The Press on the Finborough Theatre

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“The little Finborough is a disproportionately valuable component of the London theatre ecology. Its programme combines new writing and revivals, in selections intelligent and audacious. ”
Ian Shuttleworth, Financial Times

“The tiny Finborough Theatre in Earls Court is one of the most stimulating venues in London, fielding a programme that is a bold mix of trenchant, politically thought-provoking new drama and shrewdly chosen revivals of neglected works from the past.”
Paul Taylor, The Independent

"The Finborough, once again, makes it evident there’s more to British drama than most theatres show” Timothy Ramsden, ReviewsGate

"My venue of the year.Tea and Sympathy demonstrated all the things that has made the past year at the Finborough so astonishingly satisfying: consistently high production values (on presumably shoestring budgets), perfect casting and a clever mix of revivals (The Representative), new work (Eden's Empire) and rediscovered gems” Carole Woddis

"Institutions, big and small, were run by people with flair; not just Nicholas Hytner and Michael Boyd at the flagships (the National and the RSC), but Sam West in Sheffield, Jonathan Church at Chichester, Neil McPherson at the Finborough, Sam Walters at the Orange Tree." Michael Billington, The Guardian - Review of the Year 2006

“The latest work in Neil McPherson's imaginative tenure at the Finborough”
Rhoda Koenig, The Independent on Sunday

"Neil McPherson's consistently inventive creative teams at the Finborough who always manage to pull something out of the hat on peanut size budgets. He and they have had a fabulous year." Carole Woddis, The Best of 2006, Rogues and Vagabonds

“Neil McPherson is one to watch. Since he took over the running of the Finborough Theatre in 1999, the young Scotsman has transformed this small room above an Earl's Court pub into a blazing beacon of intelligent endeavour, nurturing new writers while finding and reviving neglected curiosities from home and abroad. Last year's programme included Noel Coward's first play, The Rat Trap, John Galsworthy's 1922 drama Loyalties and David Mercer's After Haggerty (1970), as well as a slew of semi-staged Edwardian musicals. He raises the curtain on the New Year with another welcome coup: the UK première of a 2003 play by Israeli playwright Joshua Sobol, best known for his drama about Vilnius's wartime theatre, Ghetto”
Dominic Cavendish, The Daily Telegraph

“The Finborough leading the way and the South Bank following (with Gorky’s Philistines)”
Timothy Ramsden, Reviewsgate on The Lower Depths

“One of the pleasures of a trip to the Finborough, is the chance to see revivals of works that are unknown but deserve to be seen. Despite its humble pretensions, this pub theatre often produces work of high quality with designs to die for.”
Philip Fisher, British Theatre Guide on The Lower Depths

"This excellent Earl's Court theatre" Michael Billington, The Guardian

"The Finborough’s ‘rediscoveries’ season. Also including rarely seen plays by Gerhart Hauptmann and Rolf Hochhuth... Add a recent Galsworthy and the Sunday night truffles of Victorian and Edwardian musicals, plus a range of new work from round the world, and Earl’s Court rather than the South Bank seems the place to find the internationally-minded repertory due from a national theatre company."
Timothy Ramsden, Reviewsgate.com on After Haggerty

“Anyone therefore interested in how theatre reflects – or should reflect – the times in which we live should hurry over to the Finborough...A production, design, performance and casting that would not disgrace the West End.”
Carole Woddis, Rogues and Vagabonds

“Neil McPherson, Finborough's presiding genius (and arguably one of the shrewdest producers currently operating on the fringe)"
Carole Woddis, Rogues and Vagabonds

"A welcome sign of bold fringe theatre programming" Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard

"The theatre deserves credit for giving a work by this rarely produced dramatist an airing” Sam Marlowe, The Times on The Beaver Coat

"[Hauptmann] was a vital link between classic comedy and Brechtian drama whose rediscovery is overdue.”
Michael Billington, The Guardian on The Beaver Coat

"Christopher Rolls’ enterprising revival (another repertoire feather in the Finborough cap)"
Timothy Ramsden, Reviewsgate.com on The Beaver Coat

"The tiny Finborough - 50 unsubsidised seats over a pub - has been turned by its artistic director Neil McPherson into a hub of early-20th-century theatre: a place where forgotten voices are celebrated."
Susannah Clapp, The Observer

"Few leading fringe theatres have walked off with so many awards or promoted such a rich variety of writers as the Finborough" Jeremy Malies, Plays International

“Neil McPherson, Artistic Director of Finborough Theatre, must be commended for his astute programming.” Vera Liber, Plays International

"Go to the Finborough and you won’t always see the refinement of London’s major theatres. Go, and you will find excitement in the repertoire, freshness in performance, and an intimate involvement with the stage action that could inject the soul into bigger, glossier productions." Timothy Ramsden, Reviewsgate.com

"Fringe theatre is bristling with creativity and flair but is often overlooked. This seething mass of talent has risen to the surface at the Finborough." Rob Speight, The Stage

“The Finborough…has gained enormously in stature, attracting big actors to its small space" Ian Herbert, Theatre Record

“There was something thrilling about seeing a West End cast…and West End production values…on the Finborough stage; thrilling, and also chilling, for this is the likely future fate of many a fine play (and Frank McGuinness’ is an exceptionally fine one…as the West End retreats into wall to wall musicals and leaves serious new writing to the National, the Royal Court and the fringe.” Ian Herbert, Theatre Record

“The Finborough Theatre has developed a reputation out of all proportion to its tiny size. It has played its part in the careers of many remarkable playwrights, directors, and actors, including Mark Rylance, Ken Campbell, Naomi Wallace, David Farr, Anthony Neilson and Rachel Weisz.” Alastair Macaulay, Financial Times

“The Finborough is to be applauded for the ambition and success of its policy of staging premieres and reviving neglected works” Ian Shuttleworth, Financial Times

“You have to salute the bravery of Finborough supremo Neil McPherson for giving this difficult play its first London revival since the 1960’s” Aleks Sierz, What’s On in London

“The Finborough Theatre has spent the past several years putting on a variety of excellent dramas and comedies ranging from modern drama of the past twenty years to new plays to plays from the 1850's onward. Artistic Director Neil McPherson has pulled together a wonderful series of productions that have been recognized by audiences and critics alike.” pubtheatre.com

“…Scattered across the capital are countless venues either off the beaten track or new or simply pushing the envelope when it comes to the playgoing experience…The American repertoire gets a good workout here…” Variety

"One of London's most consistently interesting pub venues. . . and with seating capacity of just 50, it's also one of the more exclusive"
Harden's Theatregoers Guide 2004

“A corner of Off Broadway…There is intense work done with writers on new plays in addition to the US imports which have been first rate and well produced here…The concentration is on the play with actors of quality…it is a theatre with determination and should be supported by ACE” Blanche Marvin, Peter Brook Empty Space Awards

“The increasingly admirable Finborough” John Nathan, Jewish Chronicle

“The Finborough leads the way” Time Out London Guide

“One of London's leading new writing venues" Time Out

"You're more likely to find me at the Finborough in Earl's Court than the Almeida"
Jack Bradley, Literary Manager, Royal National Theatre, Programme interview

"The enterprising Finborough…" Benedict Nightingale, The Times

“The ever-enterprising Finborough...” Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard

“The ever-enterprising Finborough...” Mark Shenton, The Stage

“Neil McPherson’s ever-enterprising Finborough” Carole Woddis, What’s On in London

“This revival…is a triumphant affirmation of the Finborough itself in its 25th anniversary year” Carole Woddis, What’s On in London

"Welcome back to the Finborough. Just south of Earl’s Court, this aptly-named venue (over the seriously redesigned Finborough pub in Finborough Road) continues to introduce an array of drama to British theatre. It may not have the gloss of some new-writing venues but it’s usual to find something satisfyingly unexpected. Artistic Director Neil McPherson isn’t someone to be caught up in modes or schools: each Finborough production, like it a little or a lot, has a voice of its own." Timothy Ramsden, ReviewsGate

"[Neil McPherson]…it's his bold artistic policy that regularly provides sustenance. A close-up theatrical experience…among the best of London's fringe…the tiny but excellent Finborough in Earl's Court" Mark Shenton, BBC Radio

"Congratulations to the Finborough's Neil McPherson…for giving London audiences the chance to see yet another example of American playwriting at its finest"
Aleks Sierz, The Stage

"More evidence of this theatre's exciting repertoire" Andrew Aldridge, Time Out