"Part epic narrative, part package holiday....... warm, wry and touching story"
Peter Crawley, The Irish Times, All Over Town, 2009.
"Darren Thornton's new play is a brilliant fast paced, inventive and achingly funny show..no review can really do this one justice. It's a whirlwind of a show. Go see it!"
The British Theatre Guide, Wunderkind, Edinburgh 2007.
"Not only is the Calipo production of Wunderkind at Project an entertaining and talented evenings theatre, it should be regarded as essential viewing for all those who aspire to say casually, " I'm in the movie business"
Emer O'Kelly, Sunday Independent, Wunderkind, 2006.
"As director, Thornton and his film crew, make Calipo's production a show and tell affair, a multi-media jamboree that seamlessly passes the story between McDonnell’s monologue and a series of filmed cameos..it never flags in its wit, its imagination and its unswerving determination to give an audience a good time"
Peter Crawley, Irish Times Wunderkind, 2006.
"Writer/Director Thornton skillfully finds humour in the depths of tragedy, and on a serious note presents a credible modern day take on the old story of Irish emigration”
****Sophie Gorman, Irish Independent, Wunderkind, 2006.
"Moonlight Mickey's is a triumph of humour and performance!"
Edel Coffey, The Sunday Tribune, Moonlight Mickecys 2006.
"A quietly subversive and hugely entertaining piece of theatre"
Declan Burke, The Sunday Times, Moonlight Mickeys 2006
"Exuberantly inventive!"
****Daily Mail, Moonlight Mickeys, 2006.
"Written with considerable verve..All over town is full of life"
Emer O Kelly, The Sunday Independent, All Over Town, 2007.
"Andrew Macklin's endearing and vulnerable portrayal leaves you squirming with maternal nervousness"
****Metro, All Over Town, 2007.
"Macklin gives a fine performance in Darren Thornton's well paced, slickly designed production"
Peter Crawley, Irish times, All Over Town, 2007.
"Opening with the soft whir of a film projector and incorporating not so much a narrative as a steady cascade of classic film clips, it is the work of a director who has never had hesitations about bringing the moving image to the stage.."
Peter Crawley, Irish Times, Moonlight Mickeys, 2006.
"Thanks to a clever script by Irma Grothuis and discerning direction by Darren Thornton, the acting slips smoothly from adult to child and back to portray the many-layered composition of social interaction"
**** Christine Madden, The Irish Times, Getting 2 Level 10, Fringe 2001.
"Thornton's direction and staging, and his and Maguire's script, stuff their play with knowing observations and wry characterisations.. Thornton's confident and controlled direction elicits committed and detailed performances from his strong ensemble."
Jocelyn Clarke, The Sunday Tribune. Makin' Hits, 2000.
" Last October, Tony O'Dalaigh, then director of the Dublin Theatre Festival, told a packed conference audience that the best show he had seen in either the theatre festival or the Dublin Fringe Festival was Calipo's Theatre's production of Xavier’s. Moreover, he said that people should forget about seeing any other production and just go and experience Xavier’s… It was that good...Calipo Theatre's hybrid of television and theatre succeeds where others fail because Director and Producer Darren Thornton instinctively understands both idioms, and how to combine them into an exciting and dynamic theatrical experience. Xavier’s is a smart, funny and moving piece of theatre"
Jocelyn Clarke, The Sunday Tribune. Xaviers, 1999.
"This is the core of what a fringe festival should be about: relevant, irreverent and passionate."
Emer O'Kelly, The Sunday Independent, Xaviers, Fringe 1999.
"A hard-hitting-on-the-funny-bone devised piece, Director Darren Thornton uses video brilliantly to explore class divisions..an absolute must see."
**** Victoria White, The Irish Times. Xaviers, Fringe 1999.
"Easily the most exciting Irish production I've seen on the Fringe..it's the first piece of theatre I've seen in along time that's made me feel like going out dancing; Calipo and Thornton are stars on the rise."
Karen Fricker, The Sunday Tribune, Love is the Drug.. 1998.
"Everybody has something to say about lurve, but Calipo Theatre Company say it better than most…some of our more mature companies would be hard pressed to deliver such inventiveness and verve."
Mary Carr, Evening Herald, Love is the Drug 1999.
"Drogheda-based Calipo Theatre Company, under the superb direction of Darren Thornton, use every trick in the book to thrill the audience..it's a horror story, a love story, a comedy and a tragedy with dancing..WOW! ..a great experience."
Maurice Newman, Evening Herald. The Crow, 1998
