE
(2f 1m)
Margaret is a trawlerman's widow living on the edge of a decaying coastal town. Against her wishes, her daughter Rebecca is finally leaving home to move in with her 'poet' boyfriend. But before too long Margaret has acquired a lodger - Milton, an American painter on the trail of a famous artist who visited the area over a hundred years ago. On A Foreign Shore looks at the ways the lives of the two women are irrevocably reshaped by the arrival of this exotic male stranger.
THE SPIRE
(Minimum cast 10 m 3f + 1 child. Maximum cast 22)
Adapted from the novel by William Golding.
Set in England in the Middle Ages, The Spire tells of Dean Jocelin's efforts to realise a vision by building onto his cathedral a huge, 400-ft tower and spire. Without foundations, and against the advice of clergy and masons alike, the spire is erected - octagon upon octagon, until its shadow falls darkly upon the world below. This superb tragedy is about the conflict between faith and reason, and explores how the making good of Jocelin's vision entails endlessly disagreeable and unforeseeable discoveries. Driven on by his faith, Jocelin's folly is eventually constructed in the teeth of technical obstacles which any sane man would have regarded as prohibitive. The building of the spire symbolizes the things man calls into existence, with his vision, brain and hands, that were not there before, and shows the incidental sacrifices made by men and women involved even indirectly in this work. William Golding's extraordinary story shows us how one man comes to terms with what it means to be human.
MUSIC COLLABORATIONS
DIVERS WINGED CREATURES
A Sequence of 5 Choral Songs – inspired by the Aberdeen Bestiary
Composer: Alan Edward Williams
Texts by: Philip Goulding
First Performance by MDR Rundfunkchor, Leipzig – April 2008
REVIEW:
The Briton Alan Edward Williams, born in 1970, composes in very British style. His Divers Winged Creatures self-consciously draws on the island's continuously renewed history of vocal music. Owl, jay, bees, blackbird and angel are the winged beings to which the composer pays homage. Philip Goulding wrote the texts for him, and the symbiotic result is not just onomatopoeiacally illustrative, but goes a step further. A surreal magic hovers over this work, located somewhere between a witty madrigal, an organon, and impressionism. Time and again the rascal is glimpsed just round the corner, and it's then that Willams is at his strongest. The British composer shows himself to be an old-fashioned writer in the postive sense of the term. He makes splendid use of the devices and little tricks of the ancients, builds layer upon layer of polyphony, and lashes his piece tightly to the here and now - with noises, scintillating harmonies and flexible metre.(Peter Korfmacher - Leipziger Volkszeitung)
