Reviews

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Operation Pied Piper
"I found the experience of putting Operation Pied Piper on very moving. I still remember the effect that the final song had on me and many of the audience and cast. It proved to be a profoundly poignant ending to a deeply emotional evening; this was theatre at its best."
Tim Wood - Director of Operation Pied Piper (2000) at Marlborough House School, Kent.

Wacky Soap
"A splendid vehicle for a company of players with opportunities for all. The action includes individual performance, movement, mime, choral speech, singing and dancing."
Brian Sanders - Guild of Drama Adjudicators
(Mark Wheeller awarded Special Award at the One Act Drama Festival for writing the musical.)

"Super tunes, catchy and rhythmical, excellent co-ordinated movement, choral speaking and singing, a first class production for use by any group looking for a good story with a moral, exciting music and lots of fun."
Ben Wright - NODA Southern News

Graham – World’s Fastest Blind Runner
"A remarkable play ... a story of great courage and dedication; It is also entertaining and good Theatre, with plenty of scope for imaginative direction."
Amateur Stage Book Review (of the original - Race To Be Seen)

"The extremely talented actors proved more than equal to Mark Wheeller's moving script as they told Graham's amazing life story with utter conviction and sincerity... adding a deep intensity of their own, bringing the words alive to wonderful effect. It is rare today to see even professional actors handling such an emotional piece. "
Andrew White - Southern Daily Echo

Too Much Punch For Judy
"Packs its anti-drink drive message with the kick of a mule ... but that doesn't stop it from being excellent drama!"
Sue Wilkinson - Southern Evening Echo

"This was an aurally, visually and dramatically shocking depiction of the danger of drink-driving. The Ape Theatre cast were absolutely brilliant. They had our students laughing one minute and crying the next. This was worth ten classroom lectures and if the message that the play had to offer didn't get through with this show, it never will."
Geoff Carr - Deputy Headteacher at Francis Combe Community School and College

Hard To Swallow
"Hard to Swallow uses simple narrative and a series of stylised visual tableaux to build a powerful and sometimes harrowing chronicle of Catherine's long and ultimately unsuccessful fight against anorexia nervosa ... uncompromising and sensitive ... its ability to raise our awareness of a condition about which we remain woefully ignorant defines it as an important piece of work .... it should be compulsory viewing for anyone connected with the education of teenagers."
Mick Martin - Times Educational Supplement

Chicken!
"We have just been fortunate enough to witness the most superb exhibition of interactive safety education. The performance was quite stunning."
Jim Lambert - Head Teacher, Sinclair Middle School, Southampton

“Performance was lively, skilful, well-paced and enjoyable. Excellent participation, explored lots of issues pertinent to Year 7, including bullying and peer pressure as well as road safety.”
Mrs S Scantlebury - Head of Year 7, Chipping Norton School, Oxfordshire

Chunnel of Love
"French with tears ... the bi-lingual elements give this play an added dimension ... the context and the action means that no-one loses the thread of the story."
Sue Wilkinson - Southern Evening Echo

Legal Weapon II
"This was definitely the best factual government message I have ever seen and really made you think about the effects of speeding not only on yourself getting a fine or imprisonment but the overwhelming sense of loss to a family if you kill someone on the road. It was a very important experience for the students and so valuable to make it available to so many. They really felt its impact."
Richard Storer - Ecclesfield Secondary School - on the Ape Theatre Company touring production)

"The remarkable Mark Wheeller's play Legal Weapon has had over 2000 performances since it was first staged in 1996. This puts into perspective the vital contribution to our education system and the value of his exceptional writing in confronting the vast range of social issues that make up his invaluable portfolio. It is important that we pay due cognisance of the invaluable role that Mark plays as a socially conscious dramatist, and for me it has been exhilarating to see his work extend beyond the early commissions to write for Theatre in Education companies and within the last decade to become one of the most performed playwrights in a wide range of professional and community venues as well as in educational establishments that face so many of the social problems that are addressed in his work."
Charles Vance - Editor of Amateur Stage. August 2005

Missing Dan Nolan
"Compelling theatre... any anxieties I had were swept away with the sensitive portrayal of most of the characters... all four actors drew on emotions beyond their years. They held their audience captive. I hope plans to show this most moving of plays to a wider audience can be achieved."
Jan Foster - Southern Evening Echo Curtain Call Awards reviewer

