From Broadway to Pavilion…
14 October 2014
Straight off the back of a two-month, sold-out run in New York, James’ national tour of Ireland gives Irish audiences a rare chance to see an off-Broadway production right on their doorstep.
Have a read of some of the audience reactions to James De Vita’s one-man show ‘In Acting Shakespeare’ below.
A story of inspiration. A story of humiliation and humour. A story of perseverance.
Audience Reactions
“He just had you on the edge of your seat from the moment h got on stage.”
“When he becomes a character it is enthralling.”
“The way that Shakespeare is mixed up in his own life I think is very clever.”
My group of miniature Shakespearean scholars enjoyed the show so much!
"Thank you for an extraordinary show - one which certainly only fuelled the imaginations of my pupils. One child said to me the following day, 'aren't we so lucky to have Shakespeare in our lives!' …for years I have told anyone who will listen, that Shakespeare is for EVERYONE! Your show certainly proved my point! I would urge other teachers to bring their classes to see In Acting Shakespeare - it was funny, compelling and inspiring in equal measure! "
- School Teacher
"Thank you for an extraordinary show - one which certainly only fuelled the imaginations of my pupils. One child said to me the following day, 'aren't we so lucky to have Shakespeare in our lives!' …for years I have told anyone who will listen, that Shakespeare is for EVERYONE! Your show certainly proved my point! I would urge other teachers to bring their classes to see In Acting Shakespeare - it was funny, compelling and inspiring in equal measure! "
- School Teacher
“I could barely contain myself. I wanted to just scream with laughter.”
“It was a Wonderful explanation about Shakespeare’s life and his inspiration and impact on this actor’s life, on Jimmy’s life.”
“It was so authentic and really personal.”
I highly recommend this wonderful show!..
"I loved this one man show. I found it clever, funny, touching, heartfelt and informative. I thought the stage craft was excellent. Mr DeVita has given the audience a gift by demonstrating how it is that an actor works, overcoming obstacles both professional and personal; to be someone authentic and understandable on the stage...I would highly recommend this show to everyone. Young people would enjoy it immensely. A great introduction to Shakespeare and the power and craft of the theatre."
– Bill Merrill, New York
It's passion that makes it work…
"Mr. DeVita...is a very high energy person and one can only imagine what his energy must have been like when he was 19 years old...it was a very moving evening of intelligent theatre. Mr. DeVita has a wonderful story to tell. He is a very talented actor. He uses his voice, his body, and WORDS to full advantage. He is funny. He is sincere. I am in the theatre myself and I could relate many times to his story. The ups and downs. The tenacity it takes. The hard work. The hours and hours of training that turn into years and years and then decades and decades. Mr. DeVita has a very obvious passion for Shakespeare. His passion, like most genuine passions, becomes infectious. Mr. DeVita is not aiming his show for the consumption of other Shakespearean actors. Or fancy reviewers. His show is aimed at those who might not be comfortable listening to Shakespeare. He makes the point, using his own life experiences, that Shakepeare wrote about the same situations and emotions we deal with today. The human condition is much the same in many ways as it was in his day. Yes we are more comfortable, but we still mourn at loss and we still laugh when something is funny. If you prick us, do we not still bleed? I congratulate Mr. DeVita for his passion. If only more people had his passion for what they do. If only more people had the perseverance and tenacity Mr. DeVita has shown in his life, this world would be a better place."
– George Spelvin, NYC
"I loved this one man show. I found it clever, funny, touching, heartfelt and informative. I thought the stage craft was excellent. Mr DeVita has given the audience a gift by demonstrating how it is that an actor works, overcoming obstacles both professional and personal; to be someone authentic and understandable on the stage...I would highly recommend this show to everyone. Young people would enjoy it immensely. A great introduction to Shakespeare and the power and craft of the theatre."
– Bill Merrill, New York
“It’s about the work involved in becoming good at something you want to be able to do and having the humility to be able to try and to work and to fail, in order to have the possibility of being able to succeed. And for me that could be anybody’s story about any sort of pursuit of excellence and truth.”
"An absolutely magical evening...a lyrical soaring, meditation on class, on fatherhood, on art and the manic and inexplicable force that drives us towards our baffling and unavoidable callings..." Dean Bakopoulos, Author
"A crate, a cane, a chair - it takes immeasurable talent to entertain and enlighten so very much...with so very little in the prop closet." David Sklar, Theatre Junkie
It's passion that makes it work…
"Mr. DeVita...is a very high energy person and one can only imagine what his energy must have been like when he was 19 years old...it was a very moving evening of intelligent theatre. Mr. DeVita has a wonderful story to tell. He is a very talented actor. He uses his voice, his body, and WORDS to full advantage. He is funny. He is sincere. I am in the theatre myself and I could relate many times to his story. The ups and downs. The tenacity it takes. The hard work. The hours and hours of training that turn into years and years and then decades and decades. Mr. DeVita has a very obvious passion for Shakespeare. His passion, like most genuine passions, becomes infectious. Mr. DeVita is not aiming his show for the consumption of other Shakespearean actors. Or fancy reviewers. His show is aimed at those who might not be comfortable listening to Shakespeare. He makes the point, using his own life experiences, that Shakepeare wrote about the same situations and emotions we deal with today. The human condition is much the same in many ways as it was in his day. Yes we are more comfortable, but we still mourn at loss and we still laugh when something is funny. If you prick us, do we not still bleed? I congratulate Mr. DeVita for his passion. If only more people had his passion for what they do. If only more people had the perseverance and tenacity Mr. DeVita has shown in his life, this world would be a better place."
– George Spelvin, NYC