Sikes & Nancy: The Reviews
Bargain Theatreland: 'One of the best interpretations of all things Dickens I have ever seen ... Swanton is a consummate performer and delivers the multitude of characters in Sikes & Nancy with totally brilliant differentiation and conviction ... The physicality is so utterly graceful and fluid that you barely notice him switching between characters ... Swanton is also in possession of the most expressive hands ever, which aids his fluidity of movement and makes Sikes & Nancy a fantastic feat of theatricality to experience ... Swanton's brilliant performance and dramaturgical skills are thoroughly deserving of a large audience' (2014)
The Big Issue: 'The "just" doesn't do Swanton justice. He's an incredible presence on stage, all limbs and resounding voice, his face a ghoulish, elastic mask. He creeps and recedes from the smoky depths of the stage, his voice a hypnotic instrument which slides from reedy squeaks to rumbling baritone. This is storytelling at its finest, no post-modern irony or knowing asides needed ... The man is a storyteller' (2014)
Box Office: 'Stunningly good! This is a totally captivating sixty minutes from start to finish ... Amazing how [Swanton] and a few plain chairs can entirely fill this space and transform it back to a frightening, dark Victorian London ... Utterly brilliant' (★★★★★) (2014)
British Theatre: 'Without doubt, Swanton has one of the most impressive and mellifluous voices of anyone under the age of forty who has set foot on a London stage in recent years. It's deep, obsidian, full of velvet colours and sharp acidic tones ... The timbre of his voice is remarkable, echoing the impression Scofield or Gielgud could leave hanging in the air ... You emerge from the theatre not really quite sure how you are meant to react to what you have seen - but you are quite clear you have seen a master craftsman at work' (2014)
Broadway World: 'Any thoughts of Ron Moody's joyous, charismatic Pied Piper Fagin disappears. Swanton uses his extraordinary long fingers to create a snivelling grotesque fencer of stolen goods, a grown-up guttersnipe. There's something of Rik Mayall in Swanton's rubbery features ... The power of the storytelling is such that one turns away from the murder, in horror at the deed ... Swanton's performance burrows into your imagination and makes things more real than they might be if acted out with props and cast' (2014)
The Colchester Circle: 'Sikes & Nancy is, in a word, incredible ... Masterfully and often astonishingly delivered by James Swanton ... Swanton's portrayal of all of these characters - as well as a rather Gollum-like Fagin - is outstanding ... In turns affecting, grisly and utterly gripping ... Gives you a historical insight into how 19th century theatregoers would have enjoyed the author's work ... Drop all your plans and go and see it. It truly is outstanding' (2013)
The Culture Trip: 'The immensely versatile James Swanton ... Swanton's performance is fantastically frenetic - he moves between characters so smoothly and quickly it's almost impossible to believe that he is actually one person. Using voices, cadence, physicality, movement, and the occasional prop, Swanton's performance embodies fluidity. His high-pitched and girlish Nancy is as believable as his gruff Sikes, or his posh Mr Brownlow ... Swanton is completely captivating. It becomes literally impossible to look away as he jumps around the stage, bringing people to life from within himself. Just as each of his characters stand out individually though they all come from the same place, Swanton allows each multifaceted element of the story to play a role in the recreation; it is all at once tragic in its nature, poignant in its heart, and comedic in its portrayal ... This rollercoaster of characters and emotions is completely engaging' (2014)
Culture Whisper: 'Slipping from a cringing Fagin to the brave-hearted Nancy and a terrifyingly manic Sikes. His elastic face and rolling eyes are a series of masks, and his sonorous voice peoples the stage with characters ... The murder scene is as visceral and riveting as if played by a full cast on an elaborate stage. Swanton is an absolute force' (2014)
David Leonard (recently Miss Trunchbull in the RSC's Matilda): 'Captured brilliantly the exhaustive and exhausting effect the city had on these desperate characters ... Bravura physicality conveying the inner contortions of despair and feverish paranoia ... Took a very brave route, which is dangerous and exciting. A high-wire rollercoaster of a performance!' (2014)