"Emotive... a chronology that dances between past and present... the stage almost bare as if to heighten the real feeling of emptiness that Dan's disappearance creates... family relationships and teenage choices are key aspects of this play... the best conclusion is that Dan returns home to his family but unfortunately, this happy ending is the underlying purpose of the play and not it's current resolution."
Warwick Payne - Hampshire Chronicle

"Unusual and deeply affecting. Skilfully written, it achieves, for an episodic play, astonishing depth and authenticity.... a portrayal of Dan which was at once an intensely personal figure and yet known to every parent in the audience as their own...the audience was drawn inescapably into the grief at his loss... it gave the piece an almost unbearable pathos. Dan Nolan - Missing addresses a wound still raw and stands as a fitting testament to a young life."
Charles Evans - Adjudicator - Eastleigh Drama Festival

The Gate Escape
"The Gate Escape has a lively dramatic style and innovative structure with dynamic and contemporary dialogue. The audience will feel fully involved and enthralled by the main characters.
I strongly recommend The Gate Escape to all those with an interest in truancy; not least schools, pupils, parents, education welfare officers, learning mentors, home-school liaison officers, classroom assistants, teachers, heads of year, deputies, head teachers as well as all those involved in community work (police, youth services, social services, voluntary staff) with either truants or potential truants. The play is enjoyable in its own right. It is certain to ‘fire the imagination’ of the next generation."
Professor Ken Reid - specialist in truancy & author of numerous books on the subject

Arson About
"Mark Wheeller is a remarkable amalgam of a fine dramatist and a man with a passionate social conscience... and once again we are able to lavish unashamed praise for a remarkable piece of theatre written for every type of youth company. The cost of Arson About becomes all too clear." Amateur Stage

Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots
"It was one of those rare communal experiences we often hope to have in the theatre. A delightfully visual show ... every entrance earned a round of applause - our Year 10s came out of the theatre asking each other one question..."wouldn't it be amazing if we could do this play for our final exam?"
Paul Mills – Head of Drama - Westgate School in Winchester

"The quirkily, original Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots manages to be funky, funny and factual while exploring a time in our lives when being the next 'Ziggy Stardust' was achievable. I thought the play was brilliant! Mark Wheeller's latest offering looks at teenage dreams in an Alice in Wonderland/ Wizard of Oz kind of way with an excellent portrayal of the animated characters. Set to a soundtrack from the glam rock era the show will have you coming away cringing at your own memories of singing into a hairbrush whilst staring at your reflection in the mirror."
Craig Morrison - Southampton Institute Newspaper 2005
(On Ziggy’s Band - the precursor to Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots)

Kill Jill
"Mark Wheeller is a remarkable playwright. Over 20 years I have literally waxed lyrical about the superb work Mark does… so before addressing this exceptional new play I would like to reiterate what I have written about Mark over the years. Not only is Mark a very accessible playwright but his commitment to his work in education and Youth Theatre in general is legendary among the cognoscenti… he has that exceptional gift of being able to demonstrate his concern about the issues he addresses in his plays as well as his passionate love of Theatre itself… So to this latest excellent play… destined to delight and tempt as it is full of imaginative techniques. It must surely become a major school text as well as an ideal choice for amateur theatre production… I cannot commend it highly enough, both as a production choice or as a superb read!"
Charles Vance - Editor, Amateur Stage

Jamie in the Land of Dinnersphere
"The Year 11 Drama group performance of JAMIE effectively brought to life the importance of healthy eating and was a fantastic enhancement to our PSHE curriculum. We would welcome this back annually as a key part of our 'Healthy Week'."
Hayley Morris - Healthy Schools co-ordinator, Hollybrook Junior School

"StopWatch Theatre Company is delighted to be giving the first professional performances of JAMIE IN THE LAND OF DINNERSPHERE. We really liked its appealing fantasy storyline which helps children to see the importance of their food choices. It will be accompanied by our trademark interactive workshops helping children to understand what makes a balanced diet and encourages enjoy the new school dinners. It is an ideal script for senior students on vocational courses."
Adrian New - StopWatch Theatre Company

D2D (Driven to Distraction)
"Excellent performance! Serious message conveyed in a clear, precise and entertaining manner. I definitely recommend it to others."
R Ruthven - Pastoral Head Year 9, Redden Court School, Romford