“ONCE UPON A QUARRY HILL” – WEST YORKSHIRE PLAYHOUSE.
THE GUARDIAN *****
“Steven Downs’ directing accommodates all-comers without ever losing sight of its responsibility to provide lucid and engaging storytelling. There are many stories to tell, but Downs avoids simply stringing them all end-to-end, opting for a fluid structure in which various historical plotlines unfold and resolve.”
THE TIMES*****
“A creative collaboration between Richard Taylor, the resident Composer at the Playhouse, Steven Downs, the Director and more than two hundred local people. It is tough, dynamic and admirably ambitious. Best of all, there is a genuine sense of spontaneity about it, perhaps because it is rooted in the life of Leeds and its inhabitants.”
“SHAKA ZULU”. (Written and directed)
THE TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
“There was, above all, a level of authenticity which reflected the extent to which the subject had been researched…Haunting tribal melodies and the poetic clarity of the language were richly evocative of the distant African culture. The electric performance lifted the production from the level of a very good school play to an outstanding piece of youth theatre.”
“THE COCA-COLA DRAGON”. (Written and directed) – ROYAL NATIONAL THEATRE.
SIR IAN McKELLEN
“It was the best battle I have seen on this stage!”
“A BUCKET OF EELS”. (Directed) – ROYAL NATIONAL THEATRE.
KATE VALENTINE (ROYAL NATIONAL THEATRE)
“One of the most memorable images in theatre that I have seen for a long time.”
TESTIMONIAL
JODIE WHITTAKER – ACTRESS.
“I went to Shelley College when Steven Downs was (teaching) there and he was such an inspiration to me. I wasn’t at all academic but I was encouraged to do something I loved. I am very grateful for that.”