Downstage Centre: 'James Swanton is a chameleon, a mesmerising grotesque elastic man able to throw his voice and frame into all sorts of twisted and dark characters, from the hunched and lizard-like Fagin to the bold and overbearing Bill Sikes ... He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, through city and country, and the audience were with him every step of the way. This is a fine example of the power of theatre. Six chairs, four lights and an incredible performer was all it took for Dickens' characters to come alive ... Swanton's ability at switching from role to role was a masterclass in performance, playing both male and female characters with conviction and belief. The final twenty minutes of the piece were spellbinding, and the audience was left in a state of shock as the curtain fell, hearts racing, breath held ... None of us had ever seen anything like it and I could have happily watched the whole thing again ... Great acting ... Dickens couldn't have done it better himself' (★★★★) (2014)
Entertainment Focus: 'An extraordinary physical performance. Swanton's facial and bodily contortions as he embodies particular characters, and his array of voices, whilst varying pace from the unsettlingly sedate to the manic, create dazzling yet disturbing effects ... One can't help but imagine that Swanton's Fagin is pretty close to what Dickens (who, clearly a frustrated actor, performed readings of his works) imagined ... The rapid changes of character are breathtakingly well done ... There are flashes of pure brilliance in Sikes & Nancy ... You'll rarely see this approach better rendered with this level of commitment' (2014)
Everything Theatre: 'James Swanton's performance is as brilliant as it is scary, as he contorts his entire being into some of literature's most horrific characters ... This is a performance that will leave you quivering and quaking in your seat. James Swanton's one-man show, a grotesque and terrifying tour de force, explores one of literature's most horrific murders. It pushes the boundaries of physicality as Swanton contorts his face and entire body into characters of boundless evil and menace ... Swanton's energy and skill are truly impressive ... By the end I was thoroughly exhausted ... If you like your Gothic gore, go see this show, although you have been warned' (★★★★) (2014)
The Guardian: 'Swanton goes all out to chill our blood with the story of Nancy's murder and Sikes's own spectacular death in Oliver Twist ... Fierce emotional intensity ... He has a compelling physical presence, suggesting a sprightly, attenuated cadaver' (2014)
Huffington Post: 'The highly skilled James Swanton ... His face appears to become possessed by each of the characters, delivering their haunting accounts in a way that transports you back to the slums of Victorian London ... The story is fast-paced and highly engaging, with James Swanton delivering a spectacular performance. It's a dark and thrilling show, which Swanton bravely takes to the next level with his commitment to each of the characters. Sikes & Nancy is a gripping play that shines a light on how audiences would have originally enjoyed Dickens' work ... A very affecting piece of theatre ... I was captivated throughout, and blown away by Swanton's unwavering performance' (2014)
The Latest: 'James Swanton's one-man adaptation is a tour de force; a masterclass in character portrayal and performance. I was captivated; hanging on his every word and movement. A quite brilliant piece of theatre' (★★★★★) (2014)
London City Nights: 'The four principals: thuggish Bill Sikes, desperate Nancy, twisted Fagin and kindly Brownlow, all find themselves embodied in the tornado of jagged limbs, guttural howls and facial metamorphoses that is James Swanton ... Swanton is waiting for us as we enter the space, perched atop a chair like a tattily dressed raven ... From minute one he's got gravitas galore ... In silhouette his face resembles nothing more than Mr Punch; a half moon punctuated by a hooked nose and jutting chin ... Early scenes are stuffed with menace, but it's slow-burning and precise ... The peak is the murder itself, a disturbingly animalistic frenzy that leaves Swanton blood-smeared and manic ... These heights of physical and vocal performance can be best summarised by the genuinely disturbing gleam you see in Swanton's eye, as if he's become unhinged, lost in the maze of Oliver Twist ... Sikes & Nancy is a hell of an intensive hour of theatre ... Dragging us kicking and screaming through Dickens' darkest literary moment ... If you want a masterclass in one-man theatre, there's no finer place to be' (2014)
