A pulsating drama by a promising new playwright which goes to the heart of the big questions about morality, life, hope and redemption in the darkest of settings.

Best Revival In The North East Winner 2019

Playland is a play that everyone should see, and Elysium’s production has done the story justice.

Riveting… A truly poignant and artful piece of theatre, one which I would highly recommend.

Elysium TC is a new, northern-based theatre company, and Jesus Hopped the A Train is only its second production – the first being Days of Wine and Roses, which was nominated for a Manchester Theatre Award. Its mission is ‘to bring the best of world theatre to the North.’ This is obviously a worthy ambition – and, judging by this exhilarating and highly accomplished production, Elysium is well on the way to achieving it.

Faz Singhateh heads up a powerful opening before taking a stoic backseat to Danny Solomon’s colourful, boisterous lead. The pair balance each other beautifully… Don’t miss out on this intelligent and honest production.

Elysium Theatre Company have once again shown what high calibre work they can produce… sound direction from Jake Murray and powerful performances from both male leads ensure that this is a great piece of theatre.

This is an opening production for the Elysium Theatre Company and they have chosen to open with a premiere for the region. Their plans are to present new writing in the region and they are to be commended on this. I, for one, look forward to their next production… This is well acted and gritty tale that deserves a big audience.

A real theatrical treat.

A riveting piece of theatre… you could hear the proverbial pin drop as the lights go down, so rapt is the audience’s focus.

Incredibly performed by Alice Frankham and Danny Solomon… I found myself frequently forgetting I was watching a play, rather it felt like witnessing someone’s life unfold… Beautifully directed by Jake Murray… This performance captivated, surprised, and impressed me.

**** ”A pair of staggeringly good performances… Solomon and Frankham make Donal and Mona so convincingly human and vulnerable… director Jake Murray catches the giddy sense of time and place superbly, with gorgeous black and white photographs lining the stage and an excellent choice in period music… a very powerful play with excellent performances.

At the forefront of making high quality theatre for northern audiences

“Great writing, great acting and great directing… totally floors you.”

**** An excellent piece of writing…. Brilliant performances…. Pushes the audience through the emotional barriers surrounding violent crime to instead rouse a much deeper contemplation of the forces that shaped the actions in the first place.

Great writing, great acting and great directing… totally floors you.

Varied and compelling

Exhilarating and highly accomplished

“Congratulations to the Elysium Theatre Company”

With Miss Julie, Elysium Theatre shows they are just as capable at staging the classics are they are with contemporary plays.

Gripping from beginning to end. Another excellent production from Elysium.

A lively interpretation of a play that hasn’t been seen in the region before with some interesting things to say and Solomon gives another impressive performance after his Manchester Theatre Awards nomination for Elysium’s inaugural production last year.

A fine production of an important and powerful piece of theatre.

Over the past few years, Elysium Theatre Company have become a force to be reckoned with. They are on the forefront of making high quality theatre for northern audiences. Having previously staged critically acclaimed productions of ‘Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train’ and ‘Miss Julie’, Elysium have built a reputation for producing complex plays that are profound, provocative and deliberately uncomfortable to watch. ‘Playland’ is no different.

Having seen Elysium Theatre Company’s Manchester debut last year with ‘Days Of Wine And Roses’ at 53Two, I was delighted to be able to see their latest production playing at HOME until Saturday. Based in Durham, this company produce contemporary plays rarely if ever seen outside of London, and, even after only 2 productions, are already a force to reckon with.

“Varied and compelling”

This is the sort of Theatre I love to see. It’s well written, well performed and well directed.

Congratulations to the Elysium Theatre Company

A well acted and gritty tale that deserves a big audience… I, for one, look forward to their next production.

The uniform excellence of the performances… A strong production… Intimate and faithful.

***** A big play – and played in the HOME studio space has an intimacy that makes it even more affecting, as we literally look into the eyes of a killer. The set, dominated by a huge stars and stripes backdrop, is bold enough to make a big statement, yet unfussy enough to leave the impact to the extraordinary script and flawless performances.

A force to reckon with

There is excellent chemistry between Solomon and Frankham right from the start, and in this well-paced piece, Murray takes us on this very intimate journey with skill. Starting in romantic comedy mode, the downward spiral to tragedy and despair is really quite compelling.

Stays with you after the curtain comes down, teasing away at both brain and emotions.

Exceptional direction from Jake Murray brings the best out of the actors. They deliver sublime performances that perfectly render the realism that Strindberg’s play yearns for.

Incredibly exciting.. high quality drama.

A powerful, immersive and poignant production: excellent theatre!

Provocative, funny, and captivating.

Both actors immerse themselves in their roles… Compelling from start to finish.

Incredibly performed… beautifully directed.

Mesmerising… another excellent production

**** “Casting Alice Frankham and Danny Solomon is not Jake Murray’s only success in this production, but clearly the one on which all others hang. This is the key to this production’s success: there is chemistry between these two. We follow their story not as two hopeless drunks, but as two brutally afflicted lovers. We believe in them and warm to them as a couple… Come awards season, if all three names do not feature on this year’s list of nominations, Manchester theatre will have had a very blessed year, indeed.

A challenging, hard-hitting, but rewarding production, with a strong message about addiction and love. Definitely one to watch.

The acting here is excellent. The play runs for two hours with no frills to distract the audience, and all parts demand a lot from their respective performers, but every member of the cast delivers the goods. Alastair Gillies makes a skin-crawling Valdez and Danny Solomon presents Angel Cruz as one of the most well realised, three-dimensional characters I have ever seen on a stage.

It is incredibly exciting to see a local theatre company put on such a challenging play with such grace and modesty… The net effect is high-quality drama minutes away from Durham market place that breaks new ground in community engagement.