Company Background

Reviews

"Grid Iron Theatre Company's revival of... Decky Does a Bronco... is a proverbial good deed in a naughty world... Ten years on, Decky Does a Bronco has lost none of its ability to excite the senses and stop the heart." Decky Does a Bronco Sunday Herald 2010

"the sheer force and depth of Maxwell's study of an end of childhood, and abrupt loss of innocence, brings tears to the eyes. Ben Harrison's production is more thrillingly physical than ever... outstanding performances... the writing is beautiful." Decky Does a Bronco The Scotsman 2010

"A decade's directing experience has certainly given Harrison's production a slickness it never had before, and not just in the impressively choreographed feats of boyish bravado. Maxwell's play seems deeper somehow, a melancholy mix of innocence and experience beyond the playfighting." Decky Does a Bronco The Herald 2010

"With strong performances all round and brilliant stage management this project uses the most simple of storytelling tools to ask a truly profound and relevant question." Huxley's Lab Edinburgh Evening News 2010

"Grid iron have yet again pulled off a marvellous success - easily one of the best shows this year [at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe] and quite possibly a winner within the company's own repertoire. And they have shown that just like the subject of their fitting tribute, they mature extraordinarily well as they line up effortless, unpretentious, penetrating modern classics one after another." Barflies The Stage 2009

"Grid Iron are surely now one of the most sophisticated site-specific theatre makers in Europe." The Times 2009

"Grid Iron, one of Scotland's boldest and most influential groups of the last two decades." The Telegraph 2009

"Grid Iron has always been a company of vision and consistency. At a time when site-specific and responsive work is gaining in popularity, they are always worth seeking out to see how it should be done." The Guardian 2008

"It's difficult to think of any children's show I've ever seen that more perfectly fulfills the remit of taking us, for a while, into a world of strange, frightening magic and archetypal adventure. And if the achingly beautiful setting at Cammo, on a lovely May night, plays a major part on creating that effect, then Grid Iron, as usual, are the company with the inspiration to find that place for us, and - with a touch of producer Jude Doherty's magic wands and director Ben Harrison's book of spells - to transform the wood into the enchanted one of our dreams... work that's lavish, vivid, and full of the kind of cutting-edge acting without which no setting, however gorgeous, can come to life." Once Upon a Dragon The Scotsman 2007

We are fortunate in Scotland to have one of the best exponents of the site-specific genre in the world in Grid Iron." The Scotsman 2006

"In a class of its own for site-specific work, the technical execution of Roam is astonishing. Roam is a sensational experience." Roam The Herald 2006

"Ben Harrison's direction is exacting and excellent, and the composer Philip Pinsky's sound design adds to an already rich sensory experience. Those who experience this unique show are not likely to forget it - not only because of the location." Roam Financial Times 2006

"Harrison's astonishing command of the whole language of 21st century theatre - text, music, movement, image and the breathing presence of the audience - never wavers." The Devil's Larder The Scotsman 2005

"vividly-realised, high-octane and up-to-the-minute. Told in a breathless, non-stop urban libretto that's pulsed along by Philip Pinsky's magnificent electronic score... a perfectly honed display of rage... a brilliantly realised affair that's both tragedy and the getting of wisdom... in an ideal world could easily grace the West End." fierce: An Urban Myth The Herald 2004

"one of those perfectly-sculpted theatre events in which every element seems to glow with an inner sense of beauty and meaning.as rich, beautiful and completely satisfying an 80 minutes as you are ever likely to experience."
Those Eyes, That Mouth The Scotsman 2003

"Those Eyes, That Mouth provides evidence of Grid Iron´s leading role in the movement to redefine our understanding of the theatrical.this is contemporary theatre at its very best".
Those Eyes, That Mouth Scotland on Sunday 2003

"Grid Iron utilises the full workings of the Proscenium Arch to the max in one of the most heart-breaking elegies to emanate from Scotland for some time. Ben Harrison's production is ambitiously and exquisitely realised, scaling new theatrical heights"
Variety The Herald 2002

"Grid Iron has done it again. In another thrillingly intelligent site-specific production the company has crafted an astonishing piece of theatre. Every detail is perfect, each performance is extraordinary." Fermentation The Guardian 2002

"Utterly convincing and utterly brilliant - I'd run away and join Grid Iron tomorrow".
Decky Does a Bronco Irish Times 2001

"A truly splendid young company, Grid Iron has produced among the most startling theatre we have witnessed over the last five years. Concentrating on site-specific promenade theatre, the company has brought audiences to new spaces and confronted their expectations about theatre. Joint artistic directors Judith Doherty and Ben Harrison delight in playful and surrealistic visions with a high entertainment factor." The List 2000

"Grid Iron is unsurpassed in its ability to create site specific work in which there is a perfect marriage of site and subject."
Decky does a Bronco The Guardian 2000

"The brilliantly inventive Grid Iron company once again manipulate a living environment, to produce theatre that effortlessly breathes straight from the heart."
Decky does a Bronco The Times 2000