London Theatre 1: 'James didn't just tell the story, he became the story. He transformed himself ... Bill's confrontation with Nancy is both horrific and mesmerising ... Being described as one of the most graphic, frightening scenes Dickens has ever written doesn't do justice to the performance on stage. James's acting skills were truly amazing ... This performance really affected me and when I left the theatre I stood quietly for a few moments on Whitehall contemplating what I had just witnessed. A fantastic, if at times disturbing evening's entertainment ... James Swanton delivered a masterclass in the art' (★★★★★) (2014)
London Theatre Direct: 'A unique talent that leaves me feeling exhilarated and almost traumatised ... It feels like the play was written for him ... His posture stooping to create the repulsive Fagin was a real wonder to behold ... His voice was one made for theatre ... Sikes & Nancy is very much the brainchild of James Swanton, who has put every inch of his flesh into this gothic horror to the point where he is the play. An acting talent of unique depths and outstanding characterisation' (2014)
Page to Stage: 'James Swanton took the stage and with an expressive performance transformed the evening into something truly memorable ... Swanton's remarkable transformation from one character to another was incredible to watch and hugely captivating ... I at times forgot I was watching just one man on that stage, and not a much larger cast ... The audience's attention was focused solely on Swanton's extraordinarily captivating presence ... Swanton's mesmerising performance makes for an incredible theatrical experience, one which you cannot afford to miss' (★★★★) (2014)
Playbill: 'James Swanton, a young actor new to me, has written and performs Sikes & Nancy, about the eponymous murderer in Oliver Twist and his hapless girlfriend. He's very talented, this young man, playing not just the two in the title but also Fagin and a host of others, all of them properly horrible' (2015)
Plays to See: 'Sikes & Nancy takes the tale of Oliver Twist and turns it into a dramatic gothic extravaganza, a testament to the incredible talents of James Swanton ... He flits between the growl of Bill Sikes, the wavering sorrow of Nancy and the wheedling of Fagin effortlessly, his face and voice elastic and full of vitality ... A Macbeth-like sense of being stained and haunted by the guilt of what he has done ... By the end of the play he is a truly gruesome sight ... Swanton in Sikes & Nancy is a tour de force. There are moments when it is hard to believe there is only one man on stage - he is possessed by these characters ... It is a testament to his acting that watching him bow at the end is somehow jarring, the man who has been impossible to pin down finally shaking off the world he has inhabited and returning, for now, to ours' (★★★★) (2014)
The Press: 'Ladida Productions' one-man tour de force, Sikes & Nancy, a harrowing interpretation of Dickens' Oliver Twist' (2013)
The Public Reviews: 'With great intensity, he shows us how this material could have taken such a toll on its writer ... It is a story of shade and shade, a Gothic horror melodrama enacted against the backdrop of the darkest corners of Victorian London. Gaunt and sallow, Swanton often resembles a young Boris Karloff, his deep and gravelly tones emitting menace with every utterance ... Swanton is frequently seen emerging from smoky darkness, only his face and arms visible, both pale and later splattered with blood. This hour of theatre shows us the stuff from which nightmares are made' (★★★★) (2014)
Rev Stan: 'Transports you straight back to Victorian England. Capturing the dark, macabre horror of Dickens' novel, [Swanton] switches between characters with elastic ease, creating a performance that reminded me of the original illustrations from the published work ... A bold and fearless performance unlike any I have seen before that grips throughout' (2014)
Simon Callow: 'James Swanton is a fearless actor who in Sikes & Nancy pushes the art of physical expression into fantastical areas of theatre that are far too little explored. He is a remarkable performer and the show is a startling and enthralling contribution to the art of the theatre' (2012)
So So Gay: 'Swanton's performance is at once a remarkable and beautiful exposition of the work of one of England's greatest writers ... Swanton imbues every word, every syllable, with a kind of electricity that has you hooked from word one and throughout. His performance not only takes prompts from the text but celebrates the writing ... Swanton gives an extraordinary physical and vocal performance with each character having such distinct presence ... Swanton conjures a series of extraordinary grotesques, giving a beautifully gothic façade to this classic tale. This is an hour spent in awe of two masters, Dickens for his words and Swanton for his extraordinary and superlative interpretation of them - and we can't think of a better way to spend sixty precious minutes' (★★★★★) (2014)
TCS: 'James Swanton should go far ... Leaping across chairs, teetering high and low on the stage, speaking now madly, now calmly, he was a force of nature, pulling us out of our May Week minds and into Dickens' twisted, terrifying vision ... A pleasant sense of the uncanny ... Swanton's amazing capacity to remove his audience's sense of disbelief conjured it there in front of us ... More than his expression, physical presence or even words, it is his passion and energy which sweeps the audience along with him ... It was one of the most engaging and captivating hours of theatre I have experienced' (★★★★★) (2012)
The Theatre Tourist: 'Swanton is a gifted storyteller ... It is gripping to watch ... Fearsome and spectacular ... Staggering and poignant final moments ... The moment of the murder itself, the scene which the audience await with baited breath, is incredibly dark and disturbing, unforgettable in how it is played out with such energy. However, it is the haunting final scene, the true crescendo of the play, and the maniacal Sikes' dramatic demise, which is its most breathtaking moment ... With Swanton's faultless performance and powerful command of the stage it is simply too magnificent to miss' (★★★★★) (2014)
Time Out: 'A cruelly twisted shiver through the breastbone ... It's one of the most arresting accounts of a murder staged in recent years ... A perfect twin for the grotesquery of Dickens' illustrator George Cruikshank ... Sikes & Nancy exceeds [expectations] with a fearsome relish' (2014)
Tribune: 'Performed by James Swanton, a rising young talent ... Swanton throws himself into a gothic portrayal of all of the characters in the story, from the greasy Fagin to the pitiful Nancy ... His voice ranges from a chill whisper to an excited roar. It's an impressively mobile and almost hyperactive performance ... There is a lot to enjoy in the grotesque facial expressions which he gives to some of the characters - and the story is a winner ... It has lost none of its bloodcurdling terror' (2015)
The Upcoming: 'A brilliantly madcap hour of Victorian melodrama ... A vigour that would put Brian Blessed to shame ... Swanton's gangly frame twisting into Fagin's gaunt hunch, Sikes' imposing muscle and Nancy's delicate figure. The story is built up beautifully ... Nancy's death is pitiful and poignant, and the horror that haunts Sikes following his devilish deed is almost palpable ... There is a constant undercurrent of gallows humour ... The dark humour, the suspenseful storytelling and the over-the-top characterisation create a perfect production of a Victorian penny dreadful, and it's testament to both Dickens and Swanton that the piece is as chilling and gripping today as when it was first performed' (★★★★) (2014)
Varsity: 'James Swanton is one of the best performers I've seen ... Swanton provided us with a sufficient degree of claustrophobia that made the plot all the more engaging ... His narrative tone was not showy, the often rapid changes in accent and tone demonstrating more than just skill ... A fantastic performance and a real treat to watch' (★★★★★) (2012)
Views from the Gods: 'Pure storytelling ... Having previously seen Swanton in Dippermouth's Scrooge & Marley, we knew he could do different voices and mannerisms with ease, but this was a powerful reminder of his phenomenal abilities. When not narrating, his go-to voices are in line with Gollum and The Joker, and his delivery is thoroughly intense and unsettling. Six chairs are moved around the stage becoming walls, streets, rooms - whatever he needs. There's very little around him to hide behind; the production just wouldn't work with a less talented actor. Swanton has not just adapted the show - he is the show ... Nancy's final scenes are visceral and haunting, and Swanton transcends the limitation of mere "funny voices" to bring a poignant fragility to one of literature's most wronged female characters ... Swanton as a performer is top notch ... Sikes & Nancy is clearly a labour of love for the performer ... It's gritty, captivating and put together with a huge amount of raw talent' (★★★★) (2014)
Claude Rains: 'I can't eat my notices' (1